The OA pt 2

After watching the entire first season of the show “The OA”, I wasn’t sure exactly how to interpret the ending. So, me being me, I went and did a little research on it. I guess I should add in a little spoiler alert, as I didn’t pick up a clear moral or lesson until the very end. In the show, The OA educates her new found friends on her life and where she had been the past few years of being missing. Towards the end, the friends she’s made begin to question if she was really telling the truth about her experiences. Though, in the end, they decided to believe her and ended up saving a lot of people in their school. While this may sound a little cheesy, I feel as though the OA was meant to show to teach how to unquestionably be able to trust people, no matter how crazy something may seem. The OA’s friends, towards the end of her story, the people that had been helping her along the way and listening to her story began to find holes in her story, and think that she might be crazy and she made the whole thing up. Some believe her therapist planted evidence at her house to make everyone think for sure that she based her story off of many others. So, eventually, her friends stop believing in her and leave her side. However, the OA starts having dreams that lead her to believe something terrible is going to happen. She’s trying to figure it out in order to save others, but at first it simply confuses her. A month passes, and the OA comes to realize what is about to happen. After a school shooter goes to the school all her new friends attended, they all came together to perform the movements she had taught to them. In the end, they aid in saving the majority of their school, and the OA potentially dies in the open fire. In the end, they realize all they had to do was put some faith into her and her story. The show demonstrates how some people may not seem logical, they may not seem trustworthy, and maybe even a little crazy. However, sometimes people just need a little faith, and good things could come their way, and tragedy can be prevented. While, in the end, the OA may have perished, she still was able to save the many by gaining friends and showing them how to help others.  

3%

Hey friend! It’s Caroline from the past! I’m writing about some interesting aspects of my life for you, so you can know me that much better. For now, I wanted to write about my current favorite movie and tv genre, sci-fi. I’ve watched a lot of different shows, but (as of now) I wanted to tell you about the latest one I watched. Before the latest, I watched the OA (and then finishing the first season because I fell in love). I started to want to watch more sci-fi. I’m really into the genre as you know, but after that show I wanted even more. I began scrolling through Netflix Originals, as of what had been released in October of 2017, looking for something that would suffice. Something not too long, that fit my genre request, and would be fun to watch. I finally found one that looked appealing, a show called “3%”. It looked like it had a minimal concept, only one season, and it was a dystopian, a subgenre that I also enjoy. I began watching, until I ran into a minor issue: I chose Netflix’s first Brazilian production, filmed entirely in Portuguese. So, I decided to try something that’s usually a pet peeve of mine, and I watched the whole thing with English dubs over it. I’m not sure if I’ll continue watching foreign shows with English dubs, I guess you’ll know if I have or not. I will say, it sometimes distracted from my experience, which is obviously not the fault of the show, and is a result of my own ignorance. However, this is a show I did enjoy watching, I got hooked very easily, and I’d highly recommend watching. That being said, if you can enjoy it in it’s parent language, then I think you’ll have that much better of a viewing experience.

3%, as I said, is a dystopian sci-fi filmed in Brazil. People are living in a community full of poverty and despair, known as The Inland. Once someone turns 20, they may try their luck, skill, and merit in the Process, where only 3% of candidates will be welcomed into the utopian community on the Offshore. It’s assumed the show takes place sometime in the future, and I can only hope that the future isn’t like this show. In most shows like this, you’d expect the main protagonists to be the successors and the antagonist to fall short. However, this show is full of twists that I feel make this show worth watching. And, while I want to talk about these twists, I’ll add in a potential spoiler alert. In the first episode, we’re introduced to multiple characters that are presumably the protagonists that we will follow to their success on the Offshore. In the first “test” they take, however, half of these characters are cut. One goes so far as to commit suicide out of despair. It’s here we realize no one is safe from the Process. I feel that’s one of the main things that helped me to stay hooked, that I never knew who would be cut, and it helped immerse the viewer even more. I hope we can enjoy some shows together, let me know! And if you watch this show, definitely tell me about how you liked it. Maybe there will be more than 1 season by the time you see it.

A Message from The OA

This week I decided to take on The OA. After hearing a ton of people talk about it, I decided to give it a try. People have told me it was a little difficult to follow, and a great deal happens all at once, so I imagined it would be a good idea to write about why people should watch, even if it is a little more perplexing. Towards the end of the pilot, the OA begins to tell her story to the people she recruited to help her. She must convince them that they can trust her, and opens up to them so they will help her on her journey. So, for my blog post this week, rather than me tell you, the reader, why watching the show is in fact worth the watch despite it being quite a wild ride, I decided to let the OA speak for herself, and gain the trust and guidance of the opposition, as to why you should go with her on her journey, despite it being quite the mystery at first.

Thank you for finding my post. That means you are here because you’re considering helping me. It is crucial I get to the border. Please, don’t click away. I need your help.

I know that this might sound insane, I know you may not want to trust me right now, I know my story is unlike one that you’ve ever heard of before, and my reasons might sound unearthly, but I am the OA and I need your help. I need to tell you why I am worth helping and following.

I am unlike anyone you’ve met in your life. I know that that is a longshot statement to say, but I believe it to be true. Have you ever sympathized with a friend going through hardships? They’re quite easy to help, as you know them, you trust them, you want the best for them. And in the end, you know that they’d do the same for you. Well, have you sympathized with a stranger before? I know, it isn’t as easy to do. I know, that is who I am to you right now. But if you come on this journey with me, I can be your friend, and I will repay you in more ways than you could ever imagine. I know that someone like you can begin to trust me, and find it in your heart to help me on my way.

While trusting me is the first big step, I can’t have you quit on me along the way. The road to my success will be difficult and somewhat confusing, and I will always need the most courageous and strong people to aid me. That is why I have chosen you. There’s countless stories you have yet to hear, to be able to hear my tales I’m sure will excite you! There’s so much more to me, and my life. Or, should I say my many lives. I’m sure if you continue on with me, you will not be disappointed.

I will respect your story if this journey is not for you, or if you are unsure you will be able to keep up. But I strongly encourage you to try, and to believe that you may understand who I am and what I must achieve. So, if you choose to stay with me, I’d like for you to close your eyes, and see what I see.

Sense8

This week I took on Sense8, a seemingly sci-fi with a broad array of characters with different backgrounds, locations, races, etc.. The beginning serves as a shock factor, as we witness a woman kill herself, leaving us with so many unanswered questions. Out of all the pilots I’ve watched thus far, this one has definitely left me feeling the most intrigued.

I say this show is seemingly sci-fi as I’m not 100% sure where this show truly falls yet. I’ve seen plenty of other shows where, after the first episode, I’m not sure what sort of show I’m watching, or what genre it could be, but this one I feel does that right. I often get confused watching shows, deciding whether or not it should be a comedy, action, or whatever else. While I will say this show is not in a certain category for me (yet) I feel like it does it right. I left the episode feeling like the creators wanted it to be up for interpretation, and that you had to come back to find out more, what course it would take, where the characters would end up.

The characters had such a great impact on the show, that even if I barely know their names, where they’re from, or what their background is, all of them gave so much that I wanted to know them more. I wanted to follow them and learn more about them, cheer them on even if they were doing so pretty illegal stuff. Each of them had such a compelling story, and I can’t wait to see how they all connect with each other. They all contribute to the mystery factor of the show. Towards the end of the episode, Riley and Will are shown interacting with each other, despite being in completely different countries at the time. We never get an explanation as to how Riley ended up in America, and it’s left to a point where we want to know more.

Lastly, I was captivated by the cinematography as a whole. Having recently read this chapter, there is a lot to be commented on. The usage of color and overall tone varied from scene to scene. I felt as though this was used to reflect the character and their emotions and background. For example, when we first meet Nomi and Amanita, they make usage of the colors at pride. They’re shown as happy and loving. Meanwhile, as we first meet Angelica, she’s laying in the dark, very little color reflecting her, and even the soundtrack reflects her as it’s horrific and negative. Each character comes with a different background, personality, and story, and the creators seem to want to showcase it through their scene design.

Sense8 has a lot thrown at you all at once, and the pilot leaves viewers with so many unanswered questions. Therefore, I would recommend this show, especially if you need something to binge watch. I definitely would like to continue watching this series, as I have already become pretty enveloped in these characters!

On the OA

After being recommended by multiple people to watch The OA I have finally given in and watched the premier episode. After finishing the episode I can definitely say the the story writers have done a fantastic job of opening up questions about the characters like OA and Steve, as well as to build up these characters without giving too many details.

Mise-en-Scene in Cartoons?

Dear Barton,

For my blog post today, I decided to try to replicate the activity that we did for Mise-en-Scene. I found this rather challenging. In class, we used stills that you had selected. The one aspect that was the same with every still you choose was that they were all live action shows with actors, props, and costumes. We didn’t broach the topic of can Mise-en-Scene be applied to a cartoon or animation. In LEGO Elves: Secrets of Elvendale, the artists have a lot less they need to manipulate to get their point across. I choose a random still where it looks as if a dark green haired male elf is talking to two human girls. The girls seem like they might be siblings, one bigger than the other but the same hair color. A purple haired female elf looks like she wants to speak with the dark green haired one. And the bodies of three other elves are visible, one red and orange with tanned skin female, one dark blue and light blue with light skin female, and one green and brown with light skin male. The female with tanned skin has an outfit that seems based off of fire. The blue one probably water and the green one probably earth. The purple haired girl is in all purple which leads me to believe that she is in some sort of group with the others. The dark green haired male elf previously mentioned is wearing mostly brown. The red, blue, and green ones are all standing next to one another. I would guess just because of the general nature of fantasy that they have powers that involve the elements previously mentioned. The dark green haired male might be a leader, friend, or there for helping everything go smoothly. The two human girls are both wearing stripes with their backs to the audience perhaps to show the dark green haired elf speaking or the purple one talking to him. The ground has mostly grass and some rocks but somehow we get the feeling it is set in the forest.

So after watching the episode, a good number of my guesses were accurate. I didn’t really like the episode too much. The characters were too trusting and naive but I guess that is to be expected with a kids show. I was right about the guesses when it came to the powers of the elves. The purple one controls wind though. Apparently, with the group, they are friends that all live together.  I think that Mise-en-Scene is more for live action pieces but I wanted to see if I could apply it to this piece. Perhaps in pieces that are more creative like Spirited Away or Howl’s Moving Castle, this would have been a more interesting and applicable exercise. In those pieces, there are a lot more details and unique scenes. I am really excited to apply this exercise to some of the Hayao Miyazaki films I have not seen.  

Til next week,

happylittlepenguin

Death Note the Movie Vs Death Note the Anime

Death Note is a popular anime series on Netflix, in which I enjoyed and absolutely loved watching. Recently, there's been an uproar about the new American version that has reached Netflix and I decided to watch it. I must say, I am not satisfied with the movie version at all. While there may be a few things that were executed fairly well within the movie, the overall theme of the movie did not compare to the anime in any way.

One of the many things that the American version failed to incorporate was an enormous amount of Japanese characters. The characters chosen to be played in this movie were mostly American and did not give the movie a cultural vibe. The producer, Roy Lee claimed there was an extensive search for Asian actors but none spoke "perfect English" and the characters had been rewritten. Actor Masi Oka, also explains that being Asian-American doesn't mean you should get the role but the actor has to be good, talented, and actually fit the role of the director. While Masi Oka does make valid points, the movie as a consequence lacked diversity and a Japanese cultural atmosphere without Asian actors.

Another failure of the movie is that the story line progressed too quickly. The movie instantly begins with the death note falling out of the sky without the main character being introduced to the audience first. Within the first few minutes of the movie, a death occured before the rules of the Death Note were explained whereas in the anime, special scenes were panned out. The anime gave the audience time to understand how the book was used, while the movie continuously throws action at you the entire time. For instance, the character L, who is helping with the investigation of Kira, suspects the detectives son, Light, to be the killer. L then goes after him most of the movie without evidence. There is a fued between both Light and L in the movie, however, the anime has the two working closely together. The character L in the anime suspects Light as well but he did not physically attack him every opportunity he had because L was aware he needed more edvidence to prove his claim.

The characters in the movie are completely different than those in the anime. Light in the anime was in the top of his class and so was L. They were both very intelligent people, almost identical if it wasn't for L's peculiar traits. For example, L sits oddly in a chair and eats an excessive amount of candy, which was depicted in the show. However, the cleverness and critical thinking that both L and Light used during the anime was not present in the movie. Both characters in the movie acted reckless and did not portray the characters in the anime whatsoever.

On the contrary, the music selection used in the movie was outstanding. For example, the song "Take my Breath Away" plays when Light in the movie discovers that Mia, Light's girlfriend, wrote his name in the Death Note, meaning he would die. The song title speaks for itself, but changes when Mia continues to say that she plans to burn his page so he would live. Continuing with their love fest, "I Don't Wanna Live Without Your Love" plays when both Mia and Light are dangling from a ferris wheel. Finally, Mia slips away and so does Light. For that reason, the song was great because it displayed how Light was willing to die along with Mia.

The movie had ideal music selections but besides that, it was completely different than the anime. The anime was more complex and followed a more specific and detailed story line, therefore, in my opinion, made it the better version of the two.