Brokeback Mountain - The Film

So, like I said before, I hadn't seen "Brokeback Mountain" prior to viewing it in class and honestly, I don't think that I was prepared for how graphic the film ended up being.
I literally felt uncomfortable watching some of the scenes, and I'm not sure if that was the goal of the director. By no means am I saying I hated the movie, and what it stood for, but I think it's just hard for me to get past the fact that it was two straight actors playing gay men. I'm trying to look at it like any other tragic love story, but it's hard to do that when the love story is about something so taboo.
This film was so well respected; it broke down barriers, and gave a huge voice to the gay community in Hollywood. I'm glad I did finally get the chance to watch it because it's one of those "must-see" films and I don't know if I ever would have otherwise. Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal did such an unbelievable job with their portals of Ennis and Jack, and I think by reading the short story first I appreciated their acting even more, because I had a picture of each character in my mind and both Heath and Jake did a better job than I ever expected.
I think too, the director Ang Lee did a great job staying true to the story. He literally put the words to life. I remember watching parts of it and then thinking back to the story and what I had read, and wondering how someone could take a story and put on film so well. I guess finally know why it received so many Academy Award nominations.

Brokeback Mountain

I know that everyone always says the book was better than the movie, but for some reason I am one of those people that will see the movie then decide if I want to read the book. "Brokeback Mountain" is a rare exception for me, I think I might be one of the few people who still have not seen the film "Brokeback Mountain" and I felt like that was a good thing while I was reading the short story the film was based off by Annie Proulx.
All I have to say is talk about depressing. I knew it was a sad story, but I actually found myself frustrated at some points because it was so heartbreaking. Something else I was not prepared for were how graphic Proulx made some of her descriptions. I mean she didn't really leave much to the imagination in couple scenes (probably why it was such a successful film) like when Alma catches Ennis and Jack kissing. I don't want to say it made me uncomfortable, but it wasn't something I enjoyed reading. Sex overall is a very taboo thing to write about, even today in a serious story, and when it comes to two men caught between gay and straight worlds it becomes even more controversial. I got that feeling of awkwardness and embarrassment that you get when you see people doing something you know they shouldn't be, like you feel like you aren't supposed to be there; accept I felt like I wasn't supposed to be reading it.
I excited to watch the film, so I can put names to faces it always gives more meaning to characters. I also am curious to see who was cast as whom between Jake and Heath for Ennis and Jack. I like seeing how actors interpret different characters and situations (which was definitely something new for both of them).

Short Cuts

I love movies! I truly enjoy any movie I watch; the film "Short Cuts" however might be a different story. I think the concept of it was a good idea, but there were just too many story lines (I think seven or eight) for me to keep track of and remember, and all those in turn lead to an extremely long movie. The word overwhelming I think best fits the description I have for "Short Cuts." Long movies can sometimes be difficult for anyone to watch, but when you through in eight diverse stories that's where you run into trouble. Also, the end of the film seems very unsettling, almost like the director just wanted it to be over, but couldn't figure out a way to tie everything together. I think if a few of the stories would have been left out it might have been more enjoyable.
The two Raymond Carver stories we did read that were included in the film stayed pretty true form, which helped when it came to remembering what was happening. I think the fact too that it took a whole week to watch it made it harder for me as a viewer.
The things I liked most about the movie were the actors. I guess that doesn't speak to highly of the film, but it made it more watchable. Robert Downey Jr. is one of my favorite actors, and even in one of his younger roles he is still extremely talanted, quick witted, and hilarious. I thought it was funny also to see some of the actors looking so young, like Julianne Moore, Chris Penn, Frances McDormand, and Peter Gallagher.
In the end I think the theme too was something I didn't agree with, that pretty much everyone drinks, cheats, and lies. It just wasn't a feel good movie, and I know not all movies have happy endings, but this one was just too depressing.

Grigg, Twain, and Checker

I found my three short stories online, all by different writers; one of them I had heard of before, and two were unfamiliar. The first short story I read was entitled "Professor Panini" by Matthew Grigg, the author I didn't recognize. This story is somewhat of a Sci-Fi, Comedy that takes in the year 2023. It's told from the view point of the main character, who is working on a project that will earn him his professorship. His idea is to try and switch a cat and a ducks brain, using a very high tech toaster as the mechanism (hence the reason why I categorized it as Sci-Fi), however in the middle of the experiment the toaster ends up aiming towards the professor. Initially he is excited because his experiment worked, but once he realizes that his brain is in a toaster, and the toaster's "brain" is in his body, the professor panics. He tries everything in order to switch back, and eventually starts a fire in his apartment; the fire department comes and takes him (the toaster) to get fixed. The irony of the story is when he eventually ends up in a restaurant kitchen, where the toaster (his body) is the head cook. I don't usually read stories like this, so I found it pretty interesting. I especially liked how the author brought it all together in the end, and he threw in some much needed comedic relief.
The second story I read was by Mark Twain entitled "The Five Boons of Life." To me it seemed more like a fable than a short story, however it was enjoyable. I think Twain was trying to teach a lesson with this story; he wanted the reader to know the things people may value most in life, pleasure, love, fame, and wealth (he called them the world's gifts) are only temporary, and in the end you end up with the lasting realities pain, grief, shame, and poverty (at least according to him). In the story the main character gets a visit by a fairy who offers him his choice of one of five gifts which are pleasure, love, fame, wealth, and death. She tells him to choose carefully because only one in valuable. Each time he chooses one something bad ends up happening,, until finally he's only left with death, but the fairy already gave it away to a young boy, and tells him he chose to die an old miserable man. I'm not sure if I totally agree with Twain's overall message but I do think that he's right in saying things can't make you happy, you have to make yourself happy. In the end I guess I would rather live a short happy life than a long miserable one.
The last short story I read was called "In the Evenings" by Melissa Checker, the other author I had never heard of before. It was fairly typical dysfunctional family story, and for me, not too exciting. I liked the way Checker wrote the story, it just wasn't something that's never been done before. The title was very appropriate, and really tied the story together, because although you only read about one night, Checker gives you the sense that this kind of thing happens regularly. She based her story around the mother's role in the family, and I felt like the message was if the mom's happy the family is happy, which is definitely true in many families. Overall, like I mentioned it wasn't anything spectacular, but not a boring read.

"The Sky is Gray" by Ernest Gaines

"The Sky is Gray" by Ernest Gaines was a much easier read for me than some of the other short stories like, "Tomorrow," have been. Before reading the story I didn't know who Ernest Gaines was, but as I read I got the feeling that he was a black author writing about a somewhat typical lifestyle of an African American around the time of the Civil Rights Movement. Some of the context clues Gaines gives the reader for the time period are things like placing James and his family in the back of the bus. Also, having James' father not around and because of that his mother has to be both the father and the mother in her son's life.
This short story was centered on the main theme of pride. James' mother was teaching him his gender role, and how to be a proper man in society. For example she yelled at him for his collar being flipped up, and told him he's not a bum and to flip it down. There was also the part when his mother was trying to get him to kill the birds, and it was because she wanted James to know how to take care of things when she's not around. This scene for me seemed a little out there, I understand his mother cares about him, but I feel like having an eight year old boy kill an animal isn't right. I don't think he would be mature enough at that age to fully understand his mother's reasoning. Then when James' aunt has to stop his mother from beating him it made me feel like the beating must have been pretty unnecessary. I guess her being so aggressive during that part could also be her trying to serve as the father figure for James.
Overall I enjoyed reading this short story. I liked how Gaines wrote it in slang to signify to the reader that the narrator is young and not really educated; it put more of a personal touch to his writing.

Tomorrow

The short story entitled "Tomorrow" by William Faulkner has probably been my least favorite of the three short stories that we've read thus far from Adaptations. While reading this piece I felt lost at some points, and I think it was mainly because it seemed like Faulkner kept rambling on with no purpose. The way in which he wrote it too was a bit annoying, to be honest. Uncle Gavin's nephew was the narrator and he began with the story of his Uncle's first trial in which he lost (had a mistrial then an acquittal) due to one man named Jackson Fentry, who wouldn't vote to set a man named Bookwright free for killing another man named Buck Thorpe, and therefore lead to a hung jury trial. From there Uncle Gavin set's out to find out why Mr. Fentry is being so stubborn with his decision. In Faulkner's version the reader learns Fentry's story through his neighbors, the Pruitts, and the son of the the man he used to work at Frenchman's Bend saw milling for named, Isham Quick. So, as a reader you make some inferences as to what may have happened.
In the film the viewer learns Fentry's story through his actual accounts, not from other character's points of view. The writers of the script take their own artistic interpretation as to what may have happened in Fentry's life as far as meeting Sarah, and what kinds of conversations they most likely had.
Overall like I mentioned before this really wasn't one of my favorite short stories. For me it just didn't have very much substance to keep me interested.

Memento - The Film

I truly enjoyed the film "Memento," which I learned was written and directed by Christopher Nolan who is the brother of Jonathon Nolan, the author of the short story in which the film was based. For me, one of the main reasons why I found it so interesting was the way Nolan filmed it, in a backwards type narrative. Like in his brothers short story Christopher had two different story lines, one which was told in black and white and was in chronological order and the other in color and was told in reverse order. In the short story Jonathan had italicized text that represented letters written in the past, and normal text for what was happening in the present. Although Jonathan and Christopher's stories differ a lot, they are both centralized around the main character's disability to create to memories, and the fact that he needs to get revenge for the death of his wife.
The film was kind of like a mystery to me; you're never quite sure what characters to trust. The big mystery for me the whole movie was weather or not "Teddy" was a good guy. Seeing Leonard kill Teddy in the beginning of the movie makes you as a viewer place him in the "bad guy" category, however as the film unfolds you find out he's only trying help. He reveals to "Lenny" at the end of the movie that he (Lenny) already killed John G. (the man who he thinks raped and killed his wife) a year ago, but Lenny convinces himself otherwise because he needs to have a purpose in his life. Lenny makes up a story about a man named Sammy Jankis in order to explain to himself that conditioning someone for memories doesn't work. In reality Lenny also made up this story so he could "remember to forget" he was the person responsible for his wife's death.

Heroic Fatalism

After reading the article on heroic fatalism I definitely thought differently of Hemingway's character Ole Andreson in the short story "The Killers." Initially I never thougth of someone who was so briefly in the story to ultimately have the role of being a hero but the article helped with further incite into Ole Andreson. I liked the fact that Hemingway's inspiration for Ole Andreson was included in this piece of writing. It helped me imagine the type of trouble Andreson "got in wrong" and lead to a new understanding of why Andreson was so accepting of his own death. This particular piece was helpful too because as a reader you learn more about the character Nick Adams, and how his short story "The Killers" signaled a change in his life from adolescence to adulthood. Another interesting fact I learned was "The Killers," like many of Hemingway's stories was much more reliant on character development rather than a very detailed setting description. Personally I like having a specific setting, because I can try to imagine myself in that location, but that wasn't Hemingway's style.
Later the article had much more focus on the three films that have been based on "The Killers." Only being able to view the beginning of two of the films in class made me wonder where each plot line was going to end up because they were done so differently; the essay assisted in other explanations for all three films. The article, in addition, offered several explanations for lingering questions that I, as a reader, had after reading Hemingway's short story. For instance, even though you never actually see Max and Al kill Ole Andreson in Hemingway's version, it assumed; but in order to make a film Andreson's death had to be the starting point of a deeper story line. The third version, was the one I found least appealing. It was so different from Hemingway's story I didn't know why the film even bothered to have the title as "Ernest Hemingway's The Killers." However I learned from the article the importance of attaching the authors name to the title especially an author like Hemingway.

Memento Mori by Jonathan Nolan

I took Latin in high school for two years, and in reading the title "Memento Mori" I immediately remembered the word "mori" had something to do with death; so that's what I imagined the short story, by Jonathan Nolan, would be based on. Then when I finished, I looked up the literal translation and it is a Latin phrase that means "be mindful of death" or could be translated as "remember that you are mortal." This is a short story about a man named Earl with a disease he calls "backwards amnesia," which means his brain cannot make new memories. Earl calls himself "the ten minute man" because that's usually how long he can hold onto a memory. Nolan never says what happened to cause Earl's head injury and his wife's death explicitly in the story but as a reader you assume they were probably attacked. Through out the story Earl has to leave himself notes, lists, even get tattoos in order to help him remember his main purpose in life is to find and kill the man who is responsible for his wife's death, because according the half of Earl that remembers situations his "life is over" he's "a dead man." Earl comes back to the theme of death over and over, and how time no longer affects him. He says at the end time for him means nothing, and the moment is the only thing that matters because that's all he has, which is why I think that the title "Memento Mori" is very fitting.
I truly enjoyed the way in which Nolan wrote this short story. It was very descriptive, especially when Earl is writing the letters; it kind of made me feel like the letters were written to me. Nolan forced me to think critically about the way we view time, I honestly didn't really think about which of the three ways I viewed time prior to reading this short story. I guess I am the type of person who lives in the safety of the moment after the moment in which I felt something powerful. I'm someone who lives in the here and now, and that has had it's advantages and disadvantages for me in the past.

The Killers

When I began reading The Killers I was initially somewhat confused, because there were a lot characters introduced right off the bat. It also seemed confusing due to the fact that it's mostly dialogue and one of the main characters didn't have a name for part of the story (the reader later finds out his name is Max). The story beings with two criminals Al, and Max who enter a restaurant and start to cause problems for one of the men working named George. Max ends up telling George they are there to kill a fighter named Ole Andreson, who supposedly eats at "Henry's Lunch-Room" every night. Ole Andreson never shows up, and another man, Nick Adams, decides he is going to warn Andreson about what happened. When Adams arrives at Andreson's home and tells him the situation Andreson's reaction is strange; he didn't seem to care at all, and it was like he already knew. I didn't particularly enjoy The Killers; it was kind-of boring. I wanted to know why Ole Andreson was wanted dead, and why he didn't seem concerned. Something else I found puzzling was at the end of the story when Nick Adams was leaving Ole Andreson's house and talking with the woman who he thought was Mrs. Hirsch, but she was actually Mrs. Bell. I didn't understand why Hemingway would have bothered with telling the reader Mrs. Bell's name in the first place, because in the end it seemed to have no significance. For me personally watching both the films was a more effective way for this short story to be told.