Alexis Julien Presentation A003 Discussion

While watching Pan's Labyrinth, I was struck by the fact that the villain in this film, Captain Vidal, is a human. This seemed a bit ironic to me because when I watch a supernatural movie, I am anticipating a supernatural being to be the antagonist. The Captain's inherent evil nature is evident in this scene where he kills an innocent man with a bottle.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpEqpka8Dws

The only other foe Ofelia faces is the pale man in the room with the feast. However, it is important to note that this supernatural creature resembles a human very closely. In fact the actions of the pale man and Captain Vidal are somewhat paralleled.  The pale man presides over a grand feast similar to how Captain Vidal headed his grand dinner party. In addition, the pale man chases Ofelia down a long corridor as she tries to escape the room similar to how the Captain chases Ofelia through the labyrinth at the end of the film. This relates to Freud's idea of double, or doppelganger, in his "Uncanny" essay. This creates some horror element simply because the supernatural is mimicking the evil and violence present in a human. It also makes the viewer uncomfortable because no two horrible people should exist. The clip below shows the chasing scene with the pale man (only need to watch about the last minute) and compare that to the seen where the Captain is chasing Ofelia in the Labyrinth (sorry I couldn't find a clip of that).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSICJJq86ic

It is also ironic in this film that the supernatural/fantasy aspects are often quite beautiful in nature with fairies and flowers, etc. This is starkly juxtaposed by the violence and gore of reality. The war between the fascists and the rebels is taking place, and predominantly shown through the Captain's inappropriate violent nature. It is uncanny, or unheimlich, for the viewer to see the human in this supernatural film being the villain because as humans we are comfortable with viewing ourselves in a better light and thinking the best of ourselves; we do not want to believe that a human could cause so much violence, horror, and destruction which makes the aspect that the Captain is the true villain in this fairy tale all the more horrific.

In addition, the Captain is often times shown in more light than other characters in the film (specifically supernatural ones). This is highly ironic because Captain Vidal is the darkest character in the film. This is drawing light to the fact that reality is dark and humans themselves are evil and dark. This is again something that makes the film scarier because as humans it is hard for us to accept that the darkest character is one of human nature. In this clip, Captain Vidal is seen in more light than the other characters in the room, and it shows once more his completely cruel nature.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1JhTRWqhKc

In conclusion, it is shocking and disturbing for the audience to witness the villain of this supernatural film be human.


Discussion Question: Think back to another film we have watched where the villain was human. At the beginning of watching these films are we expecting the villain to be of supernatural nature or do we expect mankind to be evil?

Nikki Babri Presentation and Discussion

I'm going to focus on the idea of Pan's Labyrinth as an atypical fairytale. The story is one about a young girl, who must travel and live with her pregnant mother's new husband, the cruel and sadistic Captain Vidal. Ofelia has a passion for fairy tales and escapes to her fantasy world instead of living in her war-ridden one.

The horror in this film is not in the supernatural, but rather in the reality. Ofelia withdraws from the horrors of war with her numerous visits to her magical underground world. Although it is a fantasy film, it is thoroughly fixed in the reality of warfare and death. The movie, on the one hand, has creatures such as fauns and fairies, while on the other hand it creates an inhumane sadist in the form of Captain Vidal. The film portrays the gore of reality very effectively, such as in the scene where Captain Vidal brutally smashes in the face of an innocent man and kills his father.

Pan's Labyrinth touches on the classic fairy tale, as the genre of fairy tales was originally heavily intertwined with fear and the occurrence of terrible events. The tales of the Brothers Grimm, for example, deal with things such as cannibalism and incest. Over the years, however, we have separated he darkness from magic and fairy tales - but it does exist, lurking under the surface.

(watch from 1:20 until the end)

I think the way you see the film - either as a horror movie or one of fantasy - will shape the way you interpret the events that take place. The scene at the end of the film, where Mercedes finds Ofelia dying on the ground, and, as Ofelia's blood is "sacrificed", she returns to the Underworld to her loving parents, begets the question of whether or not it was real. Ofelia was in such unfortunate circumstances, so was it real or was she just a child making up silly stories to make life less awful, and thus coming to believe that she was the reincarnation of a fairy princess? The film thoroughly blended together the horrors of both reality and fantasy.

Discussion Question: Do you see Pan's Labyrinth as more of a fairytale or a horror film? Why?

Teilor Garner Presentation_Ringu_A03

Ringu contains many aspects that make it a horrifying film. One of these aspects is how close to reality it sits, especially because it is said to be based on a true story. It does not throw the supernatural at the audience in a gaudy way that would pull it away from its realistic feature. It hits home in a terrifying way because of the way it takes an ordinary activity and makes it ominous and creates an anxious energy in the audience.  For example the scene 00:27:15 to 00:27:58. Here we see Reiko hesitate to put the tape in the VCR. There is a moment when it seems as if nothing may happen but of course the video begins to play and we see the terror come over her face. It let’s the audience know that this could happen to anyone, that no one is safe. Another scene that adds to the fright of the movie is the escalation of Sadako’s presence from mere video to in your face. This is scene 01:25:48 to 1:28:14. It happens after it seems that Sadako has been appeased and all is well. This adds to the horror because, most likely, the audience has settled down and accepted that Reiko and Ryuji are only to have Sadako come out of the TV and kill Ryuji.

Q1: How does the medium in which the ghost expresses herself add to the horror and uncanniness of the movie? And what, if any, is the significance of the fact that Sadako was thrown into a well where she died, and the fact that she arose from that well and comes to kill her closest victim?

Phyliz Jones Presentation A03 Discussion

     Watching the Film Ringu, what caught my interest was the way in which music was applied to the scenes. Majority of the scenes have no music or music is played softly for short durations. However, scenes that occur shortly before or after events that may be depicted as supernatural, have more dramatic intense music. For example the scene where Asakawa and Ryuji are looking for Sadako’s corpse in the well, as they pull water from the well, the music begins to get louder and with a faster tempo, Asakawa is looking at her watch, and watching the light fade, knowing she is fated to die in a few minutes. (See Clip 1). 

At the end of the scene the music quickly stops as Asakawa falls back, appearing as though her time has come.

     The omission of music from supernatural events, creates an eerie feeling of uncertainty, you are not sure what to expect since there is no sound alluding to something about to happen. Having no music allows for the event to stand on its own, as a shock to the audience, without anything influencing whatever horror they are trying to inflect. (See Clip 2)

     Scenes in which music occurred after the supernatural event were often short bursts of loud traumatic music. Having a supernatural event preluding a scene, the audience is on edge not knowing what may happen next, building the suspense for the music to take its full effect in the dramatic scene that follows. (See Clip 3). 

The uncanny event that Asakawa just experienced opens the door to throw another tragic event at the audience by revealing the horrible scene where her son Yoichi seals his fate.

     The placement of the music in the films greatly supports the horror aspect of the film, the constant uncertainty the audience feels from it helps it to achieve the emotional response they are going for.

Discussion Question: In Ringu, why does the director use periods of foreshadowing with dramatic music only to omit the music from scenes of supernatural events?

12/11 Class directions

Hello students!

Since our discussion section is unfortunately cancelled today, we are going to have a different sort of discussion online today. Your participation for the day will consist of posting and responding to students' posts on this blog. All work is due by 6:00 pm today.

We will proceed as follows:

Student presentation and discussion:

- Each student presenting will post their argument in written form. This is due by the start of your discussion section time (section 3 - 4:10, section 4 - 5:10). The format is not important, as long as it is not too long (same amount of information as a 3-5 min presentation), and we understand your argument, evidence, and analysis.
- Make sure that you clearly title your post "_Name_ Presentation and Discussion" so that other students know where to find the "discussion".

- Please provide the information for the scene that you will be analyzing and, if possible, a link to a clip (youtube, etc.) for us to watch.

- End your post with your discussion question(s). Every student is required to respond to all discussion questions. Your posts can be long or short, depending on your thoughts on the issue. You are encouraged to read other students' responses and respond to them as well.


Feel free to email me any questions. I will also be available on Skype during my scheduled office hour today, 11-12, at mieka3000, and also from 4-6.