Damn Dirty Apes

I have spent at least seven hours of my week watching apes mutate into incredibly intelligent life forms. Why? Well because Planet of The Apes. That's why.

Forewarning: I am about to sum up three movies in shitty little paragraphs and leave a lot of details out, but they do contain spoilers (!!). So just in case anyone was wondering, this franchise is 46 years in the making. Starting in 1968 when director Franklin J. Schaffner brought this magnificent story to life, we are introduced to the species that is smarter than the average man. After Charlton Heston's spacecraft crash landed on what is 3879 New York City: a world where humans scavenge like animals and apes study how these beasts work. 

So all of these new Planet of the Apes movies that are being released are considered prequels to this classic. The 2011 film Rise of the Planet of the Apes (WOW SO MANY PREPOSITIONS) introduced us to the character of Caesar. A genetically mutated chimp who contained genes that were affected by practice drug that was supposed to cure Alzheimer's disease, Caesar is far more than your average primate. He learns sign language easily and finds it easy to communicate and empathize (never understood the science behind the empathy) with the humans around him. The drug increased his brain power, as it would do to an Alzheimer patient, and because there was no brain damage to repair, it only made him stronger. He grew up with a loving family and was sent away for simply trying to protect his loved ones. While with animal services he is treated like a lesser being, instead of the loving family member he was at his home. This makes him hate humans, and teach the other apes to rebel and break out, and then roam free. Thus the rising. 

In the third and newest installment of this franchise, the apes that broke out of the animal shelter and everywhere else they were being held captive live a happy and carefree life, where everyone bows down to Casesar because he was smart enough to teach them that they were their own person and not just some pet for a human. A little self-respect never hurt anyone, honestly. Meanwhile in the human world a virus accidentally created by the "father" of Caesar has spread and killed almost every single human being on the planet (THIS WAS NOT THE APES' FAULT, remember that. "Ape good"). The apes have created a colony in a deserted town/forrest. The few remaining humans in San Francisco are running out of power FAST and they need to use the dam within the ape colony to generate power for their itty bitty city. Caesar, who is basically king of this colony tentatively allows the humans to use the dam under constant supervision, and on the condition that they hand over their guns. One ape, Koba, rebels against his leader Caesar because he was a lab ape, and only knows humans have the power to hurt apes. Koba ends up betraying Caesar by using a gun to try to assassinate him, and then blaming it on the humans. The apes then have reason to believe that they should attack all of the humans and follow only Koba's orders. They attack the city of San Francisco with stolen guns and tanks and whatever else an ape might find "cool."Unfortunately for Koba, Caesar lived through the attack, knew he was betrayed, and rose back to power, setting free all of the humans that Koba thought were evil, and taking care of Koba (hopefully) once and for all. (Wow, what a weird saying. )

YAY LET'S ANALYZE NOW

So there are a lot of really obvious juxtapositions in Planet of The Apes, and Rise of the Planet of the Apes. The humans are kept in cages and medically tested instead of medically testing the apes. The apes think that humans are the lesser species, where we think that apes are less intelligent. The ape that did really well in her testing was nicknamed Bright Eyes, just as the blonde hair, blue eyed, intelligent human was called in the original. At one point there is a newspaper shown with the headline being something along the lines of losing track of a spaceship, around the same time that the original spaceship in The Planet of the Apes would have gone missing, which just reiterates that although these two worlds look completely different they are the same storyline. 

Loyalty was a big theme in the third movie. Chimps have to ask their leaders for permission or forgiveness whenever want/say something that the leader might disagree with. Caesar has a large following of apes that all agree that he knows best. He taught them sign language, and how to treat themselves. He also tried to teach them that apes do not kill apes, and that apes are good. The idea that apes do not kill apes stems from the idea that no matter what apes had to stick together. They were brothers, and they always stood as one against everyone else. However Casesar realized that loyalty does not depend on species (or race?? hmmm think about that), but on those who treat you with the respect that you deserve. At the end of this movie Caesar pushes Koba off of a ledge to his death. A scene almost IDENTICAL of Koba's last appearance in the Rise of the Planet of the Apes.  (These images aren't exact, but you get the gist.)

The second one image shows that their law "apes don't kill apes," can be changed based on the way someone treats someone. The first image shows Koba throwing the human who was in charge of him off of the Golden Gate Bridge. The second image shows Caesar, the leader of Koba, throwing Koba off of the edge of a tower. "My my how the turn tables" -Michael Scott. Loyalty to fellow apes only works when apes respect each other.

The movie ended with the theme of forgiveness. Every ape bowed down to Caesar and held out their hand for him to forgive them. Kind of an odd theme to end with when you are making sequels? Because forgiveness normally indicates closure, but, whatever; I'm not complaining.

Caesar does say at the end of the movie that the war has already started. Ape will forget, but human will not. (So true.) Also interesting was the fact that this took place in America, specifically San Francisco. I know it makes sense geographically because of the last movie, but if the virus originated in that city and potentially wiped out almost the entire human race, how did a colony survive in the place it first started? That made me think that a lot of the underlying themes were about how Americans treated outsiders, and is a country that doesn't take the blame for their mistakes. We teach other people that they should be dependent on us, as Americans: that they aren't as smart or capable as we are. It was only a matter of time before they revolted. 

All in all, they are a great movie series. I would recommend them to anyone who wants to watch seven hours of apes destroying humans. I will leave you with this image of an ape on a horse with two machine guns. AMERICA.

My Opinion is Irrelevant, BUT I State It Anyway

Okay, so recently I watched the movie Stuck In Love. Basically, I chose it because Nat Wolff was bringing back his acting career, and I was the biggest Naked Brothers Band fan growing up--no shame. We've met before, it's casual. I was feeling unsure about watching the entire movie on Netflix, because let's be honest Netflix is best used for catching up on TV shows that were popular four years ago. However, as soon as Lily Collins appeared, I was more interested (she dated a Jonas Brother, you know?). And then the opening credits rolled in with Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros song Home, and I was hooked. I loved it. And I'm a girl who hates love stories. Nicholas Sparks makes me barf. So I raved about it to all of my gushy-boy-obsessed friends, and then casually checked the rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and disappointingly found it at a measly 59%, and to that I say boo. Let me tell you why.
So Josh Boone makes his hollywood directing debut with this movie full of parallels, and cycles, and love and loss. We start with the family traditions of Thanksgiving, the routine that this tight knit family must do every year. The family is a common 21st century family: single dad, with his college student daughter, and stoner son. However, there are four places set at this table, which is beautiful cinematography foreshadowing to the ending scene. Okay but please, just remember this scene in your head. Imagine it.
So the syhuzet is fairly simple. The three members of this family all fall in love within the course of a year. Three types of love: unrequited love, young love, and an odd sort of unconditional love. Basically three simple love stories, intertwining in one movie, making it one very dynamic love story. And of course, as any typical Hollywood love story, they all go through a traumatic argument, but not everyone gets back together. Which brings out the harsh reality of love: sometimes it works out, and sometimes it doesn't. And yeah, being surrounded by happy people sucks, but you learn to be happy for them, instead of sad for yourself. However, that is not the only lesson in this movie, because that's only one outcome from the love stories. The other meanings are just as simple: no matter how hard it is, you never give up on the person you love, and that loving someone means putting their needs before yours. All beautiful and useful themes, that come into play in every love story, overlapping, to show the importance. I think this is important, because you can write it off as just another love story, with a sorta-kinda-allaround happy ending, but there is a lot of deeper meaning. And love sells. Look at all the desperate teenage girls flocking to the movie theaters to see Endless Love this weekend, and we all know that's going to be a shit show.
So back to the cinematography. This movie was just so nice to look at. The rule of thirds came into play  with shots of settings and props. My eyes were drawn towards what the director and cinematographer wanted me to look at. Not only that, but I watched this movie once, three weeks ago, and the first and last scene have been stuck in my head. Remember the image of the three people at the Thanksgiving table? Well, the movie comes full circle, and we're back at Thanksgiving dinner, but the end scene ends with five people at the table. Not an even six, because not every couple ended up together. The image itself made me realize how much can change in a year, for better and for worse, but some things stay constant. Like the love of your family. It's always unconditional.

So I mean I'm really excited to see what Josh Boone does with Nat Wolff in The Fault In Our Stars, and if this is a precursor to the cinematography in that movie, I am so excited.

OKAY THAT'S IT GO WATCH IT.

Argo: Not So Long Ago, In A Galaxy Not So Far Away

            Cast members of the movie Argo have won many Oscars for their performances as the American hostages. The hostages are the escaping underdogs in a bloodthirsty nation. In the time frame of this movie, Iranian students were holding around fifty Americans hostage, which made all Iranians public enemy number one. In the beginning of the movie, director Ben Affleck as Tony Mendez, emphasizes the ignorance that government officials show towards Middle Eastern countries. He humanizes the enemy, by finding common ground. What is one thing that all humans understand? According to Affleck, it’s Hollywood: movie making. However, as the film progresses and the concept of a movie, taking place in Iran becomes reality, the East becomes noticeably juxtaposed with the West.

            In the beginning of the film, when the CIA is just deciding on how to save these six hostages, they start discussing their best ideas. Their best idea is to send the hostages bicycles to travel to the Turkish border after the weather clears up. A ridiculous feat considering that there is snow on the ground, and the journey is 300 miles—300 miles with no cover of security. The men in this room all agree on this idea except Tony Mendez, who knows that the Iranians will realize that six people are missing before there is any chance of weather clearing up. He distinctly points out the ignorance of the members of the CIA, and what their perception of Iran is. All these men seem to know about the Iranians is that they are looking to kill Americans; they are the face of terrorism at this point. They have a certain depiction of what the Middle East is like, but they’re just making assumptions. It’s a classic case of Said’s Orientalism. Mendez has thought of a different approach however, because “they understand media. They’re not monkeys. The same men you see holding guns have cousins selling eight tracks on the street.” Instead of making assumptions about Iranian culture, Mendez convinces the men to focus on something that is universal: media.

            At this time, all American news stations were giving updates on the hostage situation in Iran. In Argo, many of the scene’s transitions were done by a showing of clips from news stations, reporting on the hostage crisis as it was happening. Said alluded to this same happening in the article “Islam As News;” the media in America created the image of the terrorist[1]. They showed angry men with beards and guns, much like the opening scene of Argo shows the angry men chanting “Death to America!” However, the idea of media also helped to get the plan to work. Perhaps the hostages were held so long because it kept America’s attention for so long. While watching a broadcast of a hostage update John Chambers says, “Do you ever think this is all for the screen?” They know how much the West covets their media, and suddenly the East has taken over that.

            Filming a movie for an exotic land in the Middle East is not a new concept, so it was the perfect disguise. The ideas for movies were a constant flow when Mendez asked John Chambers for his help. Once Chambers had agreed there began the process of choosing a script that would be popular enough to be convincing. They are looking for a movie that would make sense to shoot in the Middle East, which is stereotyping the Orient already. Lester Siegel, the producer for the fake film shoots down a suggestion of The Horses of Achilles, because nobody shoots Westerns anymore. The West is old news; it’s all about the exotic places. It doesn’t matter what the movie is about, the fact that it has horses in it mean people associate it with a Western film. It is a simple statement that shows exactly how susceptible Americans are to stereotyping. We have this depiction of what a terrorist looks like because he’s from a different country and plants a bomb in a big city, but a white man who kills over 30 kindergarteners is labeled as insane. However, when Mendez reads the first words of the script for Argo: “fade in on a starship landing. An exotic middle eastern vibe,” it seems as though the perfect fit. Where better to shoot a movie about a fantasy than a country that is so mysterious to Americans. When Hollywood’s Middle East comes to mind, people think of the Orient stereotypes: men with beards, tan skin, magic carpets, something along the lines of Aladdin’s home. Somehow this country makes for the perfect location to shoot a movie about aliens and women offering goods—or possibly themselves—up to the gods. At this point in the movie, Affleck’s character is no longer trying to humanize the people of Iran, but instead use America’s perception of this otherness that we know nothing about, to trick us all into believing there will be a movie.

            Argo is a story about saving Americans, but also a story about tricking the Iranian nation.  It turns into a story about America, the great superpower, pulling one over on Iran. The image of the stereotypical terrorist is ever present throughout the film, and that of the classic Eastern Orient. Although it’s an exciting story, it’s an inaccurate depiction of all Iranian citizens.

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[1] Said, Edward W.. "Islam As News." Covering Islam. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1981. 169-194. Print.

Persepolis: Becoming A Hero--Film to Book Comparison

           There are many scenes in both the movie and the novel Persepolis that show acts of heroism. Heroism is laced throughout the entire story, because terrorism is a constant theme in the life of the author, Marjane Satrapi. Although some scenes from the movie differ from the book, heroism and terrorism are never mutated. A scene of terror that was almost as identical in the movie as it was in the book was directly after Marji’s family attended the party where the electricity went out. The family is being pulled over by the police. In this scene in the novel, Marji learns from her grandma how to be a hero in the face of terror.

            On the way home from a forbidden party, Marji’s family comes face to face with the police. In the novel, the only objects in sight in this scene are the car, and the characters. There is nothing in the background to distract my attention, as a reader, from the conversation and the faces of the characters. At first the only things that can be seen are silhouettes of the policemen running at the car at night. In this panel, Marji is clearly snooping by looking over her father’s shoulder with wide eyes, full of terror. The policemen are dressed in all white: stark contrast to the dark night. The brightness of their uniform interrupts the dark. Darkness allows you to cover your secrets, but the luminescent white of the officers uniform shows that nothing is private anymore. Once the policeman has ordered Marji’s father out of the car, Marji’s eyes are suddenly visible: peering over the backseat—observing with a look similar to that of a deer’s in headlight. The policemen are angry. In every panel of the scene the policeman is frowning, with his eyebrows arched. His features are over exaggerated, so that we know in what tone to read his lines. The face is not friendly, nor does he look negotiable, and Marji is terrified as she watches this man interrogate her family.

            On the contrary, Marji’s family is frowning in all panels, and look as if they’ve been caught red-handed. Their eyebrows are high; their eyes are wide, like scared little kittens. It’s not until the car pulls up to Marji’s home that her expression is visible, and she is completely terrified. Her eyes are huge: her mouth is quivering. Her grandmother is guiding her into the house. She has put all of her faith in her grandmother’s experience. She knows that these men could decide her entire future, and she has anxiety over doing something illegal.

The irony of the entire situation is that earlier in the novel, Marji so badly wanted to defy the government to become a hero. Now that she is faced with the opportunity, she looks sick to her stomach. When the policeman asks Marji and her grandmother where they are going, the grandmother says—with what appears to be a shaky voice, to match her shaky mouth—that she has diabetes and needs some syrup. Immediately the man’s face softens as he mentions that his mother also has diabetes. Marji’s grandmother has successfully humanized herself in the eyes of these brutal men. Suddenly Marji no longer has a look of fear, but of appreciation. This change in Marji is apparent as she walks ahead of her grandmother to their apartment, with a look of determination in her eyes. She knows that taking care of the alcohol is her duty in the family, and that she will be regarded as a hero for saving her parents. However, the end of the scene is very anti-climactic, for the people at the door are not the policemen she had anticipated, only her distressed father who had learned how easy it is to pay off a noble member of the government force.

            There are only minor differences in this scene in the movie. The facial expressions are not as big because you can now hear the tone of their voice. Here the only face visible in the car when her father gets out is Marji’s. She’s just observing, as her eyes did in the book. Her father gets mad at the officer, after he is accused of drinking. His tone with the officer is unclear in the book, because his mouth is hidden under his moustache; he looks more afraid than angry. On their way home, the grandmother smiles and tells them that she has dealt with this kind of behavior before; she knows how to handle it. In the scene where the officer questions Marji and Grandma on where they are going, Marji’s eyes go wide, giving away her terror, while Grandma keeps her steady gaze and smile. She calmly explains that she has diabetes—not with a quivering voice, like the book—but with confidence. Notice that throughout this entire scene the grandmother has a smirk on her face. She has been here before; she has lived through revolutions. She was a rebel. For this reason, Marji is always looking up to her grandma.

            According to the linear novel, this is the first scene in which Marji is confronted with the terror of an oppressive government. Her entire life she had believed that heroes are people who stand up and fight the government. It is apparent in the beginning of the scene that she is apprehensive, and completely terrified. In both the movie and the novel, there is a definitive change in her feelings towards the policemen, after she watches her grandmother stand up to them. Her entire life Marji has been looking up to her Uncle as the hero in the family, without even realizing that it is her grandmother she takes after.