Carter: Patriot Game vs Devil's Own

     In hindsight I think both of the film support the Antagonist approach to a way of life even though it is deviant in its own right. The antagonist actions are clearly confirmed as wrong through the two movies but their motives for completing these actions are sought out and justified on their side of the story. I believe that both movies do a great job in expelling the motives on both sides of the story, this being the Antagonist and Protagonist in the respective movies.
     The Devil's own features an Antagonist that has been committing crimes for years in Ireland, he now wants to move his activities to America and has just been presented with a chance. This is when he moves in with Harrison Ford's character Tom O'Meara, who is a cop himself, Rory becomes very close with the family immediately. His actions are still underway as a criminal but this is not affecting his relationship with the family which the head of house hold is a cop. In my opinion the movie begins to frame our attitude toward Rory when they are showing the relationship between him and his best friend along with how he interacts with Tom's family. They begin to paint him as a loyal character to the people who he surrounds himself with no matter the background. When the home is attacked and he comes back looking for the money the Camera Proxemics show how genuine he truly is, the camera is fix directly on him in a Personal angel, and the Density is highly detailed. He then begins to tell Tom that he doesn't want to cause the family anymore pain he just needs the money and will be out of their way, showing some appreciation for what they have done for him. The director has created a sense of emotional attachment to Rory as he's trying to do everything he can to get his best friend back.

     The Patriot games showed a sympathy for the killers also as the first couple of scenes open with Harrison Ford's character Jack Ryan saving the royal family from a designated killing on their lives. This results in him shooting and killing one of the perpetrators brother which in the end would persue Jack for the entirety of the movie trying to avenge the death of his brother. Sean Miller presented Jack with the news that he had killed his brother and that he intended to repay the debt when they were in court for his conviction. While exiting the court Jack and Sean have a quick conversation in which the camera proxemics were personal as they were about two feet away from each other, in this scene Sean tells Jack that he will be coming after him. The angle of the scene also interested me as Sean who was on trial for the attacking of the Royal family was looking down on Jack so the camera was above Sean. This could be taking as his journey to avenge his brothers life as justified somewhat. The director creates or attempts to create an outlet for sympathy as he has also lost something dear to him in the midst of this violence.

Carter: Presumed innocence

Presumed Innocent is a 1990 film that stars Harrison Ford as Rusty Sabich, who is accused of murdering a colleague of his. The reason for this is because there has been undisputed evidence against him that directly point to him as the perp. Rusty Sabich claims he has been framed and begins to investigate the crime to prove his own innocence. Throughout the movie it isn't clear whether or not Sabich is not guilty until the very end where it is revealed, his wife is the one who has committed the crime and planned to frame him for it.

The first scene that shows Sabich himself and the people around him may be in risky business is when his boss admits he has had sexual relations with Caroline the “rape victim” in his first case. After they exit the building down the stairs and have a couple more words. The lighting in the room is very dark and some of the last words spoken of Rusty were “Let's just see what the future holds” this is very much foreshadowing cause for Rusty the worst was yet to come.

The second scene that brings Sabich’s innocence into doubt is the scene that features him being accused. Sabich is very surprised at the accusation and begins to even doubt himself, his innocence has become into question to him also. Sabich next actions didn't help his case as he verbally attacks the person who has confirmed he is the one who in fact committed the murder. Sabich is seen as larger than every other thing in this scene which aims to make him look inferior to everything. The camera shot has done this, the angle of the shot looks up at Sabich as he continues to go off.

 After Sabich is found innocent, he finds the weapon used in the crime in his household. Sabich examines the weapon and proceeds to enter the house, this was a very costly mistake that could very well prove that he is guilty. The tight frame focused on his face also reveals this conclusion. I would call the lighting in the scene is fairly dark which could make the audience believe that Sabich has hid the weapon and committed the crime. 

Carter- The Fugitive

     In the movie "the fugitive" Richard Kimble is falsely accused for the murder of his wife by the Chicago Police Department. When he returns home he fights with perp before the man escapes from the house, Kimble then attends to his wife who is laying on the floor dying. Once Kimble is convicted of killing his wife he escapes the transportation bus in route to the jail as it crashes, this is when Kimble is presented with his second chance to prove his innocence. 

      One scene in the movie that stood out to me as Richard Kimble escaping the carnage and proving his innocence involved him being pursued by the cops at his new apartment. When the cops seem to be coming for him invading the property the landlord son is actually the person they are chasing. Kimble starts to see the end of his run near, as he run from room to room he eventually looks out the window to see that he wasn't in fact the person the cops were pursing. This shows his innocence being reinforced during the calamity as he escapes a very close call. This also shows Kimble's innocence as it seemed fate was in his hands throughout the movie besides being wrongfully accused from the beginning. 

     This is not the only scene in which Kimble escapes a jail cell again, he also saves a child in the hospital he was working at as a janitor to find the man with the prostectic limb, shortly after a doctor recognizes what he has down and proceeds to call the cops. Kimble still escapes this near encounter with the cops even though they had the building surrounded for other reasons, these close calls ending with Kimble escaping every time just reinforced his innocence throughout the movie 

Carter- Mosquito Coast

In the film Mosquito Coast Harrison Ford (Allie) definitely takes the position of acting against type in terms of the role Harrison Ford usually plays in his movies. Allie ventures into fanaticism an in my opinion destroys his family for many years before he passes away. In the first part of the movie Allie shows signs of fanaticism or widely excessive devotion by dragging his family from the city to Jeronumo. Once he and his family arrives Allie immediately begins to praise this piece of land claiming it was "perfect and everything they needed" the look on his wife and kids face once they make it to the site explains it all. They were surprised and somewhat disappointed with this "paradise" Allie had been promoting. This was a very different setting from which they were use to and drastic change, the land wasn't fit for them to live by the standards they had lived by in the past but Allie loved it. This is the beginning of a rocky road for Allie's family, he didn't realize such feelings because he was so caught up in his own goals which was to start a civilization from scratch free of unnecessary items needed to live. The neglect ion of his family feelings was only the beginning of his downfall.

The second act of the movie shows great progress in Allie's vision to start from scratch and turn the jungle into somewhat of a desirable place as the construction of his civilization came to fruition. This lasted all the way up until Allie decided to construct an air conditioner/ ice maker, once Allie was successful in creating the machine he begin to become even more crazed with the thought that they needed no one else. The ice became somewhat of a business, Allie and his sons were caught in a situation with one of the tribes in which he tried to bargain with the ice he was able to make. This caused huge problems for Allie and his family because the men he thought could be trusted turned out to be the ones who would eventually hold his family hostage. It's ironic that the indians he was trying to exploit with ice, led to him being exploited himself. Allie began to think of himself as a God I believe, neglecting the catholic religion and claiming he came to the jungle to build a civilization stating "that's why I came" one the ice maker was finished. Allie thought he was doing everyone justice and that they should be grateful when in reality he was destroying the jungle, not only did he destroy the jungle but also his family bringing his son in on his attempt to kill the hunters by locking them in the freezer. This is his second step into fanaticism in my opinion.

Act three shows Allie has really lost his mind after blowing up his first site, he drags his family on to another island to rebuild "civilization". At this point he doesn't listen to anybody's concerns and is only out to prove to himself that he can produce what has eluded many nations (substantial civilization. Despite concerns from Mr. Haddy about how close he built their campsite Allie did not listen which led to his demise. After the storm Allie turned towards hatred and jealousy, burning down the church of Mr. Polski which led to his death. His already devastated family from the previous events were now left to fend for them selves in Africa, everything that went wrong was because of Allie's irrational devotion to being a creator of civilization himself. 

Carter- Witness

John Book's time in the Amish community changed him in many ways, the movie showed his growth as a person, beliefs and his actions. John initial change after joining the Amish community is his self centered outlook on life to actually caring for others, the death of his close friend and partner really was the straw that broke the camel back in a sense. Earlier in the movie Book was also injured and the Amish family took care of him, attending to his wounds when he awoke he realized there was more to life than only looking out for oneself.
The next change in Book's character deal with his response to authority, he shows some understanding of authority after he has joined the Amish community and realizes following rules is more important than personal pleasure. The first problem with authority is shown early on in the movie when Book arrest a black man out of a bar and basically commits police brutality. This scene showed that he would do anything to accomplish his personal goals even if it involved getting his hands dirty. This changes in the movie slightly, when he is presented with the opportunity to have a sexual encounter with rachel, he shows restraint because of the rules the Amish have even though she was willing. This is much different from early on in the movie when he had no respect for the rules, allowing the son to play with the empty gun and making out with Rachel in earlier scenes.
The third change Book showed in "Witness" is abrupt change in violence, in philly that was all he knew growing up and this showed throughout the movie as he continued his violent acts even after living with the Amish. The reason why the town was found is because he made a commotion that led to his whereabout being reported to the police, the change came close to the end when he tells Schaeffer that is was "ENOUGH!". Book at this point was fed up with the violent lifestyle that has only caused him pain. He then rips the gun out of Schaeffer hand and arrested him. This showed a very important character trait that was finally reversed for a positive effect.

The one thing that doesn't change throughout the movie in my opinion is Book's ambition or drive, even though he was safe living basically a second life with the Amish community he never forgot the goal. This was always a job to Book in the end, I believe this is also the reason he didn't stay and become a family with Rachel. Many believed him joining the Amish community was the clear cut choice especially after the relationships he developed but he was always focused on solving the case and bringing the right people to justice.

Carter: Blade Runner Blog

The Blade Runner (1982) film was produced with a voice over track because the producers of the movie didn't believe that the audience would be able to follow along with the movie. The voice over sets up the scenes and fills in any wrong interpretations the audience may developed from what the directors wanted to convey. The voice over also explains the thought of Deckard's while he questions the androids and the way he interprets the various statements made towards him. The voice over doesn’t really have a positive affect on the film in my opinion, the voice over just becomes annoying and confusing throughout sections of the movie. The thematic message of the film is clearly stated though, at the end of the movie, the thoughts of Deckard. Deckard questions the true meaning of life, comparing his beliefs to the ones of the replicants and Roy Batty's conversation at the end of the movie. The narrating of the movie is effective in telling the audience what the author was aiming to do, without it I do believe the audience would be loss. The reason being is that the movie wasn't done very well, this is the reason for the Director's cut being released short afterwards. The thematic message of the film slightly differed from the book but still followed the theme of the book very loosely.

  

DeJuan- Androids Blog

         In the essay by Michael Heilemann on the analysis of the book “Do Androids dream of Electric Sheep and Blade runner” he claims that “Mercer is also for mankind a way to separate themselves from the androids, seeing as their lack of empathy disables them from using the empathy box.” (Heilemann, 8). I personally disagree with this statement I believe that the use of the empathy box actually ties the relationship between the humans and androids even closer. This use of the box shows that the “humans” don't in fact show characteristics of a real humans which I think empathy is included in the package. The use of this box shows that their emotions are not genuine at all and are just programmed feelings, how is this different at all from an android? Surely the programing of a certain action or “feeling” could be applied to the android system, which would make distinguishing between the two impossible.

           Mercerism doesn't accomplish what it is intended to do, which is prove that the people on earth are human, it actually destroys the reliability of this claim because they are being controlled by a system. In reality they are machines themselves, which is an apparatus using or applying mechanical power and having parts, each with a definite function and together performing a particular task. The Mercer empathy box constitutes and supports the “Humans” on earth in many ways are androids themselves.

           

Deckard shows how manipulative the machine is and how much they depend on the empathy box early in the book when arguing with his wife. Deckard is lost without the empathy box as he has no answer for his wife's sour mood. The text says he began “Examining the schedule for January 3, 1992, he saw that a businesslike professional attitude was called for.” (Dick,3). This shows that these so called humans are using the empathy box to separate themselves from being androids but are merely puppets or machines. Buster friendly outing Mercer as a fake towards the end of the book also supports this claim, Mercer also confirms he is a fraud saying “I am a fraud, they’re sincere; their research is genuine. From their standpoint, I am a retired bit player named Al Jarry.” (Dick, 214). This shows that the “Humans” were not using what they thought as real emotions of someones hardship experience but were only being programed to feel or act a certain way, calling this a show of empathy.

Works Cited

Dick, Philip K. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? New York: Ballantine, 

            1996. Print.

Heilemann, Michael. “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep and Blade Runner”. 2001. Blackboard. Web. 13 Mar 2014.

Carter- Temptations of the Dark Side

There are many temptations along the movies of the Trilogy, The attraction of the Dark is a increase of power promised, and that the empire is being over thrown. The decision to join the Dark Side could seem appealing to characters depending on their situation. One example of this is Lando deciding to betray his long friend Solo, when Solo and the crew make it to Bespin, Darth vader arrives to bespin and threatens to take over unless lando tells the whereabouts of Solo. Calrissian is put in a horrible situation, the people of Bespin or his best friend, betraying his old friend Han Solo and turning him over to Boba Fett seemed to be his only choice. Unwilling to leave the city in the hands of the Empire, Calrissian reluctantly does so, but his conscience gets the better of him when Vader doesn't honor their deal and takes the whole crew as prisoners.

Luke is also tempted by the dark force when he faces his father Darth Vader in a battle on Cloud City. The two showcase their light Saber abilities in a duel between good and evil. The climax of this battle is Luke losing his light saber and failing to defeat Vader. Vader then invites Luke to join the Dark side with him and rule the empire as Father and son. Luke loses his hand in this battle, which handicaps him, leaving him without the power of the force in the process. Luke is faced with the decision of joining the Dark Force or death at this point but he escapes through the an air shaft that allows him to cling for his life to an antenna and eventually be saved by his comrades. The force was not victorious in this battle as they were able to sway Lando into betraying the empire.  

The third temptation of the dark side is the in the Original Trilogy when Han Solo loyalty doesn't lie with the Empire quite yet. Solo agrees to help Obi- Wan and Luke reach Alderan for the big pay off, once the crew realize that Alderan is destroy Solo sticks around to rescue Princess Leia from Death Star. The reason why Solo is still present is because he is promised even a greater reward for his services, once the task is complete Han Solo doesn't stick around. Han collects his reward and seems to leave back for his home land, this was a hit to the Empires moral in terms of Luke and Leia who believed he would stay. The mission to recapture the galaxy for the good of her People didn't stop there, the Empire decided to attack Death Star. Luke joins the flightier pilots in this mission to destroy Death Star. However, Solo has a change of heart and returns to save Luke's life during the mission, which was on the verve of becoming a filed operation. Han Solo return to action ultimately enables Luke to destroy the Death Star.

Carter - Week 4 post

This post will cover who I believe to be the Campbell Hero, based off the outline he constructed. I do believe the Hero in the Trilogy to be Luke Skywalker. The three stages Campbell uses to describe the path of a Hero is the departure, Initiation, and return. I believe Luke experienced a stage of all three.

Departure- "The Call to adventure" is defined as the part of the movie that signifies that destiny has summoned the hero and transferred his spiritual center of gravity from within the pale of his society to a zone unknown (Campbell, p.58). The part of this trilogy that clearly represents this to me, is when Luke's only family is killed in the first Star Wars movie. Luke is returning from meeting Obi- Wan at this time when he returns to his home destroyed. Luke decides that there is nothing left for him there and his destiny is to join and help the Empire regain control and explore the origins of his roots. 

Initiation (The Road of Trials) - This part of the movie according to Campbell is "Once having traversed the threshold, the hero moves in a dream landscape of curiously fluid, ambiguous forms, where he must survive a succession of trials (Campbell, 97). This is represented in the first movie of the trilogy as Luke must go through many trials to save Princess Leia from Darth Vader's grasp on his base station. One scene that also signifies the belly of the beast is when Luke, Solo, and Leia are trapped in the garbage shoot. This is also shown in the second movie when Luke begins to train with Yoda and takes a leap into exponential power of the "Force". This can be seen as the area of a "dream landscape of curiosity fluid" which is also covered in this section. 

Return (Rescue Without) - Campbell believes the Hero will need some sort of help from an outside source for his return or triumph to be completed. The Third movie in the star wars Trilogy is a clear example of this. Luke is dueling against his father and loses his light saber, Darth Vader tries to get Luke to join him at this moment. Luke who looks to be doomed, chooses instead to throw himself down the air shaft. He slides through a tube system and is ejected but catches onto an antenna under the floating city. He makes a desperate telepathic plea to Leia, who senses it and persuades Lando to return for him. 

I believe Luke to be a Civic Hero which Campbell describes as imbedded in the community. He participates fully in it, not seeking higher spiritual powers. He is content to live in the world. Often the civic hero’s journey is a movement from focus on self to focus on the community he serves.

Carter- Second Post

The step I am choosing to analyze is the "initiation". The stage in specific is, "The Road of Trials", this is described as the main character being caught in a dream landscape of curiosity fluid, ambiguous form, where he must survive a succession of trials. I believe the Hero to be Luke thus far in the Star Wars movies, not so much of Han Solo. Luke has faced many trials throughout the first movie the first being the loss of his aunt and uncle. This was a clear moment that tested Luke as a character and his focus on what was really important in his life. This scene is when he had to decide whether to avenge his family members death and join the "Force" or turn into the hermit of the story due to the morning of their death. This overall is a part of the big picture, that deals with Luke learning about his true origins and how significant he is to the "Force" history, and reclaiming control from Darth Vader.

The second scenes that support the "initiation" stage dealing with Luke is when they are trying to free princess Leia from her cell block. The attempt to save Princess Leia led them in and out of danger, one scene when everything seemed to be over is the garbage shoot. The characters were stuck inside the shoot while it continued to enclose on them which would eventually lead to their death. The problem is solved by Luke being able to get in touch with R2-D2 to shut the system down which led to them freeing princess Leia. This is another scene where trials where put in place to measure the worthiness of Luke as a hero.

The "Road of Trials" also states the Hero discovers for the first time that there is a benign power everywhere supporting him in his superhuman passage. (p. 97). I believe this to be when Luke starts to receive telepathic messages from Obi- Wan Kenobi as he is flying the fighter jet to destroy the battle station. This is a clear development of Benign power being bestowed upon Luke at this time, his support is at an all time high which allows him to complete the task at hand. The "Force" was very strong as Darth Vader stated as he chased behind Luke trying to destroy his jet.