Controlled Chaos - Memento's Use of a Non-Linear Story

Memento was, without a doubt, one of the most unique movies I have ever seen. Unlike most movies, in which events are presented to the viewer in the order that they happened, Memento switches back and forth between a black and white sequence which occurs first chronologically and moves forwards in time, and a colorized sequence which begins at the "end" of the story chronologically, and moves backwards in time in chunks, with a brief overlap between each chunk so that the viewer can connect the dots. To call this a complex story would be an understatement, but while this convoluted structure can be confusing to the viewer, it is also what makes the genius of this film. Memento's main character, Leonard Shelby, has a memory condition that causes him to forget all events within a few minutes of them happening. So, by showing a large portion of the film's events in reverse order, director Christopher Nolan forces his audience into experiencing things from Leonard's perspective, because while Leonard doesn't remember events that occurred just a few hours ago due to his condition, the audience simply hasn't seen them yet, and become just as confused as Leonard himself. Eventually, the two sequences meet in the story's chronological middle, and the events that lead to Teddy's death are finally revealed. This is one of only two movies I have ever seen that I believe makes effective use of a non-linear story line, the other being "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind". Both films use their non-linear stories to intentionally omit key details from the audience's knowledge, keeping them guessing until the final reveal at the end. All in all, Memento is a masterfully written screenplay that manages to turn a story that initially seems  to be incomprehensibly chaotic into a true masterpiece.

Memento Blog: Cameron Haber

I must hand it to director, Christopher Nolan, for making what is probably one of the best movies i have ever seen. Of course I'm talking about his film in 2000, Memento. Starring Guy Pearce as Leonard, a man, suffering from short-term memory loss, who uses notes and tattoos to hunt for the man he thinks killed his wife. I believe what made this movie so great with addition to the great plot, after all whats better then man out on the hunt seeking vengeance, was the obscurity of Nolan's style of filming. 
 I have never seen a movie shot the way Memento was. With the viewer actually knowing the fate of a later character after the movie, the epilogue if you will. Working backwards all the way to the beginning of the main characters story. Nolan's use of black and white in the film was also very well used symbolizing past tense for the views to understand and switching to color anytime a scene was in the present. In addition i thought Leonard's character was one of the more interesting characters I've ever seen on the big screen. Even with a severe condition of short term memory, he continued to hunt down the killer of his wife regardless whether he would remember doing so. I thought the psychological aspect to Leonard's character was quite intriguing and got me to think more during the film. An additional comment i have on this film is about the ending. With out giving anything away i thought ending was fantastic how everything kind of tied together at the end, and when the credits came on. You had that feeling of "no way". Similar to the feeling you get after watching a movie such as Usual Suspects. How everything makes sense in the last seen (sort of). Overall Memento was a great movie scripting wise, and with its cinemitogrraphy effects and ideas. 

Link To My Base Sheet (You're welcome, trees)

https://docs.google.com/a/students.westport.k12.ct.us/document/d/1KVg3ykxmJBbrtgH3XkTgZdTL4cDy_JqQ21IA79qu3vc/edit

Music in The Graduate

One of the things that stood out to me the most while watching The Graduate was its music. Its entire soundtrack was written and performed by the folk-rock group Simon and Garfunkel . In the film's opening moments, we hear the words "Hello darkness my old friend, I've come to talk to you again", the first line of Simon and Garfunkel's "Sound of Silence". The song continues to play as the opening credits roll and Benjamin makes his way through an airport. As the film progresses, other Simon and Garfunkel songs are played, some repeated several times. All of these songs seem to have a similarly depressing mood to them. With such somber songs playing in the background, one would expect the movie to exhibit a similar tone. Benjamin, however, does not have all that much to be sad about. He has recently graduated from a premier east coast university, and his family is incredibly proud of him. He spends his summer by the pool and at parties celebrating his academic success. So why is it that the film's music suggests that this is in fact, a sad story? I believe it is because Benjamin, while he lives a privileged life by most standards, is unhappy because has been unable to find someone to truly connect with. This unhappiness leads to a lack of confidence while he is being sexually pursued by Mrs. Robinson, which is the only reason he decides to sleep with her. But, when Benjamin meets Elaine, he believes he has finally found someone who fills the need he has always had, someone to truly connect with. This connection gives Benjamin the confidence to end his affair with Mrs. Robinson, crash Elaine's wedding, and pursue future happiness with Elaine. However, at the end of the film, Benjamin's deep, blank stare signifies that although he as conquered his personal goal of finding a woman he can truly be happy with, he has still yet to face the world as an adult, and this will certainly not be the last of his challenges.

The Graduate

I had seen tidbits of The Graduate when I was much younger, and seeing the film all the way through painted the picture much more clearly than before.  It is really a film about being lost.  After graduating from college, Benjamin has no idea what to do with himself.  He states many times that he is worried about his future.  In this vulnerable state, he allows Mrs. Robinson to seduce him and obviously this leads to some major consequences that he might have thought about if he had a clear head.  When he meets Elaine, he finds he enjoys her company very much, but again, he doesn't know what to do about it due to his affair with Mrs. Robinson.  I also think the recurring imagery of water throughout the film has some hidden symbolism.  In a way, the water symbolizes Benjamin's life, as both have no shape.  The famous scene where Benjamin steps into the pool with scuba gear on is very disorienting, making a good comparison with what Benjamin himself must feel like.  The director did a fantastic job with this scene, especially with the audio, making it seem like Benjamin is alienated from the outside world.  Even at the end of the film, when it seems Benjamin has gotten what he wanted, he gazes off into the distance with an uncertain look in his eyes.  Even at that moment, with Elaine sitting by his side, he still looks lost.

The film, The Graduate, was an interesting film to watch due to all of the drama and romantic confusion that was going on between the characters. I thought it was fascinating to see how the film used the same song over and over again, but played in different ways. During the film, whenever a certain event happens to Benjamin, the song kept repeating itself after he has done something that might have ruined his love life. This film showed so much confusion within Benjamin’s feelings of having an affair with Mrs. Robinson, the wife of his father’s business partner, and then finding out that he has fallen in love with Mrs. Robinson’s daughter, Elaine. There was so much confusion in Benjamin’s life because he couldn't seem to figure out who he wanted to be with the most until the very end of the film. The song plays itself over and over again which it has a connection to how Benjamin dealt with his decision of who he loved the most whether it was Mrs. Robinson or Elaine. The song still goes on playing multiple times whenever Benjamin makes a mistake within the relationship with the two. The significance of the song was to see how much sadness Benjamin would bring whenever if he were to tell Elaine that he was sleeping with her mother, but Elaine figured it out herself without hesitation. The song also showed that Benjamin had to make a choice where he chose to go with Elaine and then they both, at the end, ran away with each other. 

Lost in Translation

One thing that stood out to me while watching Lost in Translation was the theme of simplicity. Described by one of my classmates as "a movie without a plot", Lost in Translation is primarily a story of ordinary occurrences. Its Wikipedia plot description is composed of 4 flimsy paragraphs that barely take up a third of a page. And although some might argue that a movie with such a basic plot cannot say anything profound, I believe that because Lost in Translation does not try to portray too many themes at once, it portrays its few main ideas exceptionally well. The first of these two main ideas is the experience of being in another country, particularly Japan, alone. My dad, who has been to Tokyo by himself several times on business, told me that "you feel like you're on another planet when you're there, no one speaks English, they have lots of customs you don't understand, and everything just feels dark, mostly because you are up late at night and tired during the day because of the jet lag." These themes of alienation and insomnia are explored similarly through Bill Murray's character as he struggles to gel with Japanese culture during his commercial filming and appearance on a Japanese talk show, all while he cannot sleep at night. The second theme that is exceptionally well explored is the connection that can occur between two very different people when placed in an alienated setting. In a normal American setting Bill Murray and Scarlet Johansson's characters would have never connected because of their obvious differences. One is male, the other is female, one is in his late forties or fifties, the other is in her early twenties, and they are both married. But in Japan, where everyone else seems so alien to these Americans, they are drawn to each other simply because they share the same nationality and speak the same language. While Lost in Translation is at its core a simple movie, it explores the themes of traveling in a foreign country and connecting with a stranger exceptionally well.

The Graduate Ending

The ending to The Graduate was one of the best endings to a movie I have ever seen.  Ben drove all the way to Santa Barbara and snuck into the overlook of the wedding and he started to scream Elaine's name, the shot of that scene was a great one because it gave a view from Elaine's view and all you see is Ben's silhouette.  This shot was a very intense one to watch because we see that all the audience of the wedding is screaming at Ben and Elaine for running away.  Also the scene where they get onto the bus and they are so happy that they got away and that they can start a new life together, but the director never said cut so when the actors thought that the scene was over it immediately became awkward and you can just feel the tension between them and it seems like they aren't sure what they are going to do after they get home.

The Graduate

Overall, The Graduate was one of my favorite movies that we have watched in the class. Putting the plot aside, there were so many effective cinematic techniques used in order to enhance the quality of the film, and its ability to reach the audience. One of the more underrated features of the film in my mind was the pool scene, when the camera alternated between the above-water shot, and the below-water shot. Along with the visual display, the audio in this scene was impressive. When Benjamin was above the water, the music was loud and clear, the music that was presumably being played outside of the pool. When he was under the water, however, the music could still be heard, but in a very faint and muffled manner. I just wanted to touch on this interesting aspect of the film. Additionally, I thought that the progression of Benjamin’s character throughout the course of the film was both impressive and interesting—the director did an outstanding job chronicling Benjamin’s maturation. Benjamin is an awkward character, in the beginning and in the end. But we do see him build some degree of self-confidence and courage as time progresses in the film. When Mrs. Robinson starts seducing Benjamin, he really does not know how to react. Rather than standing up for himself, he ultimately leaks his vulnerability to Mrs. Robinson and allows for it to happen. After he loses his virginity, however, he has the confidence to stand up to Mrs. Robinson’s face, stop the affair. Then, he himself goes for Mrs. Robinson’s daughter, stops the wedding, and has the courage and self-confidence to get the girl himself, something that I do not think he had the interest nor the degree of confidence to do earlier in the film. It is a feel-good story with a great plot that is executed through the use of effective cinematic techniques.

The Graduate Blog Post

The Graduate is an American comedy-drama that uses interesting camera techniques as well as original ideas to create a film considered to be an all time great. Much of the beginning of the movie is shot in a cold, dark way, with little or none up close and personal shots. It is meant to convey the confusion and lack of emotion Ben feels at the start. Another notable shot comes in the underwater shot when Ben's parents make him show off family how he can go underwater in a divers suit. The shot of him standing blankly in his kitchen is one of the most famous shots of all time, and very recognizable. The shot of him underwater just standing there conveys the sense that Ben is out of his depth, and he doesn't know where to go from here. There is also originality that the viewer might not notice but actually plays an important role in the movie. In the last scene, Ben and Elaine sit in the back of a bus after running away from her wedding with another man. However, the director never tells them to cut even though they expect it, creating an interesting sequence of almost awkward facial expressions that makes the viewer realize that Ben and Elaine are in fact human, and the reality that the ran away from a wedding begins to set in.

The Graduate

The Graduate in 1967, which was even before our parents generation. This was deemed one of the funniest comedies in America at that time; however, nowadays we might interpret comedy a little bit differently. When we refer to comedies nowadays, we refer to major punch lines from the main characters. When comedies were created in the 1960's, the interpretation was a little different. Roger Ebert wrote, "the audience is the target of the joke, and the funny events do not happen in the movie -- they are the movie." That is what the young british directors were looking to accomplish when making this film.

The main character Ben started off as a young business man straight out of college with a decent amount of money and a bright future ahead of him. After becoming caught up in all the chaos with his parents and graduating, Ben makes a mistake. He sleeps with his family friend. Throughout the play we see the awkwardness of Ben, but also his determination to get what he wants. Bens sequence of events of his life and the events in the movie, are the funny events that are aimed at the audience. After Ben has an affair with his family friends mother, he pursues the daughter. This sequence of events is outrageous yet hilarious. 

The Graduate

I thought the music choice for this movie, The Graduate, was very interesting. I found that the song called “The Song of Silence” was played multiple times throughout the movie, several times in a row. I noticed that it was played when the main character, Benjamin, was unsure of what to do. One of the times it played was at the end of the film when Benjamin & Elaine left the wedding which was a time of peace for the both of them, particularly Benjamin. I think this song represented the times of peace of him because not only did it play then in the final scene, but it also played when he was in his pool and there no other outside noise and Benjamin was unsure of what to do. Even though I was not a fan of the song and repetition in it, I found the meaning behind it interesting. I also found it interesting how the movie began with a close up on his face, to establish that he was the main character, and then the camera zoomed out to reveal that he was on a plane blending in with emotionless people. The following shot was has Benjamin emotionless while standing on a moving walkway – this shows that not only is he surrounded by emotionless people, but he, too, is emotionless. His facial expression is so emotionless it is almost robotic. I find it interesting how this is how his character is established in the beginning, but he completely changes by the end of the movie.

The Graduate

I'm not really sure how I felt about the main character, Benjamin, in The Graduate. He was awkward. It is still unclear to me why exactly he chose to sleep with Mrs. Robinson. Perhaps he liked Elaine the whole time and felt it was a way to get closer to her. Maybe, it was because he was in the rebellious stage after graduating. I think it was both. Although, I don't think he was consciously doing it, he had reasons for his affair. In a place of pressure and confusion over his future, he needed something that was constant, something that he had control over. And, Mrs. Robinson was just that. When he called her to the hotel, she came right away. It seems although everything was on his terms. Except of course, until he wants to have a conversation with her. This is the true turning point in the movie. When she refuses to have a conversation with him he realizes what he's been doing the whole time. I think the power had kind of gotten to his head and as soon as it was gone he came back to reality. For Elaine, I think he obviously knew how he had felt about her for awhile. They were childhood friends so clearly they knew each other pretty well. I don't believe their date was the first time he ever thought about her, and Mrs. Robinson was just an older version of Elaine. I'm not exactly sure why Mrs. Robinson does not want Benjamin seeing Elaine, but I do think she turns out to be the "villain" in this movie. All in all, The Graduate was a good very and did a great job of taking a funny concept and underlying it with a serious concept (of graduating, of course).

The Sound of Silence

I thought the music was extremely interesting throughout the entire movie. I think to have the same type of music playing in different occasions, depending on what is going on adds to the emotional part of the movie. Something that I notices was the song 'The Sound of Silence" only played a few times all representing Benjamin not knowing what to do. It played when Ben was in the pool and there was no outside noise that was chirping in telling Ben what he has to do. That pool scene was one of the only times that Ben had no outside influence. A time of peace. It also played at the end after Ben and Elaine left the wedding. Something I also noticed before the song came on was that the sound was actually muted or edited out. Ben was going against what everyone wanted him to do and he was not going to listen to what people are going to say. He enjoys the Sound of Silence.

Symbolism: The Graduate

The film The Graduate, directed by Mike Nichols is a story that focuses singly on the journey of one character, Benjamin Braddock. The Graduate begins with a close up on Benjamin’s face. This immediately establishes the main character.  The shot then zooms out to reveal that he is on an airplane surrounded by bored, sleeping, expressionless people, and he blends right in. The following shot is Ben standing expressionless on a moving walkway.  His facial expression is almost robotic, the shot lasts for over a minute allowing for a careful observation of our protagonist. The audience interprets that our protagonist is in a daze. He seems lost or out of place, seems unhappy and out of his element.  This starts the audience thinking critically about who Benjamin Braddock is. Not only does this slow pace allow the audience time to think about the protagonist but also with the help of Simon and Garfunkel’s relaxing score the audience is put in a somewhat sedated state of mind that matches that of Benjamin causing a shared feeling with Ben. Next, is a shot of his bag going down the baggage claim. It passes a sign that says “Do they match?”.  This symbolic sign introduces the major theme in this movie. The movie is about Benjamin feeling as if he does not fit in with the superficial world that he lives in. The rest of the story will be about his journey trying to find where he fits, finding where he feels comfortable, finding his match, just like finding his bag. 

The Sound of Mrs. Robinson at the Scarborough Fair

Cute movie. Ben's awkwardness and panicked squeaks kept me amused. The most interesting part was the use of the music. The same music. Over and over. Either Mike Nichols was a Simon and Garfunkel fan, or the songs actually mean something. Or both. The songs "The Sounds of Silence", "Scarborough Fair", and "Mr. Robinson", among others, are many times played during transitional times of the movie, ending, or setting up, important scenes or dialogue, and especially between entire acts (such as when Ben is driving up to Berkeley to see Elaine). Not a lot is done to most of them, either- sometimes they're played in their entirety. They aren't just any songs, however, they do have a purpose. They serve to express the feelings Ben is experiencing at the moment, feelings he can't let out. At times he's sad, confused, and conflicted, and the lyrics in the songs reflect it. The songs reflect frustration with society, just as Ben's inner voice is frustrated with the superficial people he returns home to, people he feels have lost their values and their ability to communicate with him.

The Graduate: Haber

The Graduate, the name by it self is enough to remind us the greatness of this late 60's comedy. Reason being is because our parents have reminded us over and over and over again to watch it. They may say things such as "it's such a great movie" or "give it a try you will love it." Well now i have given it a try and i will concur with them all, it is a great movie and i do love it. The movie felt like a drama which it was but it was also a funny commedy. Dustin Hoffman's displays an awkward kind of humor though out the film which had me cracking up. Ive never seen more of a real life "Charlie Brown"especially in the one scene in the dorm room after Elaine screams and he explains that everything is alright. Despite all of his bad luck and problems throughout the film. He maintains his awkward humor by being calm and acting casually. Another thing i thought was funny was that there was no sense of time for Ben's character. He didn't car that he had to make the long drive from San Fran to Santa Monica 3 or 4 times, and he didn't care when he had to wait for Elaine's class to end when she walked in to it while he was talking to her. Overall the atmosphere of the movie was great.  Another aspect of the film i have to touch on was the soundtrack. I believe i only heard Simon and Garfunkel's music throughout the entire film.  I counted three  different songs and may variations of those songs throughout the film. The songs were Sound of Silence, Mrs. Robinson, and Scarborough Fair. I thought the right variations of those songs were played appropriately at the right time which was something quite unique. 

The Graduate

Benjamin Baddock strikes the audience as an awkward, "bad game with girls" kind of character right off the batt. To be honest, we don't know why he doesn't take up the opportunity that Mrs. Robinson is forcefully laying out on the table, no strings attached. What I found most interesting though, is that over time, we see Ben strengthen as a person through his love for Elaine. Undoubtably he was a very awkward figure in the beginning of the film, but the evolution of him and his passion unfolds. After starting to get to know Elaine, he realizes how much he actually does genuinely love her. It's definitely a progression throughout the film but its intriguing to see his character grow. We see him actually go to all odds to be with her and do what it takes to do so. Towards the end of the film, after learning from Carl's frat brothers that the wedding is in Santa Barbara that morning, he rushes out to go stop the wedding. Thats when you know. The timid, awkward Benjamin in the beginning, is mature and knows what he wants by the end. I think Nichols created Ben this way to show the growth one has through experiences. It's ultimately a learning process overtime and we see Ben learn, but love at the same time.

Lost in Translation

Lost in Translation is a Movie where 2 people who give up on their love life meet each other and rediscover what love means.  Throughout the film Scarlett Johanson and Bill Murray comfort each other and give advice to each other, at first they are just friends and they seek comfort in each other and as the film progressed the 2 started to fall in love with each other and they started to spend more and more time together.  Bill Murray was in a marriage that was falling apart and he got a new spark in his relationship when he met Scarlett Johanson he realized that he was in love with his wife and that is why in the end of the movie he returned to his wife.  This movie tried to establish the 2 main characters in a relationship and when Bill Murray had an affair with the lounge singer things in this movie became confusing because after he committed the affair he still wanted to return to his wife and i think that he only returned because he realized that Scarlett resaprked his love for his wife.  

Lost in Translation

Sofia Coppla's move Lost in Translation gave an insight into two characters lives in which they struggled to find the true meaning behind what they were doing and figuring out what their future would be like. I believe throughout the film, it turns into somewhat of a Lost and Found.

In the beginning of the movie, we are presented with two characters; Charlotte and Bob. Bob is in Japan working on a job in the filming business and Charlotte is tagging along with her husband of two years. After many encounters with the Japanese that cause confusion, Bob becomes a little irritated with his job and what he is doing in Japan. Charlotte cant sleep at night and stays up till the early morning thinking about what will happen next. Both characters were lost in their own world; however, through small encounters and eventually a night out on the town, the two worlds collide. It  was almost like they had found out they were not the only people struggling. It was like a Lost and Found.

Lost in Translation is somewhat of an unknown genre with a mix of comedy, romance, and drama. The two characters who struggled with their futures and where their lives laid, found each other. Lost in Translation turned into Lost and Found.