In the previous class, Professor Campbell mentioned that movies makers created films that allowed viewers to know how they should be feeling. I can definitely see this factor playing out in the film. I guess the director or producer would of had to make this alteration from the novel, because while reading the book people cannot figure out what’s going on, let alone what they should be feeling. My biggest issue with this way of interpreting the novel is that the film focuses on there being a romance between Ed and Janet (as well as Paul and Janet, of course), when Ned (in the novel) never truly showed any romantic feelings for Janet. Even in the end of the book when Janet asks Ned if she could go with him to New York, he replied extremely unemotionally by saying something like “Yeah, I guess.”
I enjoyed the movie, but and “Battle of the Sexes” film is not a clear representation of the movie. Sometimes I just want to sit in the board room and listen to what the people in charge of pulling together a movie based off of a book. Who in the world names their leading man Ed. I know there was the talking horse, but that does not seem like a great character to back up the use of this name. But this Ed was clearly a popular guy with the ladies. He flirted with every girl who got too close to him, except Janet. He never really flirted much with her, if at all. But this was the girl he suddenly runs to the door with at the end of the movie with the biggest smile he’d probably ever made in his life. It just strikes me as odd.
Also, this Hollywood innuendo of lighting someone else’s cigarette to mean you’re asking to have sex or are having sex is quite odd as well. This happened between men a few different times. The way Jeff was depicted with Ed (being real close to him at the speakeasy and the unusual enjoyment of beating Ed around) was really strange as well. I could see a hint of something sexual between Ed and Jeff, while the latter was holding him real close and talking real softly. The thing is I can’t figure out why these things were placed into the film. What deeper meaning were the producers/directors hoping to achieve? I’m interested in following up on these issues later classes.