Blog Revision: Free Choice

In this blog, I would like to consider some ideas and topics for my project blog essay. I am going to write my essay based on a film analysis of one of the movies that I watched and previously blogged about. My initial plan was to write my essay based on the movie Coraline because I really admire the artistic elements that create and make up the movie. However, I realized that artistic depictions and movie creation has absolutely nothing to do with my topic. Therefore, it would be best to base my essay on the children's film Paranorman. 

Paranorman would be a great movie for me to write about because it uses the genre of fantasy to alert its audience about bullying and it depicts ghosts and zombies in an inviting and comical way. These topics would be good for my thesis statement because the issue of bullying is extremely important due to the growing rate of suicide attempts and depression among school aged children and teens. The whole objective of the movie is to send this message out to children and provide a positive solution to the issue. Also, the movie depicts the ghosts and zombies in a way that seems to give the audience the message that they are not frightening. For example, all of the ghosts are friends of Norman and have comical outgoing personalities making them seem friendly instead of frightening. I think this aspect of the movie is important because it gives children the chance to be comfortable with characters such as ghosts who are usually depicted in dramatically intimidating ways.

-FairyTaleMovieQueen

A Homemade Sintel Advertisement

      This is advertising the short computer animated film Sintel. I went through the film, took pictures and arranged them chronologically from left to right, top to bottom. I used repetition in the photos and placed the title away from the center so that it's not the main focus. My main focus instead was displaying the character of Sintel and all of her emotions since I wrote about the importance of characters in fantasy and how they connect us to the unreal.

Sintel - Third Open Movie by Blender Foundation

Edward Scissorhands Poster

Behold the poster used to advertise the motion picture Edward Scissorhands. Is it just me or do elements in this picture clash? Here we have this mystical and enchanting blue background, a comforting snowy white and a cute rendition of a dinosaur in the background of the poster. With all those comforting innocent elements in the background, what do we have in the for front where the eye is immediately dragged? A dark, creepy mechanical creature with sharp blades as fingers! I love this rendition of the cover because it portrays the theme of the film perfectly! That this does not belong. From a non bias perspective of one who has yet to see the actual film, one might wonder what exactly this thing is doing in happy innocent wonderland over there! Obviously her is sullen and sad and does not seem to be having a good time by himself over there in the right hand corner of the poster.
-Jason London

Sintel

      This is a movie poster from the short animated film Sintel. The poster uses the separation and longing to be together of the girl and baby dragon to pose questions. Why are the separated? Why do they want to be together? Will they be together in the end? What's keeping them apart? The last question can easily be answer from the advertisement. A huge wicked dragon is between the two characters, looming over them and keeping them apart. The fear in the girl and little dragon's eyes suggest this film is about the struggle of reconnecting. This ad is successful by posing questions to get you interested.
      The title is centered and doesn't grab your attention. It instead implies that the film is more subtle and not in your face. The title is also short, suggesting that dialogue is not the main focus. The credits and website are typical of a movie poster, informing you exactly what this is advertising. There are no reviews or slogans present on the poster. They would only direct attention away from the struggle and depth the two desperate characters are facing.
      This movie poster encourages you to watch the film by displaying an image that tells the main plot of its story and gets you interested and concerned about its outcome.
   

Paranoran Movie Trailer

Paranorman Movie Trailer :http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiRdf9crI7U
      The main purpose of the Paranorman movie trailer is to persuade an audience into seeing the movie. Like most movie trailers, this trailer highlights the main scenes of the movie to give its viewers a general idea of what the movie is suppose to be about. I believe one of Paranorman's main goals as a movie is to teach people lessons about bullying and mistreating others that are not like us because you never know when you may need them. This message is relayed through out the trailer with the tagline "You don't become a hero by being normal". The trailer also gives viewers a general idea of the movie's message by showing several scenes of Norman (the main character) being bullied by his sister and school kids but then showing a few scenes of how he will overcome the bullying and save the town from destructive zombies.
     In addition, there is also background music in the trailer which does not seem to be catchy. However, the background music is there to create suspense and draw the attention of the viewer.

                -FairyTaleMovieQueen

Almost Alice blog post 10

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZygF-Mj36c

       For This week I chose to present the formal elements of the song "Almost alice" by Avril Lavigne. In the beginning of the song there is a reverberated fanfare of dissonant and clashing pitches. The atonality suggests being taken out of the world we know and thrown in to a fantastical adventure. The striking beats of the bass drum and piano also suggest this notion. The music serves a psychological subtext to the sharp vocals of Lavigne. The orchestral aspect of the piece is affiliated with this same theme.  The strings are meant to represent a more aged and less modern representation of life, that we are not in the time that we normally are.  The harmonies are used as similar psychological subtext. The colors are very dark and contrasted, accenting the lighter parts of the screen. When Lavigne says the line "spinning around", the camera framing is rotating at 360 degrees to emphasize the notion of dizziness. The colors slowly begin to get lighter and lighter throughout the progression of the video. I believe this is meant to suggest that the reality that was originally believe to be the truth is not and the fantastical representation of this other worldly realm is the truth.

-Jason London

Fireflies

 

     Owl City's song, Fireflies, encompasses the ideas of childhood wonders and dreams. The lyrics and music give an alert subconscious vibe. It's chorus goes "I'd like to make myself believe that planet Earth turns slowly. It's hard to say that I'd rather stay awake when I'm asleep, 'cause everything is never as it seems when I fall asleep." The chorus' main points are time, sleep, and fantasy. The fact it seems like the Earth is rotating slowly suggests the irrelevancy of time, how time is nonexistent in dreams, how time is not restricting us. The slowed down time also implies that he wants to hold on to his childhood and the innocence that accompanies it. The desire to sleep instead of being awake invokes that feeling that sleeping and dreaming is in fact living and not the other way around.

      The music and instruments used in this song sound uncommon. Along with the voice, they really give the feeling of an upbeat exciting wonder. It seems to stimulate an active imagination which ties nicely into the idea of the song. I also feel that some of the instruments were used to mirror the sounds of the beeps and rings of childhood toys. The first and last times the chorus is sung the music takes a quiet, soft drum-like turn. I can't tell for sure if the music is repetitive as it feels like it changes ever so slightly over the course of the song.
      The music video itself uses many of those childhood toys, everything from little plastic robots to disco-balls. When ignoring the lyrics and focusing on the video I feel that the song is more about toys than sleep. That in his innocent mind, to him, the toys are really coming to life. But part of him feels that their animation is fleeting (like when the calculator writes goodbye or farewell). The video takes place entirely in his room and so much happens within that small of a space. Over the course of the video toys come out on the floor along with trains and a blimp. Near the end there is a whole bustling toy city in the center of his room. At the end all the toys and lights go away. I am torn between two ideas of why the toys left. They either left because he was waking up from a dream or growing up, or perhaps even both.
      My final interpretation of the song takes into consideration of the man at the keyboard's age. He seems far to old for a room like that (but then again that could just be him not letting go). I believe he lost his childhood and he is in constant longing to go back. The only way back is through his dreams.

comment

This week we are suppose to be commenting on other peoples blog posts

I decided to comment on Jason London's Lord of the ring Post because I remember watching the movie as a child, however, my perception of the movie had changed as I had gotten older.

http://escapingintofantasy.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-lord-of-ring.html?showComment=1352334674399

For my second post I commented on a blog on a website called pastemagazine.com. This blog talked about Tim Burton and his 10 Best movies which is relevant to me because I choose children's fantasy movies as my main topic. I talked about why Tim Burton's movies are so popular among children. I am listed as Sunshine Rays.

http://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/lists/2012/08/the-10-best-tim-burton-movies-so-far.html

Mirror Mirror -Jason London

Jason London

Commenting

For this week I did some commenting on fantasy in order to explore it better online:

      My first comment was on Dean Cypher's analysis on the movie Spirited Away. I discussed how well I felt the movie captured the fantasy genre as well as incorporated morals into the film. I also showed admiration for the movie's director Hayao Miyazaki.

      http://escapingintofantasy.blogspot.com/2012/09/spirited-away.html

      My second comment was posted on thefantasyforum.com and I went by the username "Multiverse". The main topic of the thread I replied to was "What do you like about fantasy?/ So what is it about the fantasy genre that draws you to it?" A summary of my response is that I like fantasy because it is the attempt at recreating the imagination.

      http://www.thefantasyforum.com/showthread.php?26856-What-do-you-like-about-fantasy/page2

      (Username: Multiverse, Post #22, November 5, 2012 @ 12:20pm)

Recreating

I didn't think I could make myself look like Coraline's mother but I thought I could draw her!

http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/dvd/universal2009/Coraline2.jpg                             
                                                                                                           -FairyTaleMovieQueen

The Extension

      For this week's post I decided to have a little fun and explore fantasy in the form of a video. It follows the path of floating bridges through a world of tall hexagonal pillars. I made this with Blender and added music from Freesound. Enjoy...

Fantasy is Positive

      Children's fantasy movies I believe are very positive because they give kids a positive outlook on fiction teaching them that it's okay to explore things that are not real. It helps them to be creative and promotes the use of imagination (crucial to the development of a child) opening up a world of pretend. Children are supposed to be free to explore and take healthy risks.

   Fantasy movies also introduce children to supernatural elements such as dragons or ghost which is healthy because they are introduced in a way that causes children to be more comfortable with them letting them know that they are not real. Many children's movies are also helpful in teaching valuable lessons about morals and life. 

     In general, children’s fantasy movies are important and promote many positive qualities in kids. They also give us early hope in teaching us that anything is possible and that we must pursue our hearts dreams and desires.

                    -FairyTaleMovieQueen

      

An Ancient Evil Awakens

      As promised, we will be covering gaming as well and, in this case, Halo 4 specifically. It is a first person shooter game exclusively for Xbox 360 with a release date of November 6, 2012. Its story is likely to include war between Humans, the alien race of the Covenant and the Prometheans. The intergalactic wars in the series introduce bizarre new worlds, species and technologies.

      Being a video game, it can't help but stretch the boundaries of our world and epitomize fantasy. Games are the only type of fantasy that adds the aspect of free choice to it. Being in a three-dimensional world enhances the wonder and intrigue with the freedom to look and move as you wish, something books, movies and pictures just don't have.

      Another interesting aspect of Halo 4 that has been evolving of the course of the past games is the forge. In the forge players are given pieces such as walls, windows, blocks, stairs, weapons, trait zones, spawns points, vehicles, you name it. With these pieces they are free to build anything they like and then be able to walk and play all over the map/what they built. This combination of an already fantastic world along with the creativity of the player makes for a unique, ever-changing experience.

      I am a huge fan of Halo and have already pitched in $100 for the limited edition. I know it will be amazing.  And, to explain beyond my capabilities, here's a video documentary of Halo 4.

"It's got to speak to fantasy"-Scott Warner at 1:00

Comic-con

        For this weeks post, I would like to share a little about a popular fantasy convention known as "Comic-con".  For those who do not know, Comic-con is an ongoing yearly event that, in my opinion, represents the pinnacle of fantasy social culture.  Fans flock to this event, selling out on tickets within the month of opening sales, to see popular fantasy flick stars or to hear the latest news in comics, video games and more.
        I have only attended one of these events, but in the short time I stayed I was immersed in the colorful excitement of the diverse demographic.  Fans often will dress up as their favorite character from a fantasy film or popular video game etc.  Within the sea of extravagantly dressed people are paid cos-players, usually incredible beautiful women.  Major contributors and promotors of the event and entertainment will scout women and pay them to show up to events in amazing costumes to arouse excitement in the audience.  The biggest name for the time being Jessica Nigri.  Nigris' latest costume was a real life version of the popular video game character from "Lollipop chainsaw".
        I do not consider myself a fantasy fanatic nor do I even express interest in most fantasy representations, but this event sparked something in me that i can only explain as childlike excitement.  This convention is something I believe everyone should experience at least once.
-Jason London

Elevation Askew

-Elevation Askew by Tariq Soliman

"A man ascends into imagination"

      To better understand fantasy I underwent creating it myself. I made this piece with Paint.NET and a mash up of online images.

      My central focus is on the man climbing the ladder upside-down. I liked the irony of the up climbing position but the downward travel. I next wanted to combine nature and attempted a tree. To keep up with fantasy I made the leaves gears and the roots wires. Perhaps it depicts the uniformity and complexity of nature. I don't know why but I wanted a dead bird. I let my whims and imagination guide me (sadly not to a .png image, but it's not that noticeable). Actually I'll change my mind and say the bird is sleeping. With sleep comes dreams.  Lastly the horse head nebula represents wonder and that fantasy exists in the real world. My plan when creating this was to have no plan and that made all the difference.

       This image is comprised of all real life things (the Pegasus being a horse and wings). It shows that we craft fantasy out of reality. Merriam-Webster defines fantasy as "the free play of creative imagination",  and that is just what this picture is. The beauty of fantasy is that it has no rules, forms or convention. It can be what ever you want it to be. It can be interpreted however you see fit.

Water Colossus

-Water Colossus by Farkwhad/Alexander Kintner

     This fantastic masterpiece is of an unimaginably huge water serpent. This enormous spirit has just entered this realm through a mystical portal. It tears away at the island with a high pressured jet of glowing water. The monster is chained up in decorative metal shackles. Its body aggressively flows with columned sea. The clouds and sky swirl with fear. The island floods in submission. A lone wizard stands atop a cliff's edge, challenging the insane behemoth.

     At first sight you don't notice the sheer scale of this image. It is somewhat breath-taking when you follow down the wizards path to the water colossus and actually get a good comparison of its size. It makes me feel small, insignificant and hopeless. Despite the feelings, I don't see this picture dark at all. The main colors, blue, green and brown, suggest more of a natural, calming and verdant side. I see the man perched at the end of the path as a moral to stand up, try and dismiss the impossible. That we are never given a burden we cannot handle. Looking at the whole, the art piece is deceptively tranquil, a mix between frightened and peaceful. It's overwhelming.

life after death

       This photo depicts a young pale woman dressed in a black victorian gown holding roses.  I infer that this woman could have possibly passed away. The almost transparent angel behind her is grasping the woman in a comforting fashion, possibly to let her know that it is alright for her to let go and move on.  How the woman is grasping the roses, in my opinion, is the representation that she is not willing to let go of life just yet. In the background there is an almost church like structure that seems to be fading away.  This is also a representation that the living plane is slowly fading away.
        This picture inspires many clashing feelings. For example, the feeling of sadness and regret that the earthly life has been taken from her.  With that said, because the angel is lighting up the darkness and comforts the women, feelings of hope and love surface.
         It is a bittersweet representation of life after death.
-Jason London

A Dark Being

     This picture depicts a dark and demonic figure pointing off into the distance. Behind him stands a dark tower almost melting away in the background. It is almost as if he is pointing at someone or something as though he has chosen them for destruction. There is a faded away picture of other beings like him on the bottom left corner of the picture. Fading away almost as if to be a memory.
     For me, this picture gives off a feeling of hopelessness or despair. The beings lifeless features and faceless profile make it seem as if he has no soul or life in him. Even the building in the background melting away seems as though there is no hope or feeling within the structure. Looking at the picture gives off a dark feel as if the being is either coming for you or for some other poor soul. When looking at this picture it gave me a depressing feeling of sadness which can be directly tied to the dark colors, and the way that everything in the background seems to be fading away into darkness. It is not a happy photo and does not seem to have been drawn by somebody in a happy state of mind.

Research

To help you guys relate a little more to the things we talk about on this blog, here are a couple websites I use to get a better understanding on fantasy culture.

fantasy-fan.org

Fantasy Fan is a great website to find reviews on books, movies and anything else fantasy related. They also have in depth discussions on fantasy culture and fiction which you can add to or read in their many forums.

http://www.scifinow.co.uk/

Scifi now is a fantastic place to get the latest news and reviews on anything related to scifi, fantasy, horror, and video game culture. They are updated daily with the latest content and give both reviews and news on the world of fantasy.

These two websites give a good balance between fact and opinion. You can hear when the next great thing is coming out and then find out whether or not it was any good when it is released. You can get deep conversation and debate on the forums, and see media and clips from many great works.

Paranorman

This picture is from http://www.movie-list.com/trailers.php?id=paranorman

     Paranorman, distributed by Focus Features and created by Tim Burton is a wonderful movie about a boy named Norman who possesses the gift of seeing and speaking with the dead. Unfortunately, because of his extraordinary talent he is mistreated and misunderstood by his family and most people in town. Anyhow, he is given a mission by his outcast (and later on deceased) uncle to read a fairy-tale on the dead witch's grave (who was executed  during the Salem Witch Trials) in attempt to put her back to sleep along with the zombies that torment the town. After realizing that the with was only a little girl who had the same gift as him, he proceeds to help relieve her sadness by listening to her story of reject and execution and being understanding toward her. Nevertheless, he was successful in solving the problem between the living and the dead and people including his family finally began to accept him.
    Paranorman is an astounding children's movie because it's main purpose is to teach us not to belittle others because they are different or because we don't understand them. Although, the film is animated and at many times humorous, it is also touching and made many people (including myself) come to tears due to the fact that most of us, if not all of us, at some point in our lives have been rejected or felt mistreated by our families, social groups, or by those we admire. However fortunately, as Norman explains to the little girl, although it may not seem like it, there is always someone who loves us and cares.
     Watching this film I was really surprised at the messages and themes of the movie because I expected it to be similar to a classic zombie movie only animated. Thus, I was blown away and it's deep meaning caused this children's film to be one that I will always remember.
 

Research

         In order to offer a little insight on the Fantasy fiction community, I  have chosen a couple websites that do just that.

http://www.tor.com/

Tor.com is a great website because it offers input from fantasy fanatics along with other people who wish to add their own opinions.  It also offers reading suggestions, movies, and photo galleries.

http://www.scifan.com/

Scifan offers a comprehensive database for sci fi/fantasy books. While offer insight to the history and evolution of the fantasy genre.  Scifan promotes sci fi and fantasy as literary treasures.

The websites work well together because one offers a communal discussion from fantasy lovers, while the other gives background to the literary evolution of fantasy.

-Jason London

Research

To further our mission of expressing and defining the world of fantasy I'll inspect other sources as well:

• Fantasy Fiction Genre Definition - Find Me an Author - Steve Bennett

http://www.findmeanauthor.com/fantasy_fiction_genre.htm
     This link encompasses much of fantasy and is by far the most complete. It defines it, covers history, sub-genres and cross-overs. It infers that fantasy is a captivating escape. With the lines and boundaries of fantasy unclear, this is a great source to help clear it up.

• Fantasy Sub-genres - Fiction Factor - Lee Masterson
• Overview of Fantasy Fiction Genres and Sub-Genres - Yahoo - M

http://fantasy.fictionfactor.com/articles/subgenres.html
http://voices.yahoo.com/overview-fantasy-fiction-genres-sub-genres-474787.html
     There are many sub-genres to fantasy. The above sites defines and differentiates the major ones. They focus on sub-genres such as dark fantasy, sword and sorcery and Arthurian fantasy. They will help our understanding of fantasy by breaking it down into smaller, separate areas of study.

• Questions of Genre - Film Reference -  ?

http://www.filmreference.com/encyclopedia/Criticism-Ideology/Fantasy-Films-QUESTIONS-OF-GENRE.html
     Here, fantasy isn't broken into sub-genres but instead questions the similarities and differences between fantasy, science-fiction and horror. How that fantasy is the most free, science fictions goal is to simulate a believable alter reality and horror is unreal fear. It is necessary to understand how fantasy films overlap and exist in other genres.

• Top 15 Fantasy Worlds in Video Games - Telegraph - ?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/video-games/8859915/Top-15-Fantasy-worlds-in-video-games.html
     With gaming comes more than just a picture to look at or a story to read. I really wanted to include video games because they add another dimension and give you control in fantastic lands. This source offers both pictures and descriptions of the top fifteen fantasy worlds. With games it shows how to make fantasy fun by actually incorporating you into it. This is perhaps the closest we'll ever get to these surreal worlds and its well worth looking into.

• What is Modern Fantasy Fiction - Yahoo - Bunchwacky

http://voices.yahoo.com/what-modern-fantasy-fiction-1365811.html?cat=38
     This short post breaks up elements that create fantasy such as talking animals and time travel. It states fantasy needs to "break reality" and "suspend...disbelief". Unlike other articles this one states that science fiction is fantasy. I feel the difference between should be further explored.

• Fantasy vs Science Fiction - Barnes and Noble Book Club - started by: lady_hockey

http://bookclubs.barnesandnoble.com/t5/Fantasy-Science-Fiction/Fantasy-vs-Science-Fiction/td-p/62277
     This is a forum with three pages of responses to the difference between science fiction and fantasy. With so many people responding so many ideas and views are thrown out. Such ideas include that fantasy doesn't rely on science as science fiction does or that science fiction is just a modern fantasy. It is important to hear other people out as the differences seem to be more and more about opinion.

• Computer Graphics Hub

http://cghub.com/images/
     Here's what I believe to be a great mix of fantasy,science fiction, surrealism art. It has images of everything from concept art and computer graphics to full scale structures. Just something fun and interesting as fantasy should be.

Howl's Moving Castle

      Thinking about fantasy the first movie that came to mind was Howl's Moving Castle. The main story is about a young girl named Sophie who unfortunately is cursed into an old woman. Sophie beings her journey to lift the curse and right away meets Howl, a half man half bird warrior who lives in a giant walking castle. A talking fire then tells Sophie that if she helps him he will lift her curse; so she sticks around and becomes entangled in the rest of the story. Yet there is something that begins to worry her more than her age, she falls in love with Howl and learning his life as a human is coming to an end, she focuses on saving him.

      To further analyze the film I will use the approach of just looking at a single image of the film, the one above. This scene is cut across the middle combining both the simple life of a farmer and the whimsical and complex castle in the background. It suggests that an everyday person is in fact destined for change and something great. Which is true, nearly every aspect of Sophie's life changes: everyone she knows, where she lives, her worries, her age and most of all her goal.  She is uprooted out of her life like one of the castles feet from the ground. The fog in the distance portrays the mystery and unknown of the future as much of the movie has you question and forces you to just accept things that are unreal.

      As any good movie Howl's Moving Castle teaches strong morals. Such morals are good versus evil as depicted in the war going on. Another is that not everything is what it seems, seen in the many transformations of the characters such as Howl turning into a bird, Sophie becoming old and the scarecrow turning out to be the lost prince. A third moral is that we're all good on the inside, revealed when the once evil witch that cursed Sophie befriends her. A last being that love triumphs all, love is what ended the curse and love is what  returned Howl's heart.

      For anyone in search of a unique fantastical film that both engages you in the story and well crosses the border of reality I highly suggest Howl's Moving Castle.

The Lord Of The Rings

      The Lord Of The Rings is a successful fantastical trilogy that, in my opinion, is the pinnacle of occult films.  The number of followers and franchises this series has created is astronomical.  Ranging from board games, video games, puzzles, cos-play, role-play, and conventions.  I like The Lord Of The Rings because it incorporates so many different aspects of supernatural and fantasy culture into one film , such as wizards, goblins, elves, dragons, orcs, etc. 

      The film follows the adventure of a "Hobbit" or half-ling, a small child looking race, as he tries to make his way into the deepest and darkest part of enemy territory to destroy the ring of power.  The theme emphasizes the bond between friends and the uniting of feuding races, joining together to combat a common enemy for the good of all kind.  Unless, of course, you are the "bad guys", then it won't work out too well.  

       Following the endeavors of each individual characters, the audience begins to feel for them, wanting them to achieve their goals and hurts when something bad happens to one of them.  Because of this, I believe this trilogy has become more then movies but an experience for which the audience may enter a new world filled with excitement and bemusement by all the incredible creations that fill this world.  

        If you are a fantasy and supernatural fanatic I suggest you watch these movies and wait in anticipation for the three prequel movies to come out,  If you haven't already.  

-Jason London

Spirited Away

     Spirited Away is a movie about a young girl named Chihiro, who accidentally travels into the spirit world. She stumbles upon a mythical bathhouse for the inhabitants of the world, where she must work as a servant. This movies overall themes are friendship and the innocence of a child. Her parents have been trapped and turned into pigs by an evil witch who owns the bathhouse and she must work with the witches slave to get them back to normal. She makes many friends who if she had not met, she never would have succeeded. Her friends are constantly helping her through this mysterious world and teaching her lessons along the way. This movie shows that sometimes, help from your friends can be crucial. In the spirit world friendship is the most important thing for Chihiro.
     Chihiros innocence in many ways makes her more successful in the spirit world than an adult would have been. She doesn't seem to question the craziness of the spirit world. She keeps an open mind and goes along with the wacky things she is told to do. It is a great movie that really makes you think about how childlike innocence and friendship can help you get through life with a little more ease. Ill be back on soon to give you guys another update on the world of fantasy culture.

The Princess and the Frog

http://www.shallownation.com/2009/11/03/ne-yo-never-knew-i-needed-video-the-princess-and-the-frog-soundtrack-track-list-cover-art/

      The Princess and the Frog is a Disney movie that takes place in New Orleans, Louisiana telling a story about an underprivileged young woman named Tiana whose dream had been to open a successful restaurant. Tiana is so determined to open her restaurant that she spends most of her time over working herself for tips as a waitress. However, she encounters a major obstacle when she and Prince Naveen are transformed into frogs through works of the Shadow Man and the Prince's assistant. In Turn, the frogs travel the bayou with the help of friendly creatures in search of Mama Odie the voodoo priestess who they believe will make them human again. During this journey, Tiana experiences enjoyment and love for the first time, yet all she can think about is opening her restaurant. After finally reaching Mama Odie and being rejected, Tiana begins to realize that working hard is important but should not consume her entire life and what she needed was love and companionship.
     This movie portrays it's message best through shape and symbolism. For example, the Shadow man was known to be threatening and menacing. This message is relayed through the elongated crooked shape of his body, he also had skull and cross bones on his hat implying that he may be dangerous. However, although both Mama Odie and the Shadow Man were Voodoo priest and priestesses, we can differentiate the good and evil between the two characters because Mamma Odie is portrayed in an opposite manner. She is short and round, and instead of wearing mysterious colors such as black and purple like the Shadow Man, she is wearing cream white. Their environments are also symbolic to their personalities and motives because Mamma Odie is always shown in a background where there are many vibrant colors and many animals around her. I include the description of animals because this tells me that they are not afraid of her therefore she is not a threat. On the contrary, the Shadow Man is always lurking around in dark corners and is constantly surrounded by evil ghostly spirits.
   In the movie, these two characters are the key elements in symbolizing the battle between goodness and evil. I believe that the movie's main goal is to continue to remind ourselves and our children that goodness can always overpower evil things and situations. Furthermore, it also emphasizes that business and work is not everything but we must also take time to stop and enjoy ourselves as well.

-FairyTaleMovieQueen

   

Dragons In The Distance

     Dragons have always been a prominent figure in the world of fantasy. They're big, they breathe fire, and they can fly. Whats not love? This particular image depicts a great behemoth of a dragon, sitting on a ledge spouting flames from his mouth. You can tell a lot from the dark lighting and backgrounds in this photo. The dark sky behind the great beast gives a feeling of danger or dark times as if this dragon may be the cause of problems for the people of the land. The dark clouds give the picture a melancholy feel of hopelessness or despair. In the distance you can clearly see a secluded castle perched atop a steep rock formation. These people may be the victims of this dragons terror. They may be the people feeling the helplessness caused by his destruction.
     In this photo the attention is drawn mostly to the dragon on the right. Its large size takes up over half of the image making it almost impossible to ignore. His fire breath is also one of the only brightly colored things in the photo making it very vibrant and noticeable. The moon in the background is also very bright in contrast to the dark sky making it another very prominent object in the image. These two figures make what could possibly be a sprawling kingdom seem almost petty and insignificant in comparison, further expressing the importance of the dragon and its influence on the land. This concludes my analysis of this photo and Ill be back on soon to give you guys another update.

For my first post, I would like to go into an in depth analysis of this photo.  First I want to direct attention to the two figures.  The man in this photo is visibly in shock that this semi-transparent being is taking hold of him.  Notice that the man who is being held has his eyes fixed on the face of the being, he sees that paranormal entity that enshrouds him while he is in his study.  However, it seems as though that being itself is not fixed on the mans face.  It looks as though the figure is gazing above the mans head, staring into the corner of the room.  This may suggest that although the spirit is visible in the mans dimension, it has not completely crossed over itself.  It is trapped between two realities, that of the living and the dead.  Also, the way in which the entity is wrapping itself around the man suggests familiarity, possibly that this being is someone who new the man before he passed away, and he senses the familiar presence.  Let's move on from the characters in the photo and focus more on the surroundings. Notice how dark the furniture is compared to the floor and wall, as well the gothic shapes of the furniture.  They look very luxurious, this suggests that the man comes from affluence.  With that, they also look very ominous, not too sure how it corresponds to the entirety of the strangeness of the photo but I'm sure that it contributes greatly to the mystery.  I count three light sources that leak into this picture.  Two are pointed directly towards the top of the book shelve and one on the ground covering the floor.  These light sources contribute to the semi-transparancy of the entity.  The light gives the viewer a sense of security, while the dark shadows give a sense of an ominous presence encroaching on the safety of the light.  This completes my photo analysis  this week.

-Jason London

Coraline

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKCjlHxZTeC2vz62v259kLxboPfCIANjJ8EpDtc17oKOCslosG8ogbALEK8UShEA05P1eAswo4l96SR3t1rsmVXzgQ3pNCiQqgqQO7nG7MVGCgzcT5hfV9HGJiyiusc6cfITLLiIxLhrQ/s1600/coraline-door-movie.jpg
http://sassyisconvenient.blogspot.com/2011/06/30-days-of-film-bels-day-17.html

     This is an image from the Children's fantasy movie Coraline produced by Focus Features. By looking at this photo we can tell that it captures a scene that takes place during the night. The room is very dim and gray, there are no lights on and the only light in the room is coming from the moon through a window we can not see. Although she is not centered to the photo, Coraline is obviously the main focus because she is the most vibrant subject in the room and also the only light is reflected onto her.
    It is very interesting that although there is not much light, the room looks very dull and old. We can tell that this was once a room that was used for gathering (meaning like a family room or dinning room) because there is a fireplace, a picture on the wall, and items on the mantel. However now, the room looks desolate as if there is not much time spend there by the family occupying the house. The fire place looks empty and forgotten and there are outside tools in the room implying that there may have been remodeling done or maybe that the room is now used for storing miscellaneous items.
     Coraline's devious facial expression hints to us that she may be doing something mischievous. It looks as though she is alone in the room and she is certainly not acknowledging us as viewers. She is barley pulling open the door and looks excited to be doing so as if she had been waiting for the opportunity all along.
     This photo portrays suspense. It seems very mysterious because Coraline is a child and she is in this room most likely alone in the middle of the night. Also, she did not turn any lights on and this may be because she does not want anyone to know she is in this particular room. The image is even more suspicious because she is not going into a normal door. This particular door is in the middle of a wall, does not have a door knob, and is so small that a child has to be on their knees in order to enter. What is Caroline doing?

- FairyTaleMovieQueen 

  

An Analyzed Duel

                                                                                                                             -Duel by Maciej Kuciara

   This suspenseful encounter between a young girl and a mechanical beast is not only frightening but also hopeless. My first thought being that the small little handgun is definitely no match for the metal behemoth. I get the feeling that both parties are fully aware of the fate of the duel. The girl is hopeless and reluctantly allows the monster's stone hand to reach towards her. The image also seems to evoke that they've met before and here they meet again.
   With a supposed story out of the way we can now move on to the individual elements. At first glance at the image, my eyes are forced upon the girl. She is by far the most lit and prominent. The path of the eye resumes by continuing down the short length of her arm to the gun and then the would-be destination of the bullet. And here we find our antagonist, only to say antagonist because it's easier in our minds to relate to something common and not of fantasy, and its radiant blue eyes trailing in from the left, its trail perhaps of an intense flame or a swift movement. Lastly, before analyzing the image as a whole, our eyes head to the far right, to the claw. Its presence crafts an impression of the overwhelming power of the creature, the constricting force in an unknown jungle. The hand's reflective appearance and sectioned off joints is what first suggested to me that this entity is in fact some form of conscious android.
  Our perspective of this duel is first-person. The blurry bottom left corner provides the impression that we are crouched, hidden, and watching the scene unfold before us. The setting appears to be a jungle or possibly a nature won city. The handgun and girl's clothing infers that its time period is not far from ours, if not ours. The setting's light sources seem to be a rising sun cutting through a lush canopy, the misunderstood creature ignited blue eyes and a third, unknown, illuminating the girls back.
   My choice for this art work was not random, I actually spent quite a long time with a sieve sifting through a myriad of other computer graphic and photo shopped images of fantasy before setting my sights on this one. I love this picture, I wish it was wallpaper sized, I love the colors, its simplicity, sense of mystery, how balanced it feels, the aura of anticipation it carries and its bone-chillingness. The epitome of beautiful fantasy.

Hello!

Oh hey!

        

          My name is Jason London, I'm a ctva major at california state university northridge.  I plan on investigating the inner workings of fantasy culture, while analyzing the supernatural/fantasy genre as well. I intend to offer my opinions of fantasy culture while analyzing and dissecting all aspects of the products of supernatural and fantasy culture that I can think of.   

          I do not consider myself to be an expert on this particular genre.  But being a movie lover and an amateur movie and game critic I feel confident enough in my own abilities to properly analyze this field.  My hope is for this blog to be entertaining and exciting for the reader, while maintaining an informative and investigative manner.  Well, let's get to it. 

The First of Many Posts

     Hello, my name is Dean Cypher. I am a college freshman and real estate major at Cal State University of Northridge. I have always been interested in fantasy culture and media. Everything from movies to T.V. to books and art. I have always thought it was a good way to get away to escape from the real world for a little while and become emerged in these stories of excitement and wonder. I wouldn't call myself an expert but I would say I know a good amount about the genre. Ill be on this blog to give you my two cents on the world of fantasy, the supernatural and the effects they have on the world. I look forward to writing more posts in the near future and I would like to thank everyone who supports this blog and its authors.

Tariq Soliman

      Hello, my name is Tariq Soliman. I am currently a student of California State University Northridge majoring in computer science. I have be fascinated by the unreal and imaginary for a good portion of my life.  I believe what the imagination conjures up is not just a mental vision but something that has substance and breaks through the barrier of reality. I thoroughly enjoy when my brain is stimulated to disregard proven fact and accept something that would otherwise be absurd, whether it be from television, movies, art, stories or games.
      I write to you as someone with a gift. A unique gift that every single person has innately lodged in their being. One that is taken for granted. The ability to concoct memories and subconscious into beautifully creative works. I am a fan of all works that promote the mind whether it be a television series such as Heroes that borders on magic and genetics to Stephen Shaheen's headlight in which little men with light bulbs for heads struggle to plug themselves in. Among these also fit David Johnson's firework photographs, M.C. Escher's many famous masterpieces that justify illusion such as Waterfall and video games such as Myst and Portal that reshape this world and alter physics.
      I plan, in this blog, to contribute insight into my interpretation of fantasy, shed light on the definition of supernatural and question what it means to live in a world that plans on pushing the limits.

FairyTaleMovieQueen

     Hello those of you who are interested in the world of supernatural and fantasy. I will be known to you as the FairyTaleMovieQueen and will be talking about controversial topics dealing with children's fantasy and supernatural films such as Disney films, Pixar films, and children's films produced by Focus Features. Like many other Americans I grew up watching films produced by these companies and they have always been very entertaining for me. Interestingly enough, I still continue to enjoy these films; however, now I tend to analyze these films more effectively and would like to began focusing on some of the controversial subjects associated them. 

- FairyTaleMovieQueen