Dear Mythologists,
For Thursday, September 22, please do the following:
(1) Watch Wrath of the Titans
(Jonathan Liebesman, 2012), taking notes as you see
fit. The film is available on reserve at Scribner Library and also streaming on Amazon. Here we have an opportunity, perhaps, to think about franchise development and continuity, both of which have parallels in ancient myth-making (think, for example, of tragic trilogies).
(2) Read the first half of Looking at Movies Chapter 6 ("Cinematography"), pp. 225–59. Our Analysis assignments are drawing near, so it's essential that you cultivate your cinematic literacy and be able to put it to work.
(3) As Barsam and Monaghan remind us in Chapter 1 of Looking at Movies, there are kinds of analysis beyond the formal. So read Stacie Raucci's essay on the marketing of cinematic heroes in early twenty-first century films, a study of how movies speak to and reaffirm common culture.
(4) Remember by noon on Thursday to comment on this post with your choice of a sequence from Wrath to view in class.
DC
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ReplyDeleteI would like to watch the scene where Zeus forgives Hades, and asks for Hades' forgiveness in return. It begins at 61:28 and ends at 63:10. There is a lot of Christian symbolism here: Zeus looks like classic depictions of Jahweh, is crucified like Jesus, and forgives all of Hades' sins. Hades sacrifices himself for his brother, and Ares falling over the cliff and landing near lava mimics God casting the rebel angels into Hell. My guess is these choices are very purposeful. We often forget about it in our secular liberal environment here at Skidmore, but many Americans are, at best, ignorant of classical myth and, at worst, deem myth as blasphemous or idolatrous. Superimposing themes and symbols familiar to Christian viewers may be a tool to win over audience members confused by gods who are not God.
ReplyDeleteThe scene in which Perseus dreams (it starts around 0:5:50) was particularly intriguing to me from a filmmaking standpoint. The dream includes a large, glowing, lava-y hand, which we soon realize belongs to Kronos. In the midst of scared, screaming people, Perseus refuses to leave his son. The sound effects are loud and the atmosphere is obviously urgent and immediate; the filmmakers' choices here let me know that this scene is without a doubt important in setting up my expectations for the rest of the movie. There is a large force that Perseus must face and they make it very clear that Perseus' love for Helius is a key aspect of the film. The reason this scene comes to the forefront of my mind is because of the abrupt cut from Perseus' dream self to his waking self. As he jerks awake, the audience experiences the same disorientation. We are immersed in this horrifying, loud, red-tinted, fast-paced world and are then deprived of those sensations. Suddenly its quiet. Cold blues and grays dominate the color palette. After Perseus' initial jerking motion as he wakes up, everything slows down. I think these techniques help the audience empathize with Perseus.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to rewatch the scene with the Cyclopes (34:10-38:20). Obviously the cyclopes didn't appear in the original Perseus myth, but many of us have read (or are familiar with) Homer's Odyssey. A couple of us even read the original Greek for chapter 9 (where Polyphemus appears) as well as Theocritus' Idylls 6 and 11. I think it's very interesting how the Cyclopes are presented here: still a bit clumsy and dull, but hunting in groups.
ReplyDeleteMy interest was peaked during the scene with the cyclopes around 0:31:35. This scene didn't intrigue me because of the actual cyclopes - they were a very stereotypical depiction of the creatures- but rather the use of sound, or in this case, lack of sound. This is the first movie that I particularly noticed the silence in the scene. It was a shocking twist from the loud action sounds and music of previous scenes and is the first scene where there is no music playing. The shock from sound to silence - as well as the silence itself- helps create a jarring and uneasy feeling in the viewer. This works well since, during the next minute or so, the audience is introduced to the eerie causes of the silence. Also, I thought the absence of sound during this scene was particularly unnatural because Perseus is in a forest, a place where one would expect to hear a lot of natural sounds. A forest in reality is never completely silent. This silence is only broken by a whaling sound that increases the audience's tension. Thus, this creates a bit of a jump scare when the cyclopes noisily enter the scene. I want to discuss this in class because we haven't talked about the use of sound in movies but it is a major part of the cinematic world.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to rewatch the Haephestus scene from 40:48-46:14. He's the only new god that shows up in this movie besides Ares and its interesting to see his characterization. A tropey mess that is nothing like the mythological Hephaestus. Also I screamed at my screen when Andromeda asked "Who is Hephaestus?" This movie sucks.
ReplyDeleteSo It's not a super interesting scene, and I don't know how strong it is in an outside mythological standpoint, but I was most drawn to the first scenes of the film, seeing Perseus with his son, and most importantly the moment between Perseus and Zeus. What draws me to this is seeing who they are at this point, and how the film has portrayed them to show who they are now and who they will be in this film. I think there are some interesting choices in how they depict Zeus especially, however, the actual text of the scene is kind of shooting itself in the foot. I think we are in a excellent position to look at this scene having just watched this films prequel and that films original.
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ReplyDeleteI would like to view the scene where perseus fights Ares. i was particularly drawn to this scene because it's the first time where we seen Perseus really struggle to win a physical battle which makes sense given who he is fighting. Because the fighting gets a bit dull the focus of the scene is on family loyalty between father and son with Ares questioning Perseus's level of love for Helius his son which in many ways mirrors his own father zeus's love for Perseus.(1:12:20-1:19:09)
ReplyDeleteI would like to watch the scene where our heroes meet Hephaestus (00:40:52-00:42:37). I really liked the semi-crazy but rather funny depiction of a fallen god. I also noticed how the surrounding setting, the lighting and the obnoxious back and forth movements of Hephaestus added to the feeling of madness that the scene calls for. Honestly, it was worth watching the whole movie just for this scene.
ReplyDelete-Frini
It was hard to find a scene of particular interest in this film, but I ultimately settled on the scene where the Greek soldiers are preparing to fight against Chronos (1:06:12-1:10:23). This caught my eye at first for it's complete absurdity; what do a bunch of soldiers reasonably expect to accomplish against a Titan? Upon considering it more, I think that it demonstrates one of the main issues I have with the modern Titan films; their rather shoddy attempts to reconcile Greek mythmaking and American mythmaking. The heroes born into power are the only ones that can be expected to accomplish anything, but it doesn't resonate as much with a country that sells a 'self-made man' narrative, so the film makers threw in some normal people to help out. This ties into the ways that these films insist that its better for Perseus to embrace his human side rather than his God side.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I'm like 90% certain Greek soldiers never used trenches.
The scene that I'd like to view is at about 20 minutes in, when Perseus is preparing to leave to find Andromeda. I thought a lot of the little bits of humor seemed very unnatural throughout the movie, such as when Perseus accidentally sticks his sword through his cape while trying to sheathe it, or when he gets off Pegasus and says he used to be batter at riding. I also thought it was an odd gesture when Helius gives his wooden sword to his father by pressing it upon his chest rather than just handing it to him. However, this action symbolizes Perseus's forced acceptance into the conflict of both this movie and the previous one; Perseus does not take willingly choose to take part in the affairs of the gods, but he is forced into it by his divine heritage.
ReplyDeleteI would like to revisit part of the labyrinth scene from around 58:40 to 1:01:10. Although not connected to the Perseus myth, rather a large component of the Theseus myth, I thought it was interesting how the movie repurposed a very different myth and used it as a pivotal moment. The Minotaur creature appeared to be the key to finding the heart of Tartarus and getting out of the labyrinth, since the creature breathed its last mere seconds before Perseus suddenly realized the maze was finished.
ReplyDeleteI would like to rewatch any scenes with Kronos, specifically when he is attacking Perseus. I did not like the way he was portrayed as a giagantic lava monster. I can appreciate him as a monster like the minotaur or the chimera, but not as the Father of Time. --Willa
ReplyDelete