Annotation #5

Martinez, A. Lee. “The Definitive Titanic 2 Review.” aleemartinez.com. N.p., 26 Apr 2011. Web. 26 Feb 2014.

This review is a “sum-up” of the movie Titanic 2, which came out in 2010. I wanted to get a review of this movie because it is another remake of the tragedy that is the sinking ship. I also want to accumulate other reviews of the many other versions of the titanic. This reviews talks about the high and low points for the movie and explains why it was a stupid idea for a film to begin with. I did not realize that the film Titanic 2 is literally about another ship called Titanic 2 that ultimately crashes and sinks just like the original Titanic did. I think comparing the reviews of this movie to that of the reviews from the 1997 version of Titanic will really help me build an argument as to why the 1997 version is the one every one remembers. I will be able to use this source to compare the two movies and hopefully a few others. 

Annotation #4

Ebert, Roger. “Titanic Movie Reviews & Film Summary.”Rogerebert.com. N.p., 19 Dec 1997. Web. 26 Feb 2014.

This source is just simply a movie review from Robert Ebert. He has been a movie critic for many, many years and I chose this review because he does not just state why he enjoyed the movie or why other people would enjoy the movie, but he talks about the timeline of the film and exactly what he sees as he is watching. Also, as he is describing what he is watching, he it talking about how that may or may not have been good for the film and he will sometimes explain how certain parts of the film reflect upon the producer and director. All in all, Ebert gave the 1997 version of Titanic four our of four stars. He enjoyed the movie because of how well the movie truly reflected what happened the night of the ship sinking. He even mentioned how hard it would be to make this film well, which is why he was so impressed with the details and efficiency of the film. I can use this in my paper because it will allow for me to know and understand how critics of that time thought of Titanic. 

Annotation #3

“TITANIC on Film & Television.” http://www.jimusnr.com. W & G Productions, n.d. Web. 23 Feb 2014. <http://www.jimusnr.com&gt;.

This website consists of a list of films about the titanic, movies featuring titanic, movies inspired by titanic, and series about titanic. This website will be useful to me because it will allow for me to express how huge of a deal this topic is for American’s since it took place in 1912. For some reason, Hollywood has decided to make dozens of different films and series about the titanic. But why? That is what I want to write my paper about. Why is this tragedy so popular among American’s in ever era of time? This website will allow for me to explain to my readers how many times the story of the Titanic has been told. It will help me express the popularity of the shipping of the ship. The source is unlike any of my other sources because it doesn’t necessarily tell me anything about the film or about the popularity of the film, but it presents me with a list of every film or series based off of the shipping of the Titanic. It will help me tremendously. 

Annotation #2

Ansen, David, et al. “Our Titanic Love Affair.” Newsweek 131.8 (1998): 58. Academic Search Complete. Web. 23 Feb. 2014.

This article talks about the popularity of the film during the time it came out, what kind of audience the film brought it, and how the film is relevant to modern audiences. It was written in 1998, which I like because it allows me to look at how these audiences looked at the Titanic when it first came out. This source is very similar to my annotation #1, but it comes from a different perspective compared to the other article. They both talk about audience, but the first one talks about women and this one talks about modern audiences and the audience in general. All in all, it touches on why the film was so popular, which allows for me to talk about why the tragedy is such a big hit in America no matter what decade it is. This will also allow for me to compare the popularity of the 1997 version to the popularity of other films and series that are about the Titanic. 

Annotation #1

Each blog entry should provide a citation for the source, summarize the source, and briefly analyze it in terms of how it relates to your project as a whole. Shoot for around 150 words per posting—keep in mind that any writing generated in your annotations can be used in your paper. If you’re thorough and productive in your discussion of your sources and synthesis of your research, you will have a much easier time writing the paper. 

KRAMER, PETER. “Women First: `Titanic’ (1997), Action-Adventure Films And Hollywood’s Female Audience.” Historical Journal Of Film, Radio & Television 18.4 (1998): 599. Academic Search Complete. Web. 23 Feb. 2014.

This article was written in 1998, which I like because it was relatively recent to the time Titanic came out in theaters in December 1997. This article hits on many different aspects of the film. It talks about the audience on the film and what the means for the final product, how it did in the box office, what the process was like when making the film, and a little bit about why people liked or dislikes the film in general. It relates to my topic as a whole because I want my paper to be about how the Titanic is still a subject that interested the general public. I want to talk about why the sinking of these ship is of interest to us and why it is continuously a good time to make a movie or a series about it. This article helps me achieve that goal because I can analyze the audience of the 1997 film “Titanic,” and compare that to audiences now and audiences of earlier Titanic movies and series. I can also use this article to look at how audiences responded to the film just weeks after it car out in theaters. That will allow me to look at why people enjoy the film and the sinking of the ship in general. This is particularly long article, but I think I will be able to pick it apart and use some of the information in my paper. 

Blog Post #6

I was unaware that back when World War I was going on, there were movies made as propaganda for the war effort. It makes me wonder if people back then knew it was just propaganda, or if they truly thought it was just another movie coming out for them to enjoy. When thinking about Inquiry 2, this reading makes me think about the reasons films are made. For example, I am writing about Titanic for my Inquiry 2 paper, and it makes me wonder why the Titanic was even made. Why was it made in 1995? Why did the story need to be retold? What was the director/producer trying to get across to viewers? The Titanic, I believe, has not been redefined. I also do not think that it could ever be redefined. I think this because the film is based off of a true event, something that happened in the beginning of the 20th century. I do not think viewers of the Titanic are going to change as time goes in. What I mean by that is the audience of the Titanic are not going to changed their views on the crisis all together as generations pass. 

Blog Post #5

• For Inquiry 2, I am thinking about analyzing the movie “Juno.” I have never seen it before, but I know a lot of people that have and they seem to have liked the movie. I want to work with this movie because I know it is about a young girl getting pregnant and I think I can make the argument that a movie like this would not be made in any other decade. It was way more socially acceptable to have a baby before you’re married in this day and age. If I had to pick a film that is not from the Best Picture list, I would choose to work with Saving Mr. Banks. I have not seen this movie either, but I heard it was good ad I think because it is all about how the movie Marry Poppins came about, I can explain pretty easily why people enjoyed the film. I am not sure what direction I aging to take with either of these movies, but I think the more we talk about the more ideas I will come up with. 

Blog Post #4

• As I work on finishing Inquiry 1, I will work more on elaborating on my already developed ideas. I have many symbolic instances to talk about, however, I need to be more descriptive. The weeks spots of my essay are the fact that I have no title, and my organization is a little off. I need to move some sentences around to make sure the whole paper flows correctly. As of right now, without any further revisions, many paper is organized as the following: An introductory paragraph that sets up the scene; in the second paragraph i talk about how Katniss is feeling in that scene and how here environment is symbolic; in the third paragraph I talk about Gale and how much of an impact he has on Katniss in that scene and throughout the rest of the movie. In the fourth paragraph I talk about some more symbolic features about them hunting together, and then I have a conclusion paragraph to sum up the whole paper. I know that I need to move a few sentences around to make the organization of my paper more accurate, and I plan on working on that before I turn the final paper in next week. 

Blog Post #3

I believe that the “Soft Rain on a Hot Mind” was a better close read. This is because the author goes extremely in depth to what symbols are expressed throughout the book. This author talks about the symbols themselves, what they mean, how they are supposed to make the reader feel, and how the symbol foreshadows something else further in the book. I think this author did a much better job summarizing the book than the author of “A Changing Identity” did, only because once I was finished reading the essay I still didn’t really know what the plot was for the book. However, in “A Changing Identity,” the author include many details and talked about symbols that were thrown into the book. 

I will use some of the techniques the author did in “Soft Rain on a Hot Mind” such as, a quick summary of the book (but not too much to overwhelm the reader), imagery was explained thoroughly enough for me to understand what part of the book she is picking apart, and the details of the symbols; not only what the symbol means for the rest of the book, but what the symbol is supposed to mean to the reader. 

Blog Post #2

• Blog post #2: What film will you work with for inquiry 1 and why does this film interest you? Have you seen it before? Do you already have an idea about what you want to focus on in your close reading? General brainstorming for inquiry 1 is welcome. Be mindful of selecting a film that you can access immediately, as your rough draft is due next week!

I plan on working with The Hunger Games: Catching Fire for my Inquiry 1 paper. This fill interests me for a number of reasons: Number one, I read the books and, therefore, find the movies to be extremely engaging. Number two, the movie is all about government control and the rebellion against the government, and I am a political science major, so anything having to do with government normally catches my interest. I have seen this movie before. Three times in theaters to be exact. I want to specifically focus on the scene where Katnis and Peeta go on tour to give a speech to the other districts. I want to focus on this because I believe the setting they are in is extremely easy to analyze and has a lot of symbolic meaning behind it. Also, this scene is where the symbolization for government rebellion comes out in the movie. The mocking hay symbol is revealed, the mocking jay song is played, and someone is shot on spot for “signaling” a rebellion against the government/capitol. This is when Katnis really finds out that she is the mocking jay whether she likes it or not. It is a really big moment for Katnis and Peeta, and it is the beginning of the rebellion itself. I think I will be able to take this scene and analyze it to its full potential.