Big Mouth

For my last post, I'll be writing to my old friend, you know who you are. The show I picked to write to you with is only fitting, as we were only 6th and 7th graders upon meeting one another. Things have changed since those days, and I can only hope that as we grow older, we may at least stay in touch and talk every so often. We've both changed a lot, and this show takes me back to the days before we grew up. I hope you enjoy my dedication to you, as I talk about one of the weirder shows I've seen. So, for this week, I watched a seemingly cute cartoon that everyone has been telling me I have to watch. That show is one of Netflix's newest originals, Big Mouth. The show centers around two middle school kids, Nick and Andrew. They're best friends that have just entered their years of starting puberty. The same as you and I when we had met. Man, what an awful time that was for us both. Nick and Andrew, just from the pilot episode, are already dealing with their emotions, hormones, and relationships. The first episode involved a middle school dance, and we all remember how those went--awfully. This might just be me, but I thought that part of the episode was incredibly unrealistic. How did one middle school kid simply approach another and ask them to dance? I would've been so awkward, face gone red, and would never be able to face them again. Also the fact that two friends just kissed each other and played it off cool? Wow. There’s no way I could’ve. Before the dance though, the two friends got in a fight, all based off their changing emotions and not having much control of how they feel. It reminded me of all those dumb fights we had, being insecure teenangers. There are occasional times I miss the simpler life, stressing out over the dumbest projects, a time when our grades didn’t really matter for much. Now we’re here, completely different people, figuring out where we stand in the world. In any case, I’m proud of where both of us stand. I’m also happy with the fact we never accidentally saw each other naked, prompting a week's worth of awkward confrontation with each other. I’m proud of the person you’ve discovered yourself to be, by the way. You seem to be figuring things out better than I am, even though I’m the older one. I guess that’s just a part of growing up. If you decide to check out the show, for sure let me know! I bet we’ll be able to laugh at the same scenes together and relate all their adventures back to our own lives. Let me know wherever you end up, don’t you forget about me little duck!

Stranger Things

     Ah yes, Stranger Things. October 2016 as well as October this year seemed to have a backdrop of Stranger Things aesthetic. Around the release dates, most conversations that the average person has drift to the popular show for at least a few fleeting seconds. The hype surrounding this show is insane. Musicians have merchandise that incorporate scenes and memorable lines into their own lyrics and logos. Twitter, Tumblr, and other social media sites are permeated with reactionary GIF sets of scenes from Stranger Things. When I went and saw 1990’s pop-punk trio blink-182 earlier this year, the Stranger Things intro song played as the middle-aged musicians took their places on stage. Considering all of these things, it’s hard not to see the impact that this Netflix show has had on modern American culture.

    One of the many things to love about this sci-fi is the nostalgia. This factor gives the show an edge that appeals to a more broad span of viewers. For those who are over the age of 30, this provides an opportunity to remember that time with the different pop culture references to things like Ghostbusters, arcades, and the 1984 presidential election. For viewers under the age of 30, it provides insight into a time so different from what we’re used to, and (for me at least), the sheer fascination factors into our viewership.

    Continuing on the topic of age, another cause of mass interest in the show stems from the main actors. In times like these, it’s hard to remember that there are pure and wholesome people and things happening. The kids in the show serve as an example for many viewers. They represent a time in all of our lives where things were more simple, when we had energy to go on adventures and an imagination that hasn’t yet been muddied by the harsh realities of the world. In this way, Stranger Things offers a second form of nostalgia that everyone can relate to.

    Reaching back to an article that appeared on one of our weekly reading lists about how television is dead and so is national bonding, Stranger Things is a perfect example of how that’s somewhat far from the truth. The type of union that this show, as well as other Netflix originals, such as Ozark have brought about are very noteworthy. These shows give us all something to bond over, whether or not someone has seen the show in question and whether or not they even liked it. In a time as divided and war-like as 2017, it’s nice to have something neutral and lighthearted to discuss and engage in.

    These are the reasons why I like this show. While I personally don’t believe that it’s the greatest show ever or the best show that I’ve ever seen or even the best show that I’ve seen this month, I think that it does a spectacular job in not only storytelling, but also in uniting people.

Stick To Your Guns: Godless

The Wild West. Long cuts of orange landscapes. A disillusioned law man who has seen too much hurt. A morally ambiguous lone outlaw. Wise elderly native americans, and a powerful gang that holds sway in town. Does this sound familiar? It oughta! These are the familiar archetypes of the western. All of these tropes and more can be found in Godless. Boy, I feel a bad wind blowing through this here blog post.

Frank Griffin is the leader of a ruthless gang what lynched the entirety of the town over. The brutal nature of this attack isn’t played down in the slightest; a small boy is shown swinging in the dry breeze, hanged by his thin child’s neck. This view is seen by our sheriff who looks hauntedly up at the boy, alone in a now ghost town. Roy Goode is the lone outlaw what double crossed Griffin and holed up in La Belle, the town our show takes place in.

A major plot point of the show is that this town is populated nearly entirely by women, as the men all died in a mining accident. This fact is advertised in Netflix’s description of the show. Despite this, the first episode’s narrative manages to be driven by exclusively the happenings of the few men. I appreciate that the “woman-town” gimmick isn’t played up to the extreme, but I am surprised at how man centric the plot is. Being that it is 2017, I expected that a show about a town of women would feature more important strong female roles. So far, the multitude of women have been support characters to the men.

Griffin storms the town church and tells all of its patrons that, for the love of god, they had better not be hiding Roy Goode. Lest the town be razed to the ground. Goode is taken in by a woman and her child, to whom he is very gentle and kind. She doesn’t know who he is. However, we find out that he has killed at least a dozen men. I love this. There is so much appeal in a character who is more complex than right and wrong.

From the first episode, conflict is coming to a tee. A shoot out approaches. Goode admits who he is to the law, despite this meaning his inevitable hanging, for protection from Griffin. The sheriff tracks down available gunmen to side with the law, as Griffin is out for revenge. And blood.

Suffice it to say Godless isn’t doing anything new with it’s narrative. Its derivative, and it certainly colors in the lines it sets out for itself. It knows what genre it is going for. It paints an entertaining adventure despite the fact that it’s paint by numbers. In fact, the surety that the show has in its direction allows it to execute these well-worn tropes very effectively. In a time when every show is attempting to brandish a flashy new gimmick on otherwise used up plots, an honest return to form is comforting and welcome. Godless, like its gritty lead characters, sticks to its guns.

On Longmire

This weeks blog post is going to be focusing of Netflix's original (originally from A&E Network) series Longmire. This series focuses on a small time sheriff for Absaroka County, Wyoming. The show takes an interesting spin on a small law-enforcement style show. Though not originally a Netflix series the show does have many makings of Netflix series.

Letter to my grandmother

Cháu chào bà ạ,
Bà vẫn khỏe chứ ạ? Cháu ở bên này vẫn khỏe bà ạ. Cháu làm quen được nhiều bạn mới và đã dần quen với cách học tập ở bên này rồi nên bà đừng lo bà nhé. Về ăn uống, thức ăn bên dù hơi khó ăn mấy hôm đầu nhưng cháu cx bắt đầu cảm thấy là mình có thể ăn được nó trong vòng 4 năm tới rồi ạ (thực ra cháu thèm đồ Việt Nam lắm rồi bà ạ). Bà ơi, cháu biết là hơi đường đột, vì so với ở nhà mình, bên này có nhiều cái mới lắm ạ, nhưng hôm nay cháu sẽ viết cho bà một bài blog về một bộ phim trên một trang web tên là Netflix bà nhé. Vì hồi xưa cháu rất thích xem phim hoạt hình với bà nên hôm nay cháu sẽ viết về một bộ phim hoạt hình để so sánh sự khác biệt giữa phim của mình và phim của Mỹ bà nhé.

Hôm nay, cháu sẽ chọn viết về bộ phim “How to train your dragon” bà nhé. Điều khác biệt thứ nhất giữa bộ phim này với hầu hết tất cả các bộ phim hoạt hình ở Việt Nam đó là hiệu ứng hình ảnh bà ạ. Cháu phải nói là dù là phim hoạt hình nhưng cái cách mà các nhà làm phim tạo hình các nhân vật thì không khác gì người thật bà ạ. So với phim Việt Nam, vẫn còn gượng gạo ở những nét vẽ góc cạnh và không lột tả hết được cảm xúc của khuôn mặt, thì đúng là phim Mỹ đã tiến bộ vượt bậc bà ạ. Thêm nữa, cháu phải công nhận là họ rất giỏi trong việc dùng máy tính để tạo nên các cử động của các nhân vật bà ạ. Các nhân vật cử động không khác gì người thật luôn ạ: động tác uyển chuyển, nét mặt thể hiện rõ từng cảm xúc. Trong khi hoạt hình hồi xưa cháu với bà hay xem thì cử động của các nhân vật rất thô cứng, cứ như là các nhà làm phim vẽ từng hành động ra những tờ giấy rồi lật từng trang với một tốc độ rất nhanh. Ngoài ra cảm xúc của các nhân vật hoạt hình hồi xưa cháu xem nhiều cháu chả biết là họ vui hay họ buồn nữa ạ. Cháu chỉ có thể nhận ra khi những cảm xúc ấy kết hợp cùng với âm thanh như là buồn sẽ có tiếng khóc hoặc là vui sẽ có tiếng cười ý ạ.

Cái thứ hai đó chính là hiệu ứng âm thanh bà ạ. Nhớ cái thời mà hồi xưa hai bà cháu ngồi xem phim hoạt hình với nhau, điều cháu thấy đặc biệt, ngoài hiệu ứng hình ảnh như cháu nói ở trên, ở tất cả các phim hoạt hình hồi đó đều chỉ có một bài nhạc xuyên suốt cả bộ phim. Ngoài một bản nhạc ấy ra, thì phim hoạt hình thời ấy còn có cả những hiệu ứng âm thanh hỗ trợ cho hành động của các nhân vật, nhưng những âm thanh ấy bây giờ cháu xem lại thì quá thật nó hơi đơn giản và không thể hấp dẫn được người xem. Trong phim “How to train your dragon”, cháu chỉ có thể nói một điều là tuyệt vời. Bộ phim ấy không chỉ dùng một bài nhạc mà nó có rất nhiều bài hát dùng trong các hoàn cảnh khác nhau. Ví dụ như trong những cảnh huyền ảo và ma mị, một bài nhạc mang tính chất rùng rợn, sợ hãi sẽ đc nổi lên khiến cho người xem cảm thấy hơi rợn tóc gáy. Hơn thế nữa, xuyên suốt trong cảnh đánh nhau, một bản nhạc hùng tráng, dồn dập, và sôi động sẽ đi kèm để tăng thêm tính kịch tính cho các pha hành động trong phim. Nếu mà cháu được xem những bộ phim kiểu như thế khi cháu còn bé thì chắc chắn là cháu sẽ rất háo hức khi xem những đoạn có hành động bà ạ.

Bà ơi, cháu sẽ kết bài ở đây thôi ạ. Cuối cùng thì, phim hoạt hình ở nước mình có lẽ phải học tập rất nhiều ở phim hoạt hình của Mỹ ạ. Chỉ có như vậy thì hoạt hình ở nước mình mới có thể phát triển và thu hút được nhiều người xem bà ạ. Bà đừng lo cho cháu bà nhé vì ở bên này cháu đang sống rất tốt bà ạ. Cháu chúc bà luôn mạnh khỏe và luôn sống vui vẻ bà nhé. Đến hè năm sau cháu sẽ lại về chơi với bà ạ. Cháu chào bà.

Dark and Sound

Throughout Netflix's TV drama, Dark, the creators intentionally utilized sounds and music to convey emotion and foreboding events.  There are several examples where the music indicated that events were connected in one way or another or that the on-screen shot contained something important for the plot or for the viewer.  Dark makes extensive use of sliding orchestral and string music to indicate different aspects of the show or of a particular shot.  In some shots, the music was used to introduce a new unknown character, which increased tension.  When new details were uncovered or something was revealed to a main character, the music used was also indicative of that moment.   Lastly, it should be noted that the absence of music and the use of ambient noises were also used during specific moments in the first episode.  What can be heard by the viewers allows the show to experience more than just the visual aspect of media.

Looking at Movies thoroughly describes sound and how it is used in film. First, sound is described in three different qualities, those being pitch, quality, and loudness.  The texts describes pitch in that it “...can be high (like the screech of tires on pavement), low (like the rumble of a boulder barreling downhill), or somewhere between these extremes” (Barsam 394).  In Dark, high pitch sounds during eerie moments are common, as well as low bass indicating an ominous presence.  As for loudness the text continues with “...filmmakers sometimes use the extreme (near silence or shocking loudness) to signal something important or to complement the overall mood and tone of a scene” (394).  Apart from music, Dark uses the loudness of certain sounds to indicate an unknown force that has yet to be discovered.  In one particular shot, the opening to a cave in the forest is shown and for a quick moment, an extremely loud sound is heard, as if it came from an unknown creature inside the cave.  Both pitch and quality are used in Dark during specific moments in the show.

Regarding several moments when music is used to convey information, Dark extensively uses it to convey that ominous forces are at work and to build tension.  Early in the first episode, when the main character arrived at school, he was seen receiving stares from his peers.  As this happened, the music that was played conveyed that the main character’s past is known to others and that they do not think the best of him.  Later, while explaining the disappearance of another character in the show, sliding music begins to play.  The sliding string orchestra could indicate that something terrible happened to the missing character.  Continuing, there are two separate shots that present the same unknown character, an older man repeating, “It’s going to happen again”.  Clearly, this person knows of some horrible event in the past and that it will probably occur again.  In addition, this foreboding event most likely has something to do with the disappearance of one of the characters. During this point in the show, the same sliding string music plays, further consolidating the feeling that something awful is going to happen.  Although some music repeats, it allows for the viewer to continue to associate separate shots with one another, connecting them.  

Barsam, Richard and Dave Monahan. Looking at Movies. 4th ed. W.W. Norton & Company. 2012.

Castlevania: A Surprisingly Good Video Game Adaptation

When discussing adapting video games into either movies or television, it is unavoidable to bring up the past and how most adaptations of these are either bad or downright awful. This is mainly a trend when it comes to films as there really haven't been many tv shows based on video games. Because of that, when I heard that Netflix was producing an animated Castlevania show, I can't say that I had overly high expectations. For anyone who has never played a Castlevania game (no judging), it is a games series that was at its highest in popularity from the late 80s to the mid 90s that follows a member of the Belmont family, renown for their vampire hunting, as they attempt to kill the Prince of Darkness himself, Dracula. It's a great idea for a fantasy movie or show that I had always hoped would be adapted at some point. Recently, however, it became clear that in this state of cinema, Castlevania wouldn't succeed. Last year saw the failure of four highly anticipated video game adaptations in Warcraft, Assassin's Creed, The Angry Birds Movie, and Ratchet & Clank. Honestly, it was starting to look like we would never see a quality video game adaptation on the big screen. 2016 was supposed to be the year that finally broke the video game curse, but instead just added fuel to the ever-growing fire. While Castlevania might not be the big screen smash hit to break this curse, it is a small screen wonder that gives a little hope for the future of these adaptations.
So what is it that makes this show so good? I could drone on and on about good editing and solid storytelling, but instead I'm going to focus on the the big strength of the show that I haven't seen from a single video game adaptation yet: solid, well-rounded characters. It is undeniable how great the writers and voice actors did at crafting these beloved characters, making them three dimensional and quite likable. Trevor Belmont, our main hero, is a character that can be done very wrong very fast by making him pompous, melodramatic, or moody. Thankfully, he is a strong central lead to the series that the audience wants to see succeed. The real scene stealer, however, is Dracula himself. Unlike Belmont, we already know that Dracula can be done well, and that is where his problem begins. Dracula has had many iconic performances in film, especially from the likes of Bela Lugosi, Christopher Lee, and Gary Oldman. How then can this Dracula stand out in an already crowded room? To make matters more complicated, he's animated, severely limiting any sort of body performance an actor could do. Additionally, we have also seen this character done horribly wrong. Look no further than Blade Trinity or Van Helsing to name a few. What makes this Dracula so good, though, is how sympathetic he is. His reasons for becoming the absolute evil he will become make sense given his predicaments. In fact, I would almost argue that I wanted to see him succeed to at least a certain point in his quest for revenge and justice. I've always had a soft spot for the character of Dracula, but I can't say I've ever actually seen his point of view and agreed with what he was trying to do. Hence, this show has actually given me a strength of Dracula I can't say I've ever seen before.
The heart and soul that was put into this show is quite obvious, which is great. Most adaptations feel like a shameless cash grab to capitalize off of an already existing audience. In fact, it isn't uncommon for a video game movie to have very little to do with the actual game that it is adapting. While these things may not be obvious to those watching with no experience playing the games, I do feel that the emptiness beneath the material is noticeable to anyone watching one of these adaptations. With this show, Castlevania was able to find two valuable traits in its producers and writers that are hard to come by: fandom and talent. It's easy to find fans that have no filmmaking talent or talented filmmakers who have no fandom, so that makes finding that perfect hybrid rare but extremely valuable. It is clear that Netflix has found this hybrid to put together this show that will hopefully begin to reverse the curse that has existed since the early 1990s.

A Shot In The Dark

You know I had a difficult time looking up a show for this week. I considered watching Punisher, but I couldn't bear to drag myself into the Marvel TVU again. Besides, those were probably my worst written pieces, save for the Daredevil one. I then considered House of Cards, but I knew I couldn't resist the slightly outdated, but very touching Kevin Spacey jokes. I knew I had to find something new and interesting. Something I haven't covered yet, I had to go off the script to ultimately watch A Shot In the Dark.

It was hard for me to start the show, seeing as this post is season finale of these posts. I was glad I did try this show out. It is actually the most unique thing I have seen on the Netflix Originals roster. The show is a semi reality TV and documentary of stringers. Stringers is the term used to describe freelance cinematographers who actively hunt down news stories in hopes of selling the footage to news stations. Doesn't sound too interesting, except that the show covers three of these stringers in the city of Los Angeles. Which means that there is definitely a lot for them to film.

The show understands that you have about five minutes to capture someone's attention. So from the start they tell you that it is a lucrative business. While they don't give exact figures, they give a general idea of how much they can make, and how competitive it is. They'll tell you that on a good night they can make enough to pay a mortgage. While I don't know how true this is, it does make the show far more interesting. It gives it the slight edge of a competitive game show like the older seasons of Survivor. They try to get hits, or purchases of film. To get more hits they have to film an event well, and it has to be an interesting event worth reporting on.

I do have a concern about how long this show can continue. There is only so much that can happen in this world. By the second or third episode you seem to have scene just about all of the good stuff. Which is a shame, because this is the first truly unique show on Netflix. It's not scripted, well heavily scripted, and it does have a good mixing of genres.

Well this is it, the season finale of Timpleton Blogs. I think it's been a rather good experience for me to vent my initial thoughts of a show that I will probably never finish. Did this get tiring? yes, Marvel is what did me in. So I think it's good to take a break from this. If I come back to this it won't be a school project. That means I can expand beyond just Netflix and TV. Makes me happy, because I've really wanted to talk about video games, Bioshock Fallout New Vegas specifically. Thank you all who read these drabbles, and until next time.  

The OA: Clothing Tells More Than We Think

To continue analyzing The OA on a mis-en-scene level, I decided to look at the costume design for episode two. I think you can tell a lot about a person based on how they dress, truthfully. I know that we should never judge a book by its cover, and that's not what I'm really going for, but clothing and appearance in general is a way to gauge who a person is even before they speak a single word. This episode proved to be particularly important for analyzing costume design because the main character actually went full detail into her first encounter with the person that changed her life forever. Because this was the first time that the audience saw what she saw, the first impression had to be spot on and therefore the costumes had to convey the right kind of message.

Analyzing Prarie/the OA/Nina is a pretty daunting task. What we know about her identity and history is extremely limited, so any kind of hint or detail becomes important in piecing her together as she tells the tale of her life. As she explains her childhood, at least in the beginning, she wears bright, crisp white and her hair is neatly pulled back and well maintained. Once things started to go south with her aunt she wears dingy clothing and has actual caked in dirt on her small forehead. Without even paying attention to the content of the show, this shift in clothing tells the audience that she is not the same girl that she was and is definitely going through a rocky patch in her life. As the story progresses and she gets older, she is constantly shown in draped, flower print clothing, almost like a young girl dressing up like a grandmother. To me, this is an early sign that she is/will be wise. When there is a flash of her currently in time telling the story, she wears draped clothes again, but with some sort of crochet wrap. At first I thought that this was just a way of making her look homely or perhaps more welcoming since the town is a little intimidated by her, but I noticed that her mother wears similar clothing, so I'm pretty sure that's just the designers way of saying that she wears whatever's left at her house and maybe sometimes her mom's clothes.

Her mother actually follows sort of the same costume path as she does. In the beginning of the story she tells her mom has neat hair pulled back and bright eyes to match a bright smile, however in the present time her hair is more unkept and her face is definitely losing its shine. Like previously stated, she wears lots of crochet vests and wraps over plain clothing, so as to highlight her natural features that she loses as she ages.

As far as the man that changes the main character's life, he is an easy one to explain. Before even visually following him, she explains that she "cast a beautiful net, but didn't catch beautiful fish," so the audience already knows he's not going to be good. As she plays the violin in the subway station, the man hears her and physically runs to find her. The camera never shows his face a the while, only glimpses of his black leather shoes moving swiftly up the stairs coupled with shots of his back clothes in a dark suit and coat. Once the camera finally pans around to allow look at his face, he appears almost gentle and kind due to the small wrinkles on his face and nice-casual look to his suit. At this point I'm thinking he's not the bad guy and maybe just introduces her to the bad guy, but I was very wrong. The costume designers did a great job disguising him as a caring, curious, intelligent, perhaps wealthy, and kind individual, and that's exactly how he should've been dressed to later show how good he is at concealing his motives.

I think it's interesting that different clothing changes how the audience views a character in a show, and how sometimes that can distract from their true selves. It's almost like you can tell a lot from what people wear, yet you can also be totally and completely wrong going off of what they wear. I think paying attention to the costume design, however, is a great supporting detail for who and what the characters are especially upon first meeting them because the audience will either not pay attention to the clothes because they support their idea of who the character is, or the details of the clothes will later force the viewer to go back and realize that it was just a well-administered facade.

American Ham

Nick Offerman is most well known for his role as Ron Swanson on Parks and Recreation. From watching this special, we find out that this character and Nick himself are not too far off from one another. The opening scene focuses on Nick’s woodworking shop, which is something we would expect to see in a feature on Ron Swanson. This comedy special has a lack of discussion of his famous show, however that’s easy to understand, as he clearly has many more lessons and stories that relate to everyone, not just those who viewed the show.

I was definitely surprised when Nick came onto the stage without a shirt. The costuming section in our class textbook suggests that the attire of characters is thoughtfully planned out by the creators. This is obvious, but the reasoning is not as obvious. It is planned out so thoughtfully because of the way that viewers form an opinion about the character. Nick walks out at the beginning of his show in jeans and boots, carrying his button down American flag shirt in his hand. He was wearing no undershirt or t-shirt. Simply just a beer gut, mustache and bright eyes. Dissecting this choice in parallel with our textbook, this gave everyone a basis to judge him on. They all formed an opinion of him for who is is, not for what he chooses to portray himself as. It also served as a bit of a shock factor, similar to how the rest of the show had some shock factor moments. Nick used a fair amount of swearing, but was more vulgar in content at some parts. I think society likes this content, but I feel that the better, more genuine parts of his show were those that were not as vulgar.

The scenes for each life lesson that he spends some time discussing are incredibly trendy looking. The few seconds that are on the screen are full of dramatic music and overall have a stark contrast to the presentation of his performance. A few feature Nick’s wife, Megan Mullally, and these look like they are having an fun time, and it is intriguing as a fan to get a glimpse of their relationship. The lighting in these life lesson shots is bright, yet all look like they have a filter over them, reinforcing the trendy factor. Going along with this, the camera angles in this show were notable to the overall vibe of the special. I expected the shots to be mainly focused on Nick and occasionally going to closeups of his face, or an audience member. While this definitely was the majority of shots, there were also a fair amount of shots from behind him, that showed the lights and a bit of the audience. It took the focus off of him, and made you listen more to what he was saying. Additionally some of the angles that were from the side were very shaky. However this was reminiscent of being at a show and making your own video of something that you are so excited about seeing that you move the camera around so much out of excitement.

Overall I liked this special, and am surprised that it took me so long to find it on Netflix. If you’re reading this and interested at all, you only have 9 more days until it comes off of Netflix, so drop all important things and binge it!