Her

1.) Relate what was discussed in class or the text to the screening.

The book Flashback: A Brief History of Films, describes how director Spike Jonze's generation of filmmakers is ushering in a rebirth of Hollywood. Films such as Jonze's Being John Malkovich, and the Wachowski siblings' The Matrix are headlining a new wave of successful films. Like Lucas, Spielberg, and Kubrick before him, Spike Jonze brings a fresh and divergent take on traditional Hollywood. Her is a film unlike romantic comedies that came before it in that it examines a new type of relationship - one between a man and a computer. Never before had such a subject matter been seen in cinema. However, the film's influence is already apparent. Just as Spielberg's Raiders of the Lost Ark influenced adventure films in the 1980s and 1990s, films released in the wake of Her, such as Transcendence have begun to include artificial intelligence as a major force in the story. This new trend shows that Spike Jonze is now a source of inspiration and influence for the next generation of revolutionary film makers.

2.) Find a related article and summarize the content.

http://www.wired.com/2014/01/will-influential-ui-design-minority-report/

An article on wired.com discusses the aesthetics of the future world depicted in Her. The film features a future world where technology has not changed the world, but has instead dissolved into it. In Her's world, people still use desktop computers, Bluetooth-like headsets, and television monitors. Even the phones used by the characters in the film reflect this idea of integrated technology. According to the article, director Spike Jonze is highly critical of modern day smart phones which require too much attention. In Her, the characters are seen using their phones considerably less frequently and the phones themselves are designed to look more like a pocket matchbook than the hulking devices they are today. Also discussed in the article is the nature of the artificial intelligences seen in the film. As stated in the article the writers of the film created an operating system (OS) meant to simplify itself in order to emulate human behavior, offering an aid to solve a problem rather than having all the answers.

3.) Apply the article to the film screened in class.

Unlike Star Trek, Minority Report, and Back to the Future Part II, Her's future does not focus on a world entirely altered by the presence of technology. In fact, most of the technology seen in the film already exists. Wireless miniature headsets, voice command computers, pocket-sized phones with powerful operating systems, and immersive interactive videogames have already become common place over the past ten or so years. Where the design of Her differs from other future-based films is that the look and feel of technology has actually reverted. Computers are not the size of eyeglasses, nor are they three-dimensional simulations. The OS is still displayed on a desktop monitor with loading screens and files and folders to sort all the data on the hard drive. Even the video games played by the main character, Theo, is not far off from current technologies which utilize physical player motions to control the in-game action. It is this delicate and minor adjustment of current technologies that makes the future of Her believable.

4.) Write a critical analysis of the film.

Her is a strangely enticing film about the relationship between a man and his computer's operating system. On one hand, it is a love story about two people of completely different realities, in this case one of them is virtual, who find love and solace in one another. On the other hand it is a tragic story about a lonely man who can only find happiness when he interacts with a machine programmed to pinpoint and exploit what makes him happy. The film strings the audience along in the false romance and at a critical moment takes a step back to point out the obvious - that this man is dating a computer and this Pygmalion-like love story has to end. This moment of epiphany is what jolts the man, and by extension the audience, to realize that his perfect relationship might just be too perfect and his romance with a computer might be more embarrassing than it is heartwarming. 

CHECKLIST FOR PLAGIARISM 
1) (X) I have not handed in this assignment for any other class. 

2) (X) If I reused any information from other papers I have written for other classes, I clearly explain that in the paper. 

3) (X) If I used any passages word for word, I put quotations around those words, or used indentation and citation within the text. 

4) (X) I have not padded the bibliography. I have used all sources cited in the bibliography in the text of the paper. 

5) (X) I have cited in the bibliography only the pages I personally read. 

6) (X) I have used direct quotations only in cases where it could not be stated in another way. I cited the source within the paper and in the bibliography. 

7) (X) I did not so over-use direct quotations that the paper lacks interpretation or originality. 

8) (X) I checked yes on steps 1-7 and therefore have been fully transparent about the research and ideas used in my paper. 

Name: ______Alex Wisniewski______________  Date: _______5/13/14_________________

The King of Comedy

1.) Relate what was discussed in class or the text to the screening.

According to Flashback: A Brief History of Film, Martin Scorsese's films are rarely polished, and many scenes are disjointed and at times inconsistent. The book states that the director manages to force such incoherent scenes together simply through his own personality. An example of this found in The King of Comedy is the lack of clarity regarding reality and fantasy. At numerous times in the film the main character, Rupert Pupkin has vivid and complex fantasies where he is a colleague and close friend with his idol Jerry Langford. The film never explicitly states or visually shows when a daydream begins and ends, often leaving it to the audience to determine when the film has crossed over.

2.) Find a related article and summarize the content.

http://thedissolve.com/features/movie-of-the-week/387-the-king-of-comedy-forum-is-rupert-pupkin-funny-an/

In an article posted on Thedissolve.com there is a roundtable discussion of the film The King of Comedy. The topics highlighted in this forum are style/storytelling, Fame and Fandom, Comedy of Discomfort, and Jerry Lewis. In the fame and fandom portion writer Tasha Robinson highlights the irony of Rupert Pupkin's plight to become a celebrity. Robinson writes that Pupkin frequently daydreams about becoming famous and having casual conversations with high-profile stars, never realizing that being in such a position will make him the target of obsessive groupies and lunatics, much like himself. The drawbacks of fame are depicted by Jerry Langford, who cannot leave his own home without being mobbed by crowds of fans and stopped by people on the street. Keith Phillips, another contributor to the discussion, notes how interesting it is to see how fans made contact with celebrities before the days of the internet.

3.) Apply the article to the film screened in class.

According to Robinson, Phillips, and the other contributors to the discussion regarding The King of Comedy, the film shows both sides of celebrity culture. From Pupkin's perspective the glamorous and fabulous side of stardom is shown, where everyone is a friend and constantly pumping up everyone else with praises. From Langford's perspective the demanding and at times uncomfortable side of fame is highlighted, teeming with crazed groupies and demanding fans. In the end, the film shows that neither side of stardom is all that appealing, varying form a desperate and hopeless attempt to gain a celebrity's attention to an equally desperate and hopeless search to escape the fame and constant attention from the fans.

4.) Write a critical analysis of the film.

The King of Comedy is a satire of modern culture and the emphasis of importance on celebrities. Pupkin and several other characters in the film eagerly await the brief appearance of their idols, often going at great lengths to garner their attention. It is a social satire which highlights what is valued in modern culture. This film is a perfect example of Scorsese's clever and at times sarcastic style of film making. At the end of King of Comedy Rupert Pupkin is shown before an off-screen live audience at the taping of what is presumably his first television comedy special. Scorsese leaves clues in this scene and earlier in the film to allow the viewer to decide if Pupkin really became famous, or is imaging his fortune. Throughout the movie Pupkin is shown having daydreams complete with visual and auditory stimulations, but the film also shows that whenever Pupkin is in this reality vague elements of the real world around him remain. At the end of the film when Pupkin is about to begin his television special, the curtain behind him is very similar in appearance to prison stripes. Scorsese leaves it to the audience to interpret this as a coincidence or a clue that Pupkin is again fantasizing. It is Scorsese's method of surreptitiously leading the audience to make their own conclusions that makes him one of the most unique and recognizable film makers of the modern era.

CHECKLIST FOR PLAGIARISM 
1) (X) I have not handed in this assignment for any other class. 

2) (X) If I reused any information from other papers I have written for other classes, I clearly explain that in the paper. 

3) (X) If I used any passages word for word, I put quotations around those words, or used indentation and citation within the text. 

4) (X) I have not padded the bibliography. I have used all sources cited in the bibliography in the text of the paper. 

5) (X) I have cited in the bibliography only the pages I personally read. 

6) (X) I have used direct quotations only in cases where it could not be stated in another way. I cited the source within the paper and in the bibliography. 

7) (X) I did not so over-use direct quotations that the paper lacks interpretation or originality. 

8) (X) I checked yes on steps 1-7 and therefore have been fully transparent about the research and ideas used in my paper. 

Name: ______Alex Wisniewski______________  Date: _______5/4/14_________________