Malay Planet of the Apes Blog

Thade versus Davidson

Power versus exploitation is an obvious duality in Planet of the Apes. The apes are well educated and their social structure is fairly modern which is ironic because for being so educated, they treat humans as less than second-class citizens. There are many historical events that show how the exploitation of the inferiors is for the benefit of the powerful (The French Revolution is a prime example of the powerful taking advantage of those below them or a more modern example would be the exploitation of children in underdeveloped countries working 18-plus hours shifts per day for little pay only to the benefit of the company the children assemble products for.) In the film there are two specific scenes that stand out in my mind especially. When the apes capture Davidson after the ambush in the beginning of the film, other humans are pulling the cart that the captured humans are being crowded into. The humans pulling the cart and the humans in the cart are being treated like cattle for slaughter. The apes are exploiting the cart-pullers by using them like we would horses or oxen and the people in the cart are soon to be treated just the same. The second scene that stands out in my mind the most is the dinner scene at Ari’s house. The humans are the servants to the apes and by being forced into this type of slavery; the apes are exploiting the humans for their own benefit. A historical parallel to this would be serfdom in medieval Europe. The peasants had no hope of social mobility or material advancement the same way the humans have no hope of that either. The peasants were bound to their land and bound to their social class, as are the humans. The humans are born into a society that would not allow them the same freedoms and privileges as those above them and so by not allowing for material or social advancement, the humans were ultimately bound to their owners and their social class.  As stated before, the power versus exploitation theme in Planet of the Apes is obvious and perhaps what Burton is trying to say to the viewers is that there are still forms of exploitation happening today and we should give it attention in the same way we give attention to other big issues today too.

Malay Mars Attacks! Blog

 Choose two scenes that illustrate how Burton humorously satirizes government, the military, capitalism and patriotism inMars Attacks.  What is the film saying about sacred institutions? You might also discuss how the film parodies the science fiction genre taken so seriously by films such as Blade Runner, Alien, and Independence Day. If you have seenIndependence Day, think of the respect paid to the President in that film, versus the treatment of Jack Nicholson's role inMars Attacks.

Mars Attacks! Alien

In Mars Attacks! Burton satirizes government in the scene where the Martians kill all of the congressmen and women. The Martians go to Washington D.C. to apologize for killing all of the people in Nevada, however their apology is not sincere because within five minutes of being there, they annihilate everyone. By killing all of the congress-people, Burton further reveals the true anarchist nature of the Martians. Burton also makes a political statement in this scene criticizing the fact that the American government makes everyone conform to its standards and if they do not, then we invade those people’s country and start war. The Martians in Mars Attacks! are similar to the Martians in Plan Nine from Outer Space in that they represent the fact that American loves to destroy others who are different from us. Burton is saying that the anarchist spirit of the Mars Attacks! Martians are like the anarchist that America feels in that we do not have to abide by everyone else’s rules, but that they must abide by ours. Burton is satirizing the notion of American exceptionalism in this scene.

The satirizing of patriotism is present in the scene when the Washington Monument is about to fall over onto a group of Cub Scouts.  The idea that one of the most American of American monuments would crush a group of one of America’s most American organizations is ironic. It parallels the idea that America will destroy itself from the inside presented in Plan Nine from Outer Space. The satirizing of patriotism also is a reference to the hyper-patriotism in Independence Day. By making fun of that, Burton is also poking at the idea that America has too much patriotism in general because most of the monuments destroyed by the aliens are American monuments.

A common plague of the science fiction genre is that its films take themselves too seriously. For example, Independence Day is loaded with images of terror and destruction that make the viewers feel that all is lost and there is no hope left in sight. Burton pokes fun at that too by making the aliens look silly and the American people look silly because they lose a war to little green men with giant, exposed brains. Burton shows viewers that sci-fi doesn’t always have to be dreary and depressing.

Malay Ed Wood Blog

After you have watched the Tim Burton Film, read the posted article, and watched the documentary by Jonathan Ross, I want you to discuss three elements in Burton's Biopic that pay homage to what Wood as a director was doing in his films. Some scenes in Tim Bruton's film are actually taken directly from Wood's films.  Why?

Ed Wood

Element #1: Cross-Dressing. Now this might seem kind of obvious, but the fact that it is incorporated states a few things about Burton’s willingness to take risks. Burton could have easily left out the fact that Ed Wood liked to wear women’s clothing and made the biopic solely about how terrible his movies were, but he didn’t do that. Instead Burton focused in on that specific trait and showed how it made Ed Wood feel more comfortable and confident not only in himself as a person, but also as a director/producer/actor.

Element #2: Johnny Depp as Ed Wood. Burton has a knack for reusing actors over and over again in his films, which is what Ed Wood did in his films as well. This element is vital in the biopic because it shows how Burton draws some similarities to what Ed Wood was doing. By reusing the same actors and actresses over and over again in films, it becomes very evident, trademark almost, that “Oh this is an Ed Wood film.” Or “Oh this is a Tim Burton film”.

Element #3: Storybook beginning and ending: A biopic is a story, a film is a story and by having the film start with Criswell and end with Criswell there is a sense of wholeness and completion not only with the film itself, but Ed Wood as a person and his career. Ed Wood wanted to tell stories through motion picture and so it only seems fitting that Burton would tell Ed’s story through a motion picture.

The scenes taken directly from Wood’s films are also a way of paying homage to him because if the scenes were not in the biopic, some people may not have the motivation or want to see any of Ed’s films because of the fact that they are rated some of the worst films ever by one of the worst directors in all of film history. By adding in scenes directly from the movie, the audience gets a better sense of who Ed was and how he went about making his films in Burton’s biopic. Essentially what Burton is trying to get across is that Ed Wood was not a bad person at all, he was just incapable of realizing that what he was putting out was not good.

Malay Oyster Boy Blog 1

Anchor Baby and Mother

The story that I decided to analyze is Anchor Baby and all in all I think the main point that Burton is trying to get at here is that too often girls throw themselves away for something that is ultimately not what they imagined it to be mostly in the form of marriage having children. The lady in the sea seems to be alone and her desire to be one of the people on land is what pushes her to give up her life in the ocean and it seems that she does so without really considering the potential consequences of her actions. All she can see is what she allows herself to see; she does not critically analyze the situation by not thinking of the bad possibilities, but only the good ones. Her loneliness is the motivating force behind her wanting to go to land disguised as wanting Walker for herself. Perhaps she is an outsider in her community and just wants to be accepted somewhere else by someone else. The lady of the sea’s Jungian archetype is The Lover. She wants intimacy and experience even though it comes at the risk (and ultimately results in) her losing her own identity.

            The anchor baby is the consequence she faces as a result of not being more caring for herself and letting her desires completely engulf her. I would argue that the anchor baby is somewhat of a physical representation of the feelings of outsiderness and loneliness that the lady of the sea felt before she met Walker on land. Her emotions are now anchored to her and the thing she once tried getting rid of is now what she ends up with again and everything in this sense is completed. She begins a lonely person and ends a lonely person tied down by this anchor baby (her emotions). This is one of the few stories where I would say that there is a sense of resolution for this fact. As a child Burton was alone and was an outsider and arguably one of the anchors that always held him down was the fact that his parents neglected him as a child and perhaps what Burton is trying to get at here is not only the idea that women too easily throw themselves away, but also that people have these anchors that weigh them down through out their lives and in some cases that comes in the form of giving up ones own identity for someone else or being an outsider and neglected.

Malay Carnival Blog

Mardi Gras masks and beads

Carnival is about doing things that you would never normally do before you have to sacrifice something for Lent and the idea of masks and costumes helps to perfectly keep this idea alive by hiding the identity of the people doing the things that they want that they would normally never do otherwise. This is where the underlying chaos of Carnival comes into play.

I didn’t actually go out on Mardi Gras day, but other than Thursday at Muses I went to 5 different parades over the weekend (Iris, Tucks, Okeanos, Mid-City and Thoth). The colors at all of the parades were very bright and vibrant, reflecting the spirit of the season however there was almost a darker feel to the parades for the fact that everyone was wearing masks and in some cases dressed in full costume to hide their true identities. There were also darker and more evil elements in some of the floats too. At Iris there was a float that was Voodoo themed and had a giant Voodoo doll with pin stuck all in it that passed by and at Thoth there was a float called “The Valley of the Kings” as well as a float dedicated to Stephen King and more specifically the movie IT. Evil is present quite obviously in theses float because Voodoo dolls are used to bring harm to other people and the pharos of Egypt believed in the possible evils faced in the afterlife. The Stephen King float (which kind of speaks for itself) has evil elements in it because IT was supposed to be a nice clown that all the children loved, but instead ends up killing all of them.

Masks and the idea of having a double identity are very evident in Burton’s works; for example Catwoman is not only a secretary by the name of Selina Kyle, but the other side of her is a strong and very powerful feminine figure who calls herself Catwoman. During the day Selina Kyle would never be a strong and powerful woman, but as soon as the night draws near, she puts on the Cat suit and mask and becomes a completely different person, more confident and hard-as-nails, than earlier that day. The double identity concept reminds me of a quote from Alice in Wonderland where Alice says "'I wonder if I've been changed in the night? Let me think: was I the same when I got up this morning? I almost think I can remember feeling a little different. But if I'm not the same, the next question is 'Who in the world am I?' Ah, that's the great puzzle!'"(Alice in Wonderland, Caroll, Ch 2 Pg 8)

Malay Edward Scissorhands

Edward Scissorhands Art

The violence exhibited in traditional fairytales is often linked to the moral of the tale Urban myths are the modern day way of getting people to be controlled out of fear and fear is a huge motivator for most people. The morality in modern life comes from fear whether it be fear of the government, fear of a higher being and the afterlife or fears that are presented in fairy tales and urban legends. By preying on the minds of people who only listen to the news or television or what have you for direction and do not make their own opinions, the fear the media disperses on a daily basis is what runs their lives. Fear has the ability to make people conform and thus be afraid of stepping out of line.

In Edward Scissorhands, everyone’s houses are all plain, pastel colors; the cars are all plain pastel colors. Nothing seems to be out of line and everything runs as it should and no one questions the motives of their actions. They just mindless do as they always have done without criticizing or thinking why, that is until Edward comes into the picture. He stands out more than anyone in the town not only with his physical appearance, but his personality too.  Unlike the rest of the men portrayed in the town, Edward is very shy and very kept to himself. He doesn’t talk about the game on Sunday or how he has that big presentation for work on due Thursday, he just sits back and observes. Even though he doesn’t say much, sometimes it’s the quiet ones that speak the loudest. In this case Edward shows how the morality of the town is decaying. Even though everything looks pristine and nice on the outside, the people, especially the women, are all gossipy and constantly on the phone with one another saying things such as “Did you see so-and-so’s hair? Oh my gosh it was horrible!! And those shoes with that blouse…” The town slowly begins to decay even further when the people begin to take advantage of Edward and then no longer is he just the new guy in town, he turns into everyone’s personal barber, hedge trimmer, dog groomer. Edward is more human than any of the people in the town because he is willing to go out of his way to do nice things for people even when they treat him like dirt when the people of the town are all caught up in their gossip and themselves.

Malay Batman Returns Blog

Batman admits that there are two truths about himself. What are those two truths and how do they apply to Catwoman and Penguin as well? Make sure you discuss all three characters and scenes to support your blog.

Batman Returns Movie Poster

The two truths that Bruce Wayne admits about himself are as follows:

1.  He is actually Batman which is the most obvious and

2. He has never come to terms with the death of his parents, which is why he feels almost obligated to be Batman.

How these two truths relate to Catwoman is that he is not able to progress in his quasi-relationship with Catwoman because it would violate the idea that superheroes remain celibate and do not become involved with romantic types of relationships.  During the scene when Catwoman and Batman are on the roof there is obvious chemistry between the two and Catwoman acts on her desires more than Batman does by instead of kissing him, licking him like a cat would. This concept can also be applied when Catwoman becomes Selina Kyle during the day. The relationship between Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle is still not completely romantic because there is still any air of wanting to remain celibate from Bruce, but the chemistry is still evident between the two and funny enough more so from Bruce. By night Catwoman seems to be more wanting of a serious relationship and by day it switches to Bruce. Also to be noted is the fact that there seems to be a sense of distance between both Bruce Way and Selina Kyle as well as their alter egos. The distance is not just the desire to remain celibate, but for Bruce specifically the fact that he lost his parents so young contributes, if not the sole reason, for he fact that he is so lonely and distant. Here is a single guy with his butler in a house that could easily fit 20 plus people.  The might also parallel Penguin in that he lives in a huge penguin exhibit and the sewers which themselves are huge and he is still all alone outside of his penguin “family”.

            Penguin, like Batman, was also without parental figures in his life and he grew up as an outcast of society. His motives to find his parents can be paralleled to how Bruce Wayne needs to find closure to the loss of his. Penguin cannot function in society because he is disfigured physically and thus takes his anger out on the society that never accepted him where as Batman is emotionally and psychologically disfigured, however instead of causing destruction and chaos, he prevents it because he feels a moral obligation to. Penguin feels no moral obligation to help society because they rejected him and his own parents failed their moral obligation to love their son and accept him even with his disfigurement.