Class Screening List for 3/30/12

The Secret of Nimh (1982)

Powerpoint For Class 3/30/12

Don Bluth

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1cX_YBwrSJ2YoEnvYGfeuYGdVCroEeEIhT_HNtBrWbZw/edit

Class Screening List for 3/23/12

Waking Sleeping Beauty (2009)

Powerpoint For Class 3/22/12

Disney After Disney/The Disney Renaissance:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1OdrRWahbdnpOyG6hLbZjr87HT-9l07SFTPTkyz8X0jI/edit

University Writing Center

For those of you having trouble coming up with ideas for writing up Response Papers, I advise you to take advantage of the University Writing Center on the Main Campus.  It offers complimentary paper critiquing and help sessions which can be really helpful!

Take advantage of this FREE opportunity.

Powerpoint For Class 3/16/12

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1vq7rkMZwkp0G1z7P3nz-GGr-RSuK9W06Txf8is8h_TY/edit

Class Screening List for 3/16/12

My Neighbor Totoro (Tonari No Totoro) (1988)

Spring Break Extra Credit Question Due March 16

I have been pondering this for over a year and feel I am missing out on understanding the appeal of James Cameron's (So much CGI, it might as well be animated) Avatar.  I don't quite comprehend how massively popular this film is as it did not speak to me at all for a number of reasons.  I shall list my grievances and if you are a fan of the film, please counter my points in ways you think the film succeeds.

1.  The Plot/Writing-The plot is an amalgam of the movies Pocahontas and Ferngully: The Last Rainforest. The writing is weak and relies on actors being able to say really loud, complicated, painfully obvious words like "unobatnium" and expect it to be taken with a straight face.   
Matt Bateman's wonderful plot synopsis summarizes my views on it exactly:

2.  The Villains-The villains are not interesting.  They are cardboard cutout stereotypes.  There is the sleazy, greedy, lazy corporate archetype, Parker Selfridge, who plays golf in his office and talks about preserving the profit margin by any means necessary.  In addition, there is also the racist, military bigot, Quaritch.  He uses phrases like "terrorists" (in reference to the native Na'Vi) and "scatter the cockroaches."  In story, a hero is only as good as the villains.  Complicated villains make a story interesting.  Characters like Lord Shen in Kung Fu Panda 2 and Sinestro from the Green Lantern comics...or Ra's Al Ghul from Batman are all complicated villains that challenge the heroes in more ways than physical ones.  Often, these complex villains engage in cerebral arguments with the hero that causes them to think about the motivation of their antagonists.  When a villain is a simple caricature, an element of the story is lacking.


3.  The treatment of the disabled.  Jake Sully was a Marine before he became paralyzed in combat.  Within the world of Avatar, despite taking place in the far future, this is treated as a kind of stigma.  Quaritch even tells Jake (who is not an amputee) that if he helps them learn about the Na'Vi, that he will give him back his "real legs," which are still attached to his body.  It is implied that Jake cannot be happy in a wheelchair as he spends more and more time in his avatar body.

4.  The Technology-Isn't that new.  The combat/loader mechs are very similar to the one used at the end of Cameron's previous film, Aliens.  The interactive screens used in it are similar to those used in various Star Trek series over the past thirty years.  I've heard people discuss the weapons used in Avatar as the "weapons of the future," yet this is defeated by an army of native wildlife, arrows, and spears.  


You have your challenge!

Out of Office/Away From Email Starting 3/3/12

Good Afternoon!
I am posting here to let everyone know that I will be out of office starting 3/3/12 until 3/8/12.
During this time, I will not be able to be reached by email.
If you have any questions you need to address, please do so in class on 3/2/12.
Have a fun and safe Spring Break!