ELS Autoblog

Today’s discussion on Hansen’s work, specifically in regards to female spectatorship, got me thinking.
I don’t think anyone doubts that the vast majority of films today feature women as their “primary object of spectacle.” What I do have questions about is the extent to which making films that “entail the full range of transformations as proposed by Freud” would really be something which the average female moviegoer would be particularly interested in.
(Alright, I just spent forty-five minutes trying to type my thoughts on the matter in an objective manner, but I’m not getting anywhere. So I’m just going to come out and write it. My apologies to all in advance…)
Let’s face it: the only thing that pisses off a woman more than being hit on is *not* being hit on. There. I’ve said it. And you ladies reading it know its true. Women, as a group, tend to derive […]

Original post by crain2mn

I must say, this FTC Day rocked. Very hard. Totally enjoyed it, especially the themes of gender equality, especially especially the Rudolph Valentino angle. Always thought he was incredibly interesting–well, more the polarizing effect he had on the early filmgoing population before his early death.
However, my chosen subject of blog tonight (this evening?) relates to our discussion of book versus film, and how the strengths and weaknesses of each affect their overall storytelling capabilities. In particular, how the ability of a book to manipulate description, both in terms of how long it lasts in the overall narrative, and how it contributes to the reader’s mental image of the story progressing, compares to a film’s technique of using a single visual shot that takes a split second and leaves nothing to the imagination. Now, from here proceeds a complicated Annie train of thought. Try to follow along…
From that beginning, I […]

Original post by anniek

Let’s see….looking at my notes now…there isn’t much on there for me to write about. I’m seeing a doodle of a mouse, a mushroom, the mad hatter and the march hair with the phrase “Feed Your Head!” floating above the mouse.  Seeing as that’s that, today’s blog will be brainstorming for the final project.
So here’s what this bad boy seems to be encompassing: Closed-Circuit Television, citizen journalism and blogs. The CCTV is probably going to be the most difficult to tie into my other two topics, seeing as only the proper authorities can view it and a citizen is going to have a rough time getting hold of the kind of visual information captured by CCTV cameras. Citizen journalism and blogs are easy to tie together since they pretty much go hand in hand. CNN and MSNBC have blog portions to their websites (as I’m sure all network news does) […]

Original post by georgestreet

The new seven wonders of the world were recently voted on in its first ever global election. I thought it was a really cool idea to have a global election – it is another form of communication in real time. People all around the world could go to the website and click on their two favorite world wonders of the finalists. Anyone with access to the internet could vote, see that their results were cast, and then find out who won at the end of the election. Also, if you were a registered user at the website, you could watch the webcast of the live announcement in Lisbon, Portugal of the new 7 wonders. If you are interested in what the new 7 wonders of the world are, check it out!

Original post by Ashley

I know that it was probably blasphemous (especially in a film class) to speak negatively of Katharine Hepburn. I have been watching old movies since I can remember, and I think the first movie I saw her in was one of her movies with Spencer Tracy. From a young age I can remember something about her was off-putting to me. I’m sorry to say it is so (and I make no judgments on her acting ability) I just have a hard time with her mannerisms, that’s all. Okay, I will stop talking about Katharine Hepburn (I’m sure I’ve angered enough people already) and move on.
Ah, Little Women. Before this class I had already seen both the 1933 and 1949 movie versions of this wonderful book. However, when I watched these movies I had not just finished the book and did not watch them back […]

Original post by kcannon

After our last class discussion I went home and did a little research on Ms. Katharine Hepburn…or Kate as she preferred to be called. I knew that she was considered one of the greatest actresses to ever grace the silver screen, but I wanted to find out a little more about Katharine Hepburn, the person. To be honest, I was a little surprised at how many people in the class were not impressed by her performance in “Little Women.” After rewatching it, I found it to be quite an honest portrayal of the character Jo March. I will admit that Hepburn could be loud, and maybe a little over the top at times throughout the film; however, when I read Little Women, that’s exactly how I imagined Jo to be…loud, and boisterous; not caring what anyone thought of her…that, to me was Jo March. In […]

Original post by ellie

Just thought I would add this image of Eleanor that was painted by one of my favorite artists, Kinuko Y. Craft.
Eleanor was, from all accounts, one of the most successful woman in the history of world politics. She married twice and both times she managed to out maneuver, or at least try, her royal husbands. This was a woman who knew what she wanted and did not hesitate to go after it. She controlled vast estates and armies as well she her son’s (Richard the Lion Hearted) lands when he was out on Crusade. She also arranged two of her sons’ marriages to women that she choose for them.
Eleanor was the consummate politician. She was perfectly willing to do what it took to get the job done. The fact that this infuriated the men in her life was just the icing […]

Original post by kathryn

 
The 1949 version of “Little Women” has to be my least favorite of all the “Little Women” movies.  June Allyson (Jo) is irritating, annoying… there were points during the movie that I just wanted to scream at her… of course, that would be pointless, considering it’s a movie and they can’t exactly hear me.  The fact that Beth was placed as the youngest and Amy the second youngest bothers me as well, I don’t care what excuse the producers would come up with if I asked them why… I felt like killing off the youngest daughter seems so much more horrible than killing off the second to youngest daughter.  Why? It’s always sad when a child dies in a movie, it’s not nearly as sad when an adult (or even some one in their adolescence) dies in a movie.

Original post by Amanda

Original post by Amanda