The Mother in Forrest Gump

     Usually, the mothers of mentally disabled people play a greatly significant role in the storyline. In movies and novels alike, these mothers are stereotypically portrayed as being caring and understanding, and also teaching the mentally disabled child that there is nothing wrong with being slightly stupid. Instead she preached to the child that the most important thing is to remain kind at heart.

     The greatest example of such a character is the mother of Khan in the movie “My name is Khan.” In this movie, though Khan is a mentally disabled man, he has a kind heart and is very caring and responsible due to his mother’s education. Even when his father would lose patience with him, Khan’s mother always gently led his son towards the right direction. As Khan would say, “My mother told me that there are only two kinds of people in this world. Those who are good and those who are bad. I am good. I do good things.”

     Strangely enough, the mother character in Forrest Gump does not follow this stereotypical outline. She does not show moral strength, rather most of the time she is portrayed as crying because Forrest has done something wrong. Also, there is no scene of her teaching Forrest what is the right thing to do. Although it should be noted that Forrest says “My mother told me that a stupid is as stupid does,” there isn’t any mention of his mother playing a significant role in formation of Forrest’s character.

     This peculiarity in the mother character of Forrest is probably due to the fact that the book Forrest Gump is rather a comedy and not an emotional story concerning Forrest’s positive affect on other people. Thus there is no necessity of Forrest being a kind angel with mental deficiencies. Rather, he is portrayed as a very honest kind of man who is honest to his natural instincts regardless of what other people might think.  

"Everything Must Go" and "Why Don't You Dance?"

     Although the film “Everything Must Go” is based on the short story “Why Don’t You Dance” there are many differences between the two. These numerous differences in the story line and the main incidents make it hard to believe that the film is actually based on the short film. Personally, I thought that the script of the film had taken only the idea of a garage sale in the yard and a few personality traits of the main characters and created almost a totally different story line altogether. Since a movie has a long running time there are certain factors that the movie added to base of the short story. In this comparative film and book review I’d like to talk about those factors.

     The first is from when the story begins. In the short story the man seems to be already willing to sell most of his products. Furthermore we are provided with no background information about his career life or marriage life. However in the movie, quite a long amount of time is invested into preparing the man for his first sale. He undergoes quite a long period of denial and problems with a friend and it is only after he overcomes his alcoholism that he is able to face himself and the reality and start to sell things. Thus the movie has a stronger focus on the internal changes and growth of the man.

     The second is the addition of numerous characters. The girl in the short story gets to play a bigger role in the film and there is an addition of two very important characters, Kenny, the boy on the bicycle and Frank, the man’s best friend. Also, the man in the film gets to meet his old high school friend who restored his self-confidence as he realized that at one point other people regarded him in a positive light. The role of these characters are also related to the focus of the film; the man breaking away from his old life and habits and getting ready to embark on a new one.

     The differences between the film and short story are mainly due to the great difference in the length of the story line. The one factor which makes me slightly prefer the film to the short story is the film’s focus on the man’s acceptance and change throughout the film. The film more effectively creates a character with whom we can empathize and cheer on. Personally, I think this film is a great example of a film inspired by a short story, rather than an adaptation.

McMurphy's Journey

         McMurphy, a man full of rigor, energy, and most importantly laughter, was puzzled the first time that he sat through a session with the other patients, the doctor, and the Big Nurse. He instinctively realizes that there is something wrong with the place, and rightly points out the Big Nurse as the insinuating criminal. From then on, McMurphy begins an almost heroic quest of restoring individuality, confidence, and manliness to the acutes of the ward who so far lived under the oppression of Ms. Ratched.

      However, McMurphy didn’t begin his journey as a self-sacrificing hero. When he first talks to Harding and the other acutes about how Ms. Ratched starts the blood picking with her insinuations, Harding eventually agrees but in a desperate tone adds that “Of course, she always wins, my friend, always. She’s impregnable herself, and with the element of time working for her she eventually gets inside everyone.” This remark stirs the gambling side of McMurphy into a placing a bet whether he will be able to get the better of the Big Nurse or not. Quite possibly beating the Big Nurse was for McMurphy just an exciting gambling game to spend his time during his confinement.

McMurphy’s weapon against Big Nurse and the institution was laughter. To the nurses’ and the black boys’ efforts to aggravate him every possible way they could, McMurphy made himself act more polite and mannerly until he began to see how funny everything is. Not only does he puts his efforts towards beating the Big Nurse, but he also tries to help the acutes regain their manliness and self-confidence, a tendency which gets stronger towards the end, as McMurphy begins to truly care for the acutes on the ward. The way McMurphy tries to help the acutes regain their confidence is by inducing them to laugh. McMurphy believed that one couldn’t be really strong until one saw the funny side of things.

 

      However, McMurphy slightly hesitates in his heroic journey when he realizes through the life-guard that the only way his commitment will end if the Big Nurse frees him. With this realization, McMurphy stops provoking the Big Nurse and chooses to do the smart thing. By this sudden change in his attitude, Ken Kessey successfully portrays McMurphy as not a heroic saint but as a realistic person. Also by depicting McMurphy as standing up for his and the acutes right even after the realization that we will not be freed if he does so, Ken Kessey develops McMurphy from a character who was just gambling and having a good time to a character who is now self-sacrificingly working for the benefit of the acutes.  

           McMurphy’s efforts show some results in the fishing trip where everybody is laughing together.

          

    “It started slow and pumped itself full, swelling the men bigger and bigger. I watched, part of them, laughing with them – and somehow not with them. I was off the boat, blown up off the water and skating the wind with those black birds, high above myself, and I could look down and see myself and the rest of the guys, see the boat rocking there in the middle ……..swinging a laughter that rang out on the water in ever-widening circles, farther and farther, until it crashed up on beaches all over the coast, in wave after wave after wave.”

     

      Unfortunately, in the end McMurphy is driven to the limit by the Big Nurse and the “Combine” and is eventually forced to take drastic actions. Throughout the book McMurphy developed truly into a Christlike hero who was willing to sacrifice his own life for the patients of the ward. His state of mind can be overlooked in Bromden’s comment about McMurphy’s face: Dreadfully tired and strained and frantic, like there wasn’t enough time left for something he had to do. The patients realize this as well and this is explicitly expressed in the final confrontation between McMurphy and the Big Nurse.

           “We couldn’t stop him because were the ones making him do it. It wasn’t the nurse that was forcing him, it was our need that was making him push himself slowly up from sitting, his big hands driving down…. It was us that had been making him go on for weeks, keeping him standing long after his feet and legs had given out, weeks of making him wink and grin and laugh and go on with his act long after his humor had been parched dry between two electrodes.”

           With McMurphy’s self-sacrifice, the acutes of the ward regained their self-confidence and manliness and became ready to step back in to the real world once again. What slightly nags me about the ending is how McMurphy didn’t even try and escape when he had the chance. In the night where he decides to take a small nap rather than escape straight away, and in the office room where he stays in his chair although Harding urges him to leave, his actions seems so uncharacteristic of the McMurphy who had been portrayed throughout the novel. Maybe the EST had gotten the better of him and he wanted to rest knowing that now the acutes will be able to continue on without him. I’m not sure, but the ending where Bromden kills McMurphy was truly shocking, though symbolic of Bromden’s total independence.

Hope and Music

     "I have no idea to this day what those two Italian ladies were singing about. Truth is, I don't wanna know. Some things are best left unsaid. I'd like to think they were singing about something so beautiful it can't be expressed in words, and it makes your heart ache because of it. I tell you those voices soared, higher and farther than anybody in a grey place dares to dream. It was like some beautiful bird flapped into our drab little cage and made these walls dissolve away, and for the briefest of moments, every last man in Shawshank felt free.” – Red

     Although there are several differences between the movie and the book, this scene where Andy plays music throughout the whole Shawshank is one of the biggest differences between the two. This scene enriches the emotion of the movie considerably and leaves a great impression on the viewers. For the prisoners this music made them feel free and filled their hearts with hope just as Andy had intended to.

      Also on Red’s birthday, Andy gives Red a birthday present: a harmonica. Later the movie shows Red sitting alone in his cell around the time the lights go off and playing a short note on the harmonica. Here harmonica is also symbolic of freedom since music, in other words playing the harmonica, is only possible outside in the free world. Especially the harmonica takes on a even more significant meaning in that it is an object which reminds Red of Andy and his struggle for freedom.

     It is widely regarded that music can offer hope and a sense of freedom. Music can reach both the mind and the heart even when words fail. It can touch the spirit and revitalize faith. Also it can provide rich moments of sharing for friends and family such as it was for the prisoners in Shawshank who felt united by the music playing from the speaker. By adding the scene with the Mozart music and also the scene with the harmonica present, the movie strengthens the theme of hope and freedom with the help of the powerful connotation music has.

Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption

     About ten years after that day on the plate-shop roof, Red and Andy have a conversation about Andy’s job taking care of the prison guard’s’ illegally earned money. In this conversation Andy says that his conscience is relatively untroubled since these illegal dealings would have gone on with or without him. Also Andy justifies his action by saying that since he is a victim of great injustice, he does not have any obligations to act like a saint in a place no similar to hell as Shawshank.
     More interestingly, in this conversation Andy talks about choosing the lesser of two evils. In a place like Shawshank, Andy bitterly says that there are only two groups of people. One are those who remain totally pure but who get dirty anyway because “the pigeons land on your shoulders and crap all over your shirt,” and the others are those who embrace the dirty and totally give themselves into cash. However, Andy goes on to say that there’s a third choice.
     “But you don’t do it. Because guys like us, Red, we know there’s a third choice. An alternative to staying simon-pure or bathing in the filth and the slime. It’s the alternative that grown-ups all over the work pick. You balance off your walk through the hog-wallow against what it gains you. You choose the lesser of two evils and try to keep your good intentions in front of you. And I guess you judge how well you’re doing by how well you sleep at night … and what your dreams are like.”
     However, after reading this part of the book the question of whether Andy was really choosing the lesser of two evils remained in my mind. Although Andy justifies his action by saying that taking care of the dirty money of the warden was the best thing he could do since remaining saintly pure would be detrimental for the well-being of his prison life and also because he wasn’t actually taking part in the illegal money making process anyway. However, it is doubtful whether he did those actions with real good intentions or rather for his self-interest such as his own private headquarters and good treatment from the wardens. Thus at first glance, these words of Andy seemed hypocritical.  
     However, it is hard to blame Andy for taking selfish measures in the prison since as Red mentions Andy is “an innocent man who had been victimized by colossal bad luck, not a missionary or a do-gooder.” Also it is almost impossible to expect Andy to do a humanitarian act when he feels he has been unjustly punished by the society. In this sense, it would be more accurate to say that for Andy “good intentions” isn’t the welfare of the general human race or more specifically the well-being of his conscience but rather his survival, escape and freedom. Perhaps we can conclude that as long as “freedom” was involved, for Andy everything was for “good intentions.”

Hero's Journey! - Kung Fu Panda

Group: 3
Our Film: Kung Fu Panda
Why We Chose It: The fact that the protagonist does not have the hero's ordinary characters at first, but changes into a hero would make an interesting analysis of the movie. The almost incredible voice casting of Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Dustin Hoff, and Jackie Chan was also interesting.

ACT I
1. Ordinary World
Working under the noodle restaurant chef, Mr. Ping (a goose), Po, the panda protagonist, admires the "Furious Five" and yearns to become a kung fu master.
2. Call to Adventure
Po, wanting to watch the kung fu tournament match, straps himself to a set of fireworks and rockets into the sky, crashing into the middle of the arena. This is when Oogway the Grand Master points at the space where he has fallen to announce the Dragon Warrior who could defeat Tai Lung, so Po becomes the chosen one.
3. Refusal of the Call
Shifu dislikes Po because of his out-of-nowhere origin, and the Furious Five make fun of him. Po is frustrated, and has second thoughts about his training.
4. Meeting the Mentor
Oogway is right beside Po when he says that he will quit, and assures him that he is the chosen one.
5. Crossing the Threshold
The next day, Shifu finds Po stretching. He reluctantly accepts him, and begins his training.

ACT II
6. Tests, Allies, Enemies
Despite Po's willingness, the Furious Five and Shifu will still not truly accept him.
7. Approach to the Innermost Cave
As Shifu finds out that, if motivated by food, Po could be trained, soon Po becomes an adequate kung fu fighter.
8. Ordeal
When Po opens the Dragon Scroll, thought to contain ultimate way to defeat Tai Lung, he finds that the scroll is empty.
9. Reward
He is frustrated at first, but when his father says that the gossipped "secret ingredient" of his noodles do not actually exist, Po decides to confront Tai Lung.

ACT III
10. The Road Back
Po goes back to the Jade Palace to face Tai Lung. Meanwhile, Tai Lung has defeated all of the Furious Five and is fighting with Shifu.
11. Resurrection
Just when Shifu is defeated, Po fights Tai Lung and wins.
12. Return with the Elixir
With Tai Lung back in prison, Po has brought back peace, or metaphorically the elixir, in the world.

Ponts of contention
As simple as the plot is, there was a controversy in what parts belong to numbers four through eleven. As "resurrection" is the part where a protagonist defeats his enemy, Tai Lung in this case, and it was not clear who the "enemies" would be. It was a difficult decision to make the "good guys" Po's enemies. Also, "reward" was another problem upon which we stumbled, as it could be interpreted as "meeting the mentor." Nonetheless, a good talk brought a point of consent.

Daffodils - William Wordsworth

Daffodils - William Wordsworth (1804)

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed--and gazed--but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.


A poem that I really liked when I was in the 3rd Grade
Suddenly came to my mind as I was studying Chemistry (no relation whatsoever huh...?)