Week 7: Building Worlds of Your Own

Our zip code is 08205, but many New Jerseyans refer to our location by the Parkway’s exit number or area code. Our is exit 41, off the Garden State Parkway, and the area code (609). These numbers are just numbers to most people, but for us it means home.

We use this way to talk to other New Jerseyans once we find out they’re from our county. But if we are talking to another New Jerseyan and they’re not from our county we’ll leave it at that. But, the most important thing you ask someone from NJ is this: are you from North or South?

Yes, New Jersey is one state, but we’re also the most densely populated state. There’s a lot of people who live in NJ, and the state is tall and thin, which makes the people in the North very different than the people from the south. We’re like peanut butter and jelly. We get along (for the most part) and compliment each other, but we are literally as different as can be.

South Jersey, or, “SoJo,” is where I am from. And I can say, though I admit I’m pretty biased, that SoJo is way better than NoJo. South Jersey is beautiful. Most of our part of the state is made up of farms, suburbs and shopping plazas. But mainly suburbs, which is where I live. If you refer to the map, we are the yellow part labeled “ghetto in the woods,” which isn’t true but still funny. We are really the suburbs in the woods. The streets are quiet, your yard is filled with trees, and there’s actually space in between the houses. Most of Galloway is divided up into avenues with even numbers two through ten. When you’re in public school and you tell your friend you live off of 8th, they say they live off of 2nd or 4th. The schools here are great too. They’re very diverse and there’s a low crime and bullying rate. SoJos are very chill people who tend to have long friendships. I am still friends with my best friend Katie from the first grade. I’ve also been friends with a group of people since the 8th grade. Most people who live in Galloway tend to stay in Galloway, or at least never leave New Jersey.  I don’t blame them, I love Sojo, but when I had the opportunity to go to college out of state, I took it. Now I’m here in Florida and the rest is history.

Speaking of history, we have two local legends. The Jersey Devil and Wawa.

Wawa didn’t start in Sojo, but it’s very popular here. We spend our summers at the Shore, eating Wawa hoagies1, having day trips to Philly2 and having bonfires.

The Jersey Devil is an herban legend that has gone on since 1735, which is supposedly when the creature was born. It’s well-known enough to have a wikipedia article about it. It roams the Pine Barrens3 of Sojo.

Okay, I could go on and on about Sojo, but it would be unfair if I didn’t discuss North Jersey. North Jersey is pretty cool. If you ever meet someone from our state, you’ll most likely meet a NoJo. The north is VERY densely populated and it’s disgusting. It’s basically the suburb of New York City, which can be cool at times, but New York traffic gets old for a chill South Jerseyan.

During my college years I’ve gotten to know the North better. During my second year of college in Florida I met and started dating someone who is from the North! He lives just a train ride from the big city. I started visiting him up in NoJo during summer and winter breaks. It’s….quaint in many parts. But it could do without all the traffic. He lives in a town just above Paterson, NJ.

Now, few of you readers from my class may recognize the name of that town from the novel, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. I can relate to this single, trifling fact of the book because I have actually been to modern-day Paterson. Sure I didn’t fully experience all of Paterson that Oscar did in his youth, but for the short amount of time I was there, I knew it was not a very pleasant place. Even today, if you ask any Nojo who isn’t from Paterson about Paterson, their response will be: don’t go to Paterson.

I can see why Oscar had dreams of becoming the next Tolkien and his interest in nerdy things. It was his escape from Paterson. Video games and books were his escape from the real world. I find it admirable that Oscar had big dreams of becoming a writer. It is similar to the way I felt when I wanted to leave New Jersey and “escape” to Florida. I know that for me at least, I wanted out of my world for a while and into a new world. In my world after high school, many students went to Rutgers University, the same school Oscar went to. I have many friends who go there, including my closest and dearest best friend. Rutgers isn’t all that fun either. The campus has grown so much that on some days, there will be over 70 students waiting at the bus stop to catch a bus to class, to go to a different part of the campus. That world is so different from Ringling. Personally, I am fortunate to be a part of the “world” that Ringling is, and my other world will always be the place I call home, South Jersey.  

1. (AKA. subs/sandwiches)
2. (AKA. Philadelphia, PA.) While the South has Philly as the closest biggest city, the North has New York City.
3. (AKA. woods)

Week Five: Reading the Great American Novel

“They tell me you are a man with true grit.” – Mattie Ross

            True Grit is considered to be one of the “Greatest American Novels”, and I can see why- it is very American. The novel is made up of the values of America during that time. The storyline itself, and how it is told shows the culture and demonstrates American values.

            In the story, Mattie Ross is an old woman in 1928, and is describing her adventure she had at the age of fourteen. After her father is wrongfully killed, Mattie is determined to seek justice and goes after the killer. To do so, she needs the help of a man with “true grit.” The values that make up the definition of “true grit” capture the spirit of the American mid-west. Mattie is determined throughout the entire book. She does not take no for an answer, and she continues forth on the journey. She is after the man, Tom Chaney, and has help from two men, Rooster and LaBoeuf, to find him. Rooster is doing it for the money and LaBoeuf is doing it because he has been after Chaney for a few months for killing other people. Together, they join forces to go after Chaney. At first, the two men try to get Mattie to not follow them on their adventure. They say she is just a child, but it’s also because of gender discrimination, but Mattie deals with that throughout the book. An example of this is when a man said to her “I thought you were just a floating hat.” This is just a part of their culture during this time period. But in the end, Mattie and the two men succeed in getting Chaney. Mattie makes it out alive – stronger and tougher, but minus one arm. In one of the final “scenes,” Rooster saves Mattie after a snake bites her. Rooster and her ride on her horse until the horse literally dies.  They eventually find a doctor and she lives. The story ends with many years have passed. Mattie is going to visit Rooster. She hears that he is dead, and passed away recently so she gets his coffin relocated to her family grave plot. She sees him as an honorable man. He is the archetypal “western hero.” This story completely captures the American mythology, and the values of that time period. The story, to narrow it down, is an example of “good vs. evil.” Much like a true western.

            Because it is a period piece, I very much felt that old west language while reading. Part of the culture and identity of that part of America during that time was the way people spoke with their slang and abbreviations. The language of the novel makes it all the more pleasurable to read. Some of my favorite examples of this are the people’s names – “Rooster” Cogburn and “Moon,” the boy. And lastly, the best example, the word grit, meaning determination, toughness, and doing what is right. That is the primary example of the values in the story.

            True Grit is a true Western classic.

Values, in class assignment

5 of my most importance values

Honesty/truth

Trust

Kindness

Humility

Intelligence

            Being a computer animation major, I’m going to relate my values to two of my favorite animated films, Tangled and How to Train Your Dragon. Many animated films have characters that demonstrate values, but I feel that I connect with characters like Rapunzel and Hiccup.

            Rapunzel displays kindness to everyone she meets. She is humble, innocent, and though she was lied to her entire life, (though she doesn’t know until later) she greets everyday with a smile and a longing to explore and learn new things. She is a sweet and genuine character.

            Hiccup is the little and humble underdog of the story, who is different from most Vikings. He is inventive, very intelligent, and creates a contraption so Toothless the dragon can fly. Though he shot the dragon down, he earned the trust of the dragon and the two become a dynamic duo, and prove to the rest of the village that dragons can be trusted.  

September 9: Influence

            I found that this week’s assignment was an enjoyable task of viewing the work of two great artists. I had the pleasure of watching the Grand Budapest Hotel for the first time. It is a movie that I’ve been meaning to watch for some time now, and I’m glad that I finally watched it. I greatly enjoyed the film, and can see how the works of Stephen Zweig influenced Anderson’s film.

            Despite the lengthy and widely optional amount of reading for this week, I read sections of Zweig’s Journey into the Past, Beware of Pity and Post Office Girl. Journey into the Past began with an introduction of Zweig by Andre Aciman. I found this to be vital in my understanding of Zweig’s work and of him as a person.

            The introduction describes Zweig’s background- coming from a wealthy Viennese Jewish family and moved to England prior to the war. Distressed by the war, in Europe, he moved to the US and lastly to Brazil. To me it feels like he tried pushing himself away from the war as far as possible. This reminded me of the film Woman in Gold, for it’s similarity of the Viennese Jewish family being forced out of their home by Nazi Germany. Having this background knowledge because of Woman in Gold helped me to understand what Vienna was like during that time, how that relates to Zweig, and how Anderson incorporated that into his film. In Anderson’s GBH, the fictional military group greatly resembles the Nazi takeover of Vienna. After the soldiers harass zero and M. Gustave on the train, Gustave says to Zero something along the lines that, “there is still faint glimmers of hope/civilization left in this barbaric slaughter house that was once known as humanity.” Anderson was greatly inspired by Zweig’s writings because many of his pieces contain the element of war. Like with GBH, Zweig’s writings, Post office girl and Beware of Pity both contain the element of war.

            In Beware of Pity introduction is very similar to opening of the movie. It reminded me of how similar James Franco’s short story was as similar to the film Palo Alto.  In the introduction of Beware of Pity, the narrator, a novelist is in a run-down, out of fashion restaurant where a man catches his attention. A waiter asks the novelist if he knows who the man is, in which he tells him he is a man of great importance, a military hero. The hero recognizes the author, and they later meet to talk over dinner. This is the basis of Anderson’s tale, with minor details of the beginning changed. In Anderson’s film, the author is perhaps Zweig. And Zero and Agatha are the couple in love, as opposed to Anton and Edith from Beware of Pity. Both Anderson’s and Zweig’s work contain compelling unusual characters, elements of young love, the effect of war, pre war Europe, a train, a shabby hotel, an author, and a man with a story.

Week Three: Adaptation

           
             For this assignment I chose the screenplay Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and I will discuss the approach I would take from the perspective of a costume designer. I am aware of this film but I have not ever actually seen it, so I taking the opportunity now to read it! Perhaps it will be like reading a book before you watch the film version of it? After this, I hope to have to opportunity to watch the film to see if my speculations are correct.

            One of my personal favorite things about film is the overall “look” and visual experience of the film, and this is where costume design comes in. Costume gives the viewer information about the time period, status, as well as personality of the character. Costume is a major visual guide in the story.

            Say a film opens with a man wandering through the woods. As a viewer trying to establish the setting, the location in this instance does not tell us the time period in which the story is taking place. We would rely on what the man was wearing to determine the time period. His clothes would help us differentiate if it was 18^th century France or a man from the year 2080.

            A challenge of costume design is if the film is taking place in a specific “historical” time period. If a film took place in the past then there is much costume research to be done for the clothing of that time and geographical location.

            Since this film mainly takes place in the early 2000s in New York, the clothing for the film is of this time period, meaning that the costumes they needed were already made, didn’t need to be designed, and just needed to be found. I speculate that the costume designer bought prefabricated clothes. This method seems just as difficult as designing costumes from scratch. Though, this film has many shifts in time because of Joel having his memory erased. One for example, is the opening scene that is 50 years into the future. The receptionist is described as wearing a “shiny, stretchy, one-piece pantsuit.” Also, there is a scene where Joel and Clementine are in Joel’s childhood. Joel’s mother present and they are in the kitchen. Though the screenplay didn’t specify, I suspect that because we are in a different period in time, the costumes would go accordingly to that time.

            As a costume designer/coordinator I would be on this constant search for articles of clothing that suited the character. I would analyze the script until I really understood the characters. In order for the character to be believable, I would have to imagine what clothes the characters would chose to wear if they existed. What people chose to wear is a statement of their personal tastes and reflects their overall being.  In Eternal Sunshine, the character of Clementine has a quirky and eccentric style. The first line in the screenplay to describe her character does so perfectly.

            “Clementine enters. She's in her early thirties, zaftig in a faux fur winter coat over an orange hooded sweatshirt. She's decidedly funky and has blue hair.”

            In the beginning of the screenplay after Joel saw Clementine on the beach, he recognized her in the restaurant because of her same orange sweatshirt. It is in scenes such as this where the costume for the character plays an important role in the plot. Overall, the costumes for this very “indie” and “eccentric” film are exciting and unusual, and would help make the film an enjoyable viewing experience.