Protagonist - No i'ts an ensemble cast
Sense of Power/leadership - No but speaks and lectures a lot
Rejected by society - no one likes him apart from Chloe, an absent Lady Croom and to some extent Hannah
Wanderlust - into the past, yes
Melancholy, introspection - No, more flamboyant and attention seeking, trying to impress others
Misanthropy - Mainly distrusts the arguements that others suggest against his theory
Regrets for actions, self criticism - To some extent when he discovers his theories are wrong But don't lead to philanthropy he just runs away
Rejects norms and conventions - of dress
Thursday 16 May 2013
Wednesday 8 May 2013
Romanticism
Facts:Where: Britain and France
Who: Salvator Rosa, John Constable, Lord Byron, Ludwig van Beethoven, William Blake
Definition: It was a reaction away from the Enlightenment values of reason, order and intellect that was integral to its predecessor, Enlightenment, placing more emphasis on the importance of feeling and imagination.
Charles Baudelaire wrote in 1846, "Romanticism is precisely situated neither in choice of subject nor in exact truth, but in a way of feeling."
- Nature: uncontrollable power, unpredictability, and potential for cataclysmic extremes - an alternative to the ordered world of Enlightenment thought.
- Emotional and behavioral extremes
- Romanticism emphasized the individual, the subjective, the irrational, the imaginative, the personal, the spontaneous, the emotional, the visionary, and the transcendental.
- Romantic artists expanded the repertoire of subject matter, rejecting the didacticism of Neoclassical history painting in favor of imaginary and exotic subjects. Orientalism and the worlds of literature stimulated new dialogues with the past as well as the present.
- Literature offered an alternative form of escapism. The novels of Sir Walter Scott, the poetry of Lord Byron, and the drama of Shakespeare transported art to other worlds and eras.
- To William Wordsworth poetry should be "the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings"
- importance of the individual, the unique, even the eccentric
- First gothic novel was Horace Walpole's Castle of Otranto (1765)
- Hysterical, mystical, passionate adventures of terrified heroes and heroines in the clutches of frightening, mysterious forces
Further Research:
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/508675/Romanticism
http://public.wsu.edu/~brians/hum_303/romanticism.html
http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/english/melani/cs6/rom.html
Saturday 4 May 2013
Arcadia Scene 4 Summary
Back to the 1990s, Hannah is reading out loud from Septimus' primer to Valentine about Thomasina's 'proof' she eluded to into the margin. Valentine tries to explain what an iterated algorithm is to Hannah. She explains how they've found Septimus' old primer.
They've found a diagram inside but don't know what it is.
Valentine complains that Thomasina was doing classical maths, and tries to explain iteration in more detail. He complains about all the 'noise' in his grouse data, and says that there is no way that Thomasina could have made any real discoveries.
Valentine: The unpredictable and the predetermined unfold together to make everything the way it is... The ordinary-sized stuff which is our lives, the things people write poetry about—clouds—daffodils—waterfalls—what happens in a cup of coffee when the cream goes in—these things are full of mystery, as mysterious to us as the heavens were to the Greeks... We're better at predicting events at the edge of the galaxy or inside the nucleus of an atom than whether it'll rain on auntie's garden party three Sundays from now... It makes me so happy. To be at the beginning again, knowing almost nothing.... A door like this has cracked open five or six times since we got up on our hind legs. It's the best possible time of being alive, when almost everything you thought you knew is wrong.
They discuss whether Gus is a 'genius' or not. Bernard enters 'in high excitement and triumph'. He has found a passage mocking Chater in a copy of 'English Bards and Scotch Reviewers' thats isn't in Byron's handwriting. Hannah has found a letter from Lady Croom talking about how Mrs Chater and Brice got married in 1810.
Bernard: I'll tell you your problem. No guts.
Valentine: Are you talking about Lord Byron, the poet?
Bernard: No, you fucking idiot, we're talking about Lord Byron, the chartered accountant.”
Valentine: (Unoffended) Oh, well he was here alright, the poet.
Bernard goes into shock and Hannah wakes him up with a kiss on the cheek, and he goes to look for the game book.
They've found a diagram inside but don't know what it is.
Valentine complains that Thomasina was doing classical maths, and tries to explain iteration in more detail. He complains about all the 'noise' in his grouse data, and says that there is no way that Thomasina could have made any real discoveries.
Valentine: The unpredictable and the predetermined unfold together to make everything the way it is... The ordinary-sized stuff which is our lives, the things people write poetry about—clouds—daffodils—waterfalls—what happens in a cup of coffee when the cream goes in—these things are full of mystery, as mysterious to us as the heavens were to the Greeks... We're better at predicting events at the edge of the galaxy or inside the nucleus of an atom than whether it'll rain on auntie's garden party three Sundays from now... It makes me so happy. To be at the beginning again, knowing almost nothing.... A door like this has cracked open five or six times since we got up on our hind legs. It's the best possible time of being alive, when almost everything you thought you knew is wrong.
They discuss whether Gus is a 'genius' or not. Bernard enters 'in high excitement and triumph'. He has found a passage mocking Chater in a copy of 'English Bards and Scotch Reviewers' thats isn't in Byron's handwriting. Hannah has found a letter from Lady Croom talking about how Mrs Chater and Brice got married in 1810.
Bernard: I'll tell you your problem. No guts.
Valentine: Are you talking about Lord Byron, the poet?
Bernard: No, you fucking idiot, we're talking about Lord Byron, the chartered accountant.”
Valentine: (Unoffended) Oh, well he was here alright, the poet.
Bernard goes into shock and Hannah wakes him up with a kiss on the cheek, and he goes to look for the game book.
Friday 3 May 2013
Arcadia Scene 3 Summary
Back in 1809 Septimus and Thomasina are having a Latin Lesson which she finds hard.
Jellaby enters with another letter, and Septimus again tucks it into the pages of 'The Couch of Eros'. Septimus and Thomasina argue over the latin translation. Thomasina says that Lady Croom is in love with Lord Byron, and that they were together in the gazebo where Septimus was wooing her. She also tells him that Lord Bryon accidentally informed Mr Chater that it was Septimus who wrote the 2 Picadilly Recreation poems. Septimus gives Thomasina a -A for her maths.
Thomasina: God's truth, Septimus, if there is an equation for a curve like a bell, there must be one like a bluebell, and is a bluebell, why not a rose? Do we believe that nature is written in numbers?
Thomasina: You will be famous for being my tutor when Lord Byron is dead and forgotten.
Thomasina: ....the enemy who burned the great library of Alexandria without so much as a fine for all that is overdue. Oh, Septimus! -- can you bear it? All the lost plays of the Athenians! Two hundred at least by Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides -- thousands of poems -- Aristotle's own library!....How can we sleep for grief?
Septimus: By counting our stock. Seven plays from Aeschylus, seven from Sophocles, nineteen from Euripides, my lady! You should no more grieve for the rest than for a buckle lost from your first shoe, or for your lesson book which will be lost when you are old. We shed as we pick up, like travellers who must carry everything in their arms, and what we let fall will be picked up by those behind. The procession is very long and life is very short. We die on the march. But there is nothing outside the march so nothing can be lost to it. The missing plays of Sophocles will turn up piece by piece, or be written again in another language. Ancient cures for diseases will reveal themselves once more. Mathematical discoveries glimpsed and lost to view will have their time again. You do not suppose, my lady, that if all of Archimedes had been hiding in the great library of Alexandria, we would be at a loss for a corkscrew?
Thomasina realizes that she was just translating 'Anthony and Cleopatra' and storms out in tears.
Brice and Chater come in to challenge Septimus who replies very wittily by 'addressing himself' to Brice when talking to Chater. They are interrupted by Lady Croom, who comes to borrow Septimus' copy of 'The Couch of Eros' on behalf of Lord Croom despite Septimus' slight protests.
Septimus says that he will fight and kill both Chater than Brice.
Jellaby enters with another letter, and Septimus again tucks it into the pages of 'The Couch of Eros'. Septimus and Thomasina argue over the latin translation. Thomasina says that Lady Croom is in love with Lord Byron, and that they were together in the gazebo where Septimus was wooing her. She also tells him that Lord Bryon accidentally informed Mr Chater that it was Septimus who wrote the 2 Picadilly Recreation poems. Septimus gives Thomasina a -A for her maths.
Thomasina: God's truth, Septimus, if there is an equation for a curve like a bell, there must be one like a bluebell, and is a bluebell, why not a rose? Do we believe that nature is written in numbers?
Thomasina: You will be famous for being my tutor when Lord Byron is dead and forgotten.
Thomasina: ....the enemy who burned the great library of Alexandria without so much as a fine for all that is overdue. Oh, Septimus! -- can you bear it? All the lost plays of the Athenians! Two hundred at least by Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides -- thousands of poems -- Aristotle's own library!....How can we sleep for grief?
Septimus: By counting our stock. Seven plays from Aeschylus, seven from Sophocles, nineteen from Euripides, my lady! You should no more grieve for the rest than for a buckle lost from your first shoe, or for your lesson book which will be lost when you are old. We shed as we pick up, like travellers who must carry everything in their arms, and what we let fall will be picked up by those behind. The procession is very long and life is very short. We die on the march. But there is nothing outside the march so nothing can be lost to it. The missing plays of Sophocles will turn up piece by piece, or be written again in another language. Ancient cures for diseases will reveal themselves once more. Mathematical discoveries glimpsed and lost to view will have their time again. You do not suppose, my lady, that if all of Archimedes had been hiding in the great library of Alexandria, we would be at a loss for a corkscrew?
Thomasina realizes that she was just translating 'Anthony and Cleopatra' and storms out in tears.
Brice and Chater come in to challenge Septimus who replies very wittily by 'addressing himself' to Brice when talking to Chater. They are interrupted by Lady Croom, who comes to borrow Septimus' copy of 'The Couch of Eros' on behalf of Lord Croom despite Septimus' slight protests.
Septimus says that he will fight and kill both Chater than Brice.
Thursday 2 May 2013
Essay: Ways your own consumption illustrates wider patterns of audience behaviour
Introduction:
As a member of some of the biggest cinema going demographics such as 16-24 year olds and families I reflect some of the biggest trends amongst modern day audiences, including a greater use of home entertainment, using portable devices, and going to the cinema less, which poses a major problem for film institutions such as Momentum Pictures and The Walt Disney Company as the amount of revenue they make will be affected.
Paragraph 1:
The 16-24 year old market is one of the largest in the world, and the proliferation of Web 2.0 has further increased their importance, as social media like Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr. has led to increased fandom activity, and as a member of all 3 of those social networks as well as having a YouTube account, my experience of sharing information, opinions and experiences of the media via the web by using hashtags like 'avengersassemble', reblogging gifs, retweeting and liking content such as the King's Speech Soundtrack reflects a generation moving online. Film Institutions are harnessing this in order to market their films effectively towards my age groups, and I personally liked not only major blockbuster films YouTube and facebook pages such as 'Avenger's Assemble' but also British films trailers like 'The King's Speech', which shows that all contemporary films need an online presence, and the importance of the internet to not just films targeting young people like 'Avenger's Assemble', but also to films with 16-24 year olds as their secondary markets. The increase of web usage has also affected film institutions as it has increased the availability of pirated films and many young people visit websites devoted to illegal versions of films. I have visited sites such as 'Solarmovie' but I also went to see 'Avenger's Assemble' at the cinema with my friends to see a high quality version, and as it's extensive 360 degree campaign (which involved trailers before youtube videos, bus stop posters as well as an active online twitter feed and facebook page) made it a must-see film, and I, like many others my age, didn't want to be left out of the watercooler moments about it.
Paragraph 2:
I am also a member of the other major demographic, families. After having gone to see 'Avenger's Assemble' with my friends in 2D, I also went to watch it in 3D with my family as we thought it might enhance our viewing experience. However, going to the cinema with my family is a rare event for me, and reflects many others feelings that the ticket prices are too high and the fact we watched 'Avenger's Assemble' in 3D is also very rare for us, reflecting the backlash from 3D after Avatar's release in 2009. I, and many others, tend to watch movies with my family on our home entertainment system, which we recently upgraded. Like many others who find interacting with media at home more convenient comfortable and accessible, our upgrading of our TV represents a shift of audiences away from the cinema, seeing it more as an occasional treat than a regular occurrence, especially as the introduction of HD and 3D TVs allows audiences a higher and stress free viewing experience. This is especially significant as, thanks to the advent of PVRs, we can now record films when they come on terrestrial televisions, just as we recorded 'The King's Speech' when it aired on Channel 4 over the easter holidays.
Paragraph 3:
As a female, I often find representations of women in the media to be stereotypical and inaccurate, reflecting the post feminist ideas of female audiences who want to see strong and fully developed female characters, as well as the typical themes of romance and the attractive male characters that historically have been integrated into films by institutions trying to target women. While I feel that the addition of the theme of romance to action adventure films like 'Avengers Assemble' might have appealed to me, I wanted to see the films for it's fantastic special effects and set pieces as well as the humour that was prominent in the marketing campaign (with lines like 'Guys I'm bringing the party to you' followed by a shot of a monster flying round a skyscraper), not for the brief and undeveloped romance between Black Widow and Hawkeye. In addition, I found that the two female characters in the film - Agent Maria Hill and Black Widow - where not particularly appealing as they were minor roles, and skin tight black jumpsuits made them highly sexualized, which reflects the burgeoning demand for realistic and new representations of women in action adventure films. ON the other hand, I, and many other women, enjoyed watching Helena Bonham Carter's role in 'The King's Speech', because although she took on the traditional wife role, she was one of the main characters and brought much humour and humanity to the films. This reflects the way in which audiences are growing tired of generic character representations and may turn away from Hollywood to look for them, giving the British film industry a chance to fill a gap that Hollywood leaves and target a wider audience with interesting representations.
Paragraph 4:
Also, being British, both Hollywood and Uk institutions try to target me, and recently I have seen a mixture of Hollywood and British films in the cinema, reflecting the way both industries are successfully targeting a national audience. In particular, I enjoyed 'The King's Speech' for its beautiful cinematography, music, narrative and humour, reflecting the way that as the British film industry is producing better films in order to compete with Hollywood, a larger audience is being drawn to see them. Even though I am not part of 'The King's Speech's target audience of over 50s, I saw some of the TV spots and heard all the positive word of mouth about it (especially around the Oscars where it won 4 awards) and wanted to see it. I also found Momentum Picture's (the UK distributor) use of British iconography like Buckingham palace in the synergistic marketing campaign, as well as the british values, narrative settings and cast a huge pull, recognising very British actors such as Colin Firth and Helena Bonham Carter whom I had seen before in period dramas like 'Pride and Prejudice' and 'A Room With A View', assuring me of their quality. This reflects the way that British films are using our identity as a nation to market themselves and appeal to a British audience, although Hollywood films such as 'Avengers Assemble' were still appealing to me because of their global themes like good vs evil, recognisable locations like New York, and star names like Samuel L. Jackson and Scarlet Johannson. This illustrates the way that both Hollywood and Uk films can be appealing to a British audience, although the use of stereotypically British things does make the marketing of a film more tailored.
Conclusion:
In conclusion my experiences reflect many of the contemporary changes in the film industry as audiences demand higher quality films, more accurate representation and a better viewing experience.
As a member of some of the biggest cinema going demographics such as 16-24 year olds and families I reflect some of the biggest trends amongst modern day audiences, including a greater use of home entertainment, using portable devices, and going to the cinema less, which poses a major problem for film institutions such as Momentum Pictures and The Walt Disney Company as the amount of revenue they make will be affected.
Paragraph 1:
The 16-24 year old market is one of the largest in the world, and the proliferation of Web 2.0 has further increased their importance, as social media like Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr. has led to increased fandom activity, and as a member of all 3 of those social networks as well as having a YouTube account, my experience of sharing information, opinions and experiences of the media via the web by using hashtags like 'avengersassemble', reblogging gifs, retweeting and liking content such as the King's Speech Soundtrack reflects a generation moving online. Film Institutions are harnessing this in order to market their films effectively towards my age groups, and I personally liked not only major blockbuster films YouTube and facebook pages such as 'Avenger's Assemble' but also British films trailers like 'The King's Speech', which shows that all contemporary films need an online presence, and the importance of the internet to not just films targeting young people like 'Avenger's Assemble', but also to films with 16-24 year olds as their secondary markets. The increase of web usage has also affected film institutions as it has increased the availability of pirated films and many young people visit websites devoted to illegal versions of films. I have visited sites such as 'Solarmovie' but I also went to see 'Avenger's Assemble' at the cinema with my friends to see a high quality version, and as it's extensive 360 degree campaign (which involved trailers before youtube videos, bus stop posters as well as an active online twitter feed and facebook page) made it a must-see film, and I, like many others my age, didn't want to be left out of the watercooler moments about it.
Paragraph 2:
I am also a member of the other major demographic, families. After having gone to see 'Avenger's Assemble' with my friends in 2D, I also went to watch it in 3D with my family as we thought it might enhance our viewing experience. However, going to the cinema with my family is a rare event for me, and reflects many others feelings that the ticket prices are too high and the fact we watched 'Avenger's Assemble' in 3D is also very rare for us, reflecting the backlash from 3D after Avatar's release in 2009. I, and many others, tend to watch movies with my family on our home entertainment system, which we recently upgraded. Like many others who find interacting with media at home more convenient comfortable and accessible, our upgrading of our TV represents a shift of audiences away from the cinema, seeing it more as an occasional treat than a regular occurrence, especially as the introduction of HD and 3D TVs allows audiences a higher and stress free viewing experience. This is especially significant as, thanks to the advent of PVRs, we can now record films when they come on terrestrial televisions, just as we recorded 'The King's Speech' when it aired on Channel 4 over the easter holidays.
Paragraph 3:
As a female, I often find representations of women in the media to be stereotypical and inaccurate, reflecting the post feminist ideas of female audiences who want to see strong and fully developed female characters, as well as the typical themes of romance and the attractive male characters that historically have been integrated into films by institutions trying to target women. While I feel that the addition of the theme of romance to action adventure films like 'Avengers Assemble' might have appealed to me, I wanted to see the films for it's fantastic special effects and set pieces as well as the humour that was prominent in the marketing campaign (with lines like 'Guys I'm bringing the party to you' followed by a shot of a monster flying round a skyscraper), not for the brief and undeveloped romance between Black Widow and Hawkeye. In addition, I found that the two female characters in the film - Agent Maria Hill and Black Widow - where not particularly appealing as they were minor roles, and skin tight black jumpsuits made them highly sexualized, which reflects the burgeoning demand for realistic and new representations of women in action adventure films. ON the other hand, I, and many other women, enjoyed watching Helena Bonham Carter's role in 'The King's Speech', because although she took on the traditional wife role, she was one of the main characters and brought much humour and humanity to the films. This reflects the way in which audiences are growing tired of generic character representations and may turn away from Hollywood to look for them, giving the British film industry a chance to fill a gap that Hollywood leaves and target a wider audience with interesting representations.
Paragraph 4:
Also, being British, both Hollywood and Uk institutions try to target me, and recently I have seen a mixture of Hollywood and British films in the cinema, reflecting the way both industries are successfully targeting a national audience. In particular, I enjoyed 'The King's Speech' for its beautiful cinematography, music, narrative and humour, reflecting the way that as the British film industry is producing better films in order to compete with Hollywood, a larger audience is being drawn to see them. Even though I am not part of 'The King's Speech's target audience of over 50s, I saw some of the TV spots and heard all the positive word of mouth about it (especially around the Oscars where it won 4 awards) and wanted to see it. I also found Momentum Picture's (the UK distributor) use of British iconography like Buckingham palace in the synergistic marketing campaign, as well as the british values, narrative settings and cast a huge pull, recognising very British actors such as Colin Firth and Helena Bonham Carter whom I had seen before in period dramas like 'Pride and Prejudice' and 'A Room With A View', assuring me of their quality. This reflects the way that British films are using our identity as a nation to market themselves and appeal to a British audience, although Hollywood films such as 'Avengers Assemble' were still appealing to me because of their global themes like good vs evil, recognisable locations like New York, and star names like Samuel L. Jackson and Scarlet Johannson. This illustrates the way that both Hollywood and Uk films can be appealing to a British audience, although the use of stereotypically British things does make the marketing of a film more tailored.
Conclusion:
In conclusion my experiences reflect many of the contemporary changes in the film industry as audiences demand higher quality films, more accurate representation and a better viewing experience.
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