Jacob Franklin

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Tuesday Presentation

Race had a very interesting and creative project. I am a journalism major, so I very much enjoy a good story. I like that he’s trying to tackle writing a short story based around certain characteristics of the people in the films we watched. I’m interested to see where he takes the “organized crime” and “smooth criminal” story. There are a few directions he can go with the motivation and that is interesting to me.

I really liked Nadeen’s project idea. She was focusing on the criminal justice system, and specifically the impact that it has on lifers, or people that get out after being in prison for a long time. The growth in society is curbed while they’re in prison therefore making it difficult for them to reassimilate into society. I don’t know if she’s drawing on any sources from class, but I don’t necessarily think she has to. If anything I think using Orange is the New Black would benefit the discussion of people who struggle to assimilate once they get out, but that is very minor.

Jake is doing a website on the Italian-American portrayal in crime films. This one caught my eye because it goes perfectly along with “The Godfather” and that movie could be all he needs. We talked about the possibility of him looking up arrest statistics of Italian Americans around the time the Godfather was released and I’d be really curious to see where those take his project. It was well done!

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Fargo

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I had never seen Fargo before watching it for this class, but I do have to say it did not disappoint. The film walked a fine line between being funny enough to be considered a comedy, but also serious enough to hold the standard of a typical crime drama. Steve Buscemi and William Macy just remind me of all the comedies I have ever watched. While the string of murders faulters from the lighter tone. The Coen brothers stirred a lot of mixed emotions from me during this film.

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Roger Ebert Review

After watching Taxi Driver, I did some research and found an interesting review of the film written by Roger Ebert. The review stated that the ending was particularly interesting to break down because it suggested that maybe he died and the last five minutes were his vision after he died in the shootout. That brought up the question to me about if Travis actually died in the shootout. It certainly would make for an interesting debate.

[trippyfiend]

The Wolf

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I have seen the Wolf of Wall Street a few times. Thinking about the mold of what society would consider a psychopath, I don’t think Jordan Belfort fits that mold. To me, he seems like someone who was obsessed with money and power. The drugs incited his craziness.

[kubriq]

“Everybody just thinks I’m this bad shitty fucking person, and all I’m fucking tryin’ to do is survive, you know?”

Monster (2003) dir. Patty Jenkins

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The media went crazy over the Scott Peterson case. People across the country rejoiced when the verdict came out as guilty.

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Scott Peterson’s boat was looked over heavily by both police and media as they tried to find evidence of Laci being taken out into the bay. The bottom photo depicts what was found in Scott Peterson’s car when they arrested him. He had about $15,000 in cash and survival gear. They were worried he planned to run to Mexico, as they arrested him in San Diego.

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This is Scott and Laci Peterson. In one of the most television covered cases of the 21st century. Scott was convicted of first-degree murder of his wife and second-degree murder of their unborn child. Although all of the evidence pointed to him, it wouldn’t have mattered because the way he was portrayed by the media and public was the ultimate guilty verdict in this case.

[poppylife]

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The one thing that I found really interesting about the Central Park Five was the poster for the film. It’s a poster that made me sit down and examine the meaning behind it. Immediately I was struck by their depiction of the issue at hand. As I interpreted it, I found that to me it was saying that on the scales of justice, the ideas and opinions of a city over five individuals no matter the circumstances. That was what stood about to me the most about this film.

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The People vs. O.J. Simpson

I had not watched this documentary before watching it this week before class. I thought it was a very compelling series of films depicting a huge event in American sports history. However, after reading the article as well, I found myself thinking about what it lacks. While the documentary does a great job portraying the events and scenes from back in 1994, what it can’t do is actually take us there to see it for ourselves. There is something that is fantastic and surreal about watching the events. But that’s all it is, they are only a reenaction of the original events, so there is only so much that it can show us. While a lot of the facts may be true and it may be enjoyable to watch, reading the excerpt made me question how accurate any documentaries can depict past events.

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Ear Hustle

I found this podcast very interesting. And I think that it was a good step to take after watching OITNB. To go from watching a show derived from a real-life memoir to listening to the actual stories of some inmates about their relationships with their families. While the first one may be based off some true events, the podcast a real in-depth look inside those relationships. At the end of the day, they just wanted what every other good parent wants, which is to be a good parent to their child. That can be difficult when you’re stuck in a place that is not conducive to you parenting your child. On the other side, that has to be tough for the child, because you grow up having one of your parental influences not being with you for a majority of your developmental years. It was especially intriguing when each of the fathers gets involved in different ways. You see the reconnection story, the father who writes letters, but the most interesting was the father who gave his son a haircut. It can be something as simple as just that to stay involved in your child’s life, but something that means so little to someone else might mean so much more to someone who does not have the same opportunities.

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Red from OITNB

I didn’t bring this up in class, but one of the characters I found really interesting from OITNB was Red. You have an entire prison full of very vulnerable characters, but then you have Red. On the outside, she seems as cold as ice and doesn’t seem to falter. If you watch the show you see bits and pieces of a more emotional character, but she seems to never crack. I think that plays really well into her being the matriarchal character within the prison. In a place that forces people to break down and deteriorate, someone has to be strong and OITNB uses Red for that. She is also a big part of tearing down the Male Gaze that people see in OITNB. She is powerful and strong and doesn’t subject to what people would expect from a female prisoner. They cannot control her and so it pushes the show away from that reality.

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Challenge Post #9

I think this film was brought up in class, but the film “Eagle Eye” really symbolized the panopticon theory. In the film, a computer system monitors everything that people do across the country. While most of the occurrences in this film seem unlikely to happen it definitely is an interesting look into what life could be like if we were constantly surveyed. However, the ideas stemmed from ideas that could very realistically be brought about. Monitoring to secure against national security threats is a relevant conversation today.