Response to Paul Charvet:
I really like both of your project ideas. It’s funny – when I see a movie after I read the novel, I usually note that the movie version misses a lot of the nuances of the book. But when I see the movie first, I often find the book to be a little bit drab. Maybe it’s because whatever I see first makes the dominant impression in my mind. A movie is going to be more limited than a book because it makes the visual choices that a book leaves up to the reader.
Response to Michelle King:
Hi Michelle,
I’m really intrigued by your education topic (the first option). There are so many factors that go into classroom instruction, but when a teacher comes into the classroom, there are a lot of things that influence how well he will do – just coming internally. If he has had a bad morning outside school, or if he feels like he is not supported by his administration, he might not be as ready to work with the challenges in the classroom. That area of support is often overlooked by policy planners.
Post:
1) The Influence of Culture on Story. A lot of times, when filmmakers in one country remake a movie that was made in another country, there are changes that take place in the way the film that was made that reflect those cultural differences. Examples include Ring / Ringu and the Scandinavian and American version of “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.” Subquestions – what are the most important cultural differences? What agendas do those differences serve?
2) The Gradual Darkening of the Comic Book Movie Hero. Over the past 50 years, the comic book heroes in film have become darker and darker characters. Contrast the Adam West Batman with, say, the Christian Bale Batman (or even the Michael Keaton Batman). Contrast the Christopher Reeve Superman with the more modern versions – and then there’s the appearance of Deadpool. Subquestions: What does this shift in movie heroes say about modern culture? What does it say about the ideological expectations of society? In what way does this benefit the corporate media?
