3-Act-Structure and "Liar, Liar"

Professor Ramirez-Berg's lecture on Monday was very informative, particularly in regards to the different structures used in film narration. Professor Ramirez-Berg explained the three different types of narrative structure: 5 Act Structure, 3 Act Structure and Alternative Structure. Today, however, I will focus on the most common narrative structure, the 3 Act Structure, which is split into an introduction, complication and resolution.

"Liar, Liar," starring Jim Carrey is one of my favorite comedies and I have seen it countless times. The comedy's first act introduces the main characters and their relationship. Jim Carrey plays Fletcher, a father who has a bad habit of lying to his ex wife and his young son whom he has joint custody of. The first plot-point,  is when the son, makes a birthday wish that his father "just for one day.... won't tell a lie." This scene escalates the stakes, because the son's wish comes true and turns Fletcher's life upside down (the complication.)

The second act, the longest act of the film, shows the effect on Fletcher's life and career that his son, Max's, wish has on him. He struggles fighting a court case in which he depended on lying in order to win. He also slowly realizes the devastating effect his continual lying has had on his son and his ex-wife, who he still deeply loves. This act clearly explains the complication that his sons' wish has imposed on him. The second plot point comes at the end of this act, when Fletcher realizes that his inability to lie is not actually a curse, it is something that he wants to continue after the 24 hour period is up. He realizes that his son and wife are the most important thing to him by not being able to lie to them for one day. This plot point propels the movie into the third act by inspiring Fletcher to track down his ex-wife and son on an airplane in order to get them back for good. 

The final act is the resolution act. In the climax of the film, Jim Carrey successfully tracks down his ex-wife and son after a wild chase down an airport runway. In the end, he confesses his realization to Max and Audrey and convinces them to give him one last chance. He expresses what he has learned from the "curse" and that he wont be lying ever again. Hence, the Happy Ending Structure that the 3 Act Structure has become synonymous with. 

I have attached a short clip of the climax below. 

http://www.hulu.com/watch/39184/liar-liar-stopping-the-plane

Mini Lessons taught via TV Episodic Sitcoms

After lecture on Wednesday, I had a greater understanding of how distinct the characteristics of popular TV sitcoms. One of the characteristics that we discussed was the idea of each episode having a "mini-resolution" at the end of each show. The mini-resolution coincides with the idea that the conflicts in sitcoms are not continual. Each show has a small conflict, usually between two main characters, that is almost always resolved in one way or another by the end of the 30 minute program. In many shows, particularly sitcoms aimed at children, the mini-resolutions provide a mini-lesson of sorts to teach its viewers. The mini-resolution gives the viewers a feeling that the episode came full circle from being to end, and allows its viewers to be able to watch episodes without necessarily seeing the one that was aired the previous week since the conflicts are rarely continual.

One of my favorite shows growing up was Full House. Each episode of Full House had a mini-resolution that offered its children viewers a valuable, but indeed cheesy, lesson about growing up. For example, recently, on a Full House re-run I watched on ABC Family, the littlest girl in Full House was attempting to learn how to ride a bike, but she fell off and got hurt during her first attempt (the conflict). In the final scene of the episode, the little girl learns from her trusty uncle that giving up isn't the answer, and that she must have confidence and courage in order to tackle the task of learning how to ride her bike. The little girl learned that the feeling of achievement once she conquers riding her bike will make her failed attempts worth it (the resolution and lesson). Each episode had similar situations and solutions for the various members of the family. The lessons varied depending on the characters' ages and interests, which made the show appealing to kids of all ages and lead to the shows undeniable success despite its cheesy writing and plot lines.

I have attached an article that vouches for the many lessons kids have learned via Full House and its use of mini-resolutions within each episode.

http://media.www.spectatornews.com/media/storage/paper218/news/2002/04/25/Spotlight/Column.Tv.Show.full.House.Teaches.Valued.Lessons-244502-page2.shtml

Forrest Gump

For years now, "Forrest Gump" has been my all time favorite movie. I have seen the film more times than I can count and I can recite the entire movie from start to finish. However, after learning about the various angles used to shoot movies and the meaning behind them, I watched "Forrest Gump" with a completely new set of eyes, so to speak. In this post, I plan to illuminate how the long shot, medium shot, and close-up shot are used to convey a certain mood and meaning throughout the film through three specific examples.

In lecture we learned that the close up shot is commonly used to express the emotions of the character being shown. The close shot of the character's face, for example, is supposed to inform the audience on whether or not the character is lonely, sad, happy, excited, etc.. When Forrest Gump first rides the school bus, none of the students want to offer him a seat. However, a young, kind and innocent girl, named Jenny, offers him a seat next to her on the bus. The close up of Jenny's face shows her kind and accepting demeanor, and her interest in Forrest. Jenny immediately looks up at Forrest and shows her concern for his need to sit in this particular close up.

The medium shot is commonly considered to be the "information shot." This shot is used to show the relationship between two or more characters in the film. The medium shot informs the audience as to the manner in which the characters in the film relate to one another whether it be on a romantic, platonic, or familial level. The medium shot of Forrest and Jenny spending time together in the tree is a perfect example of how the medium shot explains the relationship between two main characters in a film.

 

Finally, the long shot is commonly used to represent sadness, loneliness and isolation. Although there are countless long shots used in "Forrest Gump" to show how isolated Forrest was from the "normal" students growing up, I believe that the long shot is perfectly used in the scene where Forrest goes to visit Jenny's grave. The director's decision to zoom out captures just how lost Forrest is when Jenny is gone for good. 

The Star System and Classical Hollywood

After listening to the guest lecture on Monday and Wednesday of this week, it was apparent that there were many different defining characteristics of the Studio System in the Classical Hollywood era. However, the characteristic of the Studio System that intrigued me the most was the way in which different studios contracted specific actors for their projects, known as the Star System.

I learned in the lectures that in the Studio System in Classical Hollywood stars were tangible products of immaterial production. The Star System effected the way in which the films were made because after the stars were discovered and contracted by the studios, they became the studios' main tool to sell the their products. The stars that were contracted by studios were the greatest representation of what the studios were capable of as a company. As years passed, the public began to associate particular stars with certain studios. The star system effected the films because the stars essentially became the faces of the biggest and most powerful studios. In some cases, most big stars ended up having a trademark, of sorts, that they used in all of their movies. For example, Judy Garland, who appeared in countless MGM movies, was always expected to sing in her films. Humphrey Bogart, in addition, was always expected to be seen in his raincoat and fedora at some point in all of his films. In essence, if a consumer wanted to see Judy Garland sing, they would attend a film made by MGM studios, ultimately increasing the success of MGM as a whole.

After researching "The Biograph Girl" after the lecturer briefly mentioned her on Monday, I realized that she is a perfect example of how the studios treated their contracted actors and actress as tangible products of immaterial production. "The Biograph Girl" was a woman named Florence Lawrence acted in a total of over 35 movies. In all of her movies, Lawrence was never credited with her performance. Each one of her roles was performed anonymously. As a result, Florence became known as "The Biograph Girl" due to her association with Biograph Studios. Her anonymity made her increasingly more famous as the mystery of what her real name was became more intriguing to her fans. In addition, fans now wanted to see "The Biograph Girl" in more and more films, which lead to her title as the first "movie star" of the Classical Hollywood era. The idea that Florence Lawrence was an anonymous actress who was used as the face of Biograph Studios in order to sell more tickets to the studio's movies is a prime example of how Classical Hollywood studios used their contracted stars as products to increase their sales.

Below, I attached a link to one of Florence's early films, "The Awful Hats," from 1909. The beginning credit shows that the film was made by Biograph Studios, but as expected, does not show Florence's name on the slide.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORwC7gNyUaY