Blog Post 8: Three Act Structure of Jaws

           The first act of Jaws, or the introduction of the film, establishes the conflict of the film, poses a central dramatic question, and gives us essential background information about our characters and location. The catalyst of the film occurs in the opening scene when Chrissie Watkins is eaten by a shark and found by Chief Brody the next morning. We are immediately drawn to Chief Brody as a relatable, hard-working character who wants to kill the shark. Right away though it is apparent from the chief's interaction with the townsfolk that Amity island is initially more concerned with making money from their island guests than with chief killing the shark. The Chief tries to shut down the beaches, but another boy is soon eaten just before the first turing point. This poses the central dramatic question of the film which is will Chief Brody kill the shark?

           The first plot point in the movie occurs when Alex Kitner, a young boy, is eaten by the shark. This escalates the stakes for the chief and forces him to make the decision to close the beaches indefinitely against the wishes of the mayor. This event propels the film into the second act where the chief, Hooper, and Quint all hunt for the shark at sea. This second act continues to build off of the first act and complicates the chiefs mission since he is now on the water which is the shark's territory. This second act is also the first time that the audience gets a real good look at shark.

           The second plot point of the film takes place between the second and third acts of the film.
Hooper goes down into a shark cage to try to kill the shark with a poison dart. This dramatically raises the stakes for Hooper since nobody has yet faced the shark while actually in the water. This second turning points render the final confrontation between the shark and Chief Brody inevitable and begins the third act. From this point on the violence escalates as the shark destroys the cage, eats Quint, and sinks the boat. The climax finally occurs in the final minuets of the film as Chief Brody and the shark finally square off, and the chief blows up the shark. With the central dramatic question answered and the main conflict resolved, the chief and Hooper swim safely back to shore.

Blog Post 7: TV Sitcoms

           An important aspect of of the TV sitcom is its modified three act structure. The three act structure of conflict, escalation, and resolution has been an established format for entertainment and story telling even before the early days of Classical Hollywood. In TV sitcoms however, due to commercial breaks, the three act structure is an efficient and simple formula that helps to capture the attention span of an audience for half an hour or so.

           A very popular, modern sitcom today is 30 Rock. Each episode of 30 Rock follows a very similar three act structure. In the first few minutes of the show a conflict is introduced. Liz Lemon usually has difficulty controlling one of her actors and Jack Donaghy faces some sort of business or relationship trouble. After the first commercial break the second act begins, and the original conflicts begin to escalade. Usually things have taken a turn for the worse as Liz prepares for the inevitable final confrontation with Tracy, an ex-boyfriend, or whatever it is that she is fighting against. Finally, in the third act, every plot line regarding Liz, Jack, Tracy, Kenneth, and Jenna comes together in some absurd way and together everyone solves their problems. Their problems for that episode are resolved, but these are only mini-resolutions. The story of 30 Rock as whole is pretty much the same at the end of each episode as it was at the beginning.

Blog Post 6: Rope

           In Alfred Hitchcock's film Rope, he uses camera placement and various shots to evoke different types responses from the audience throughout the film.

           In the opening scene, Hitchcock uses a long shot (LS) of a city street to establish the location of the film and to help orientate the audience. As the camera begins to rise, we hear a man scream offscreen in an one of the apartments. This shot explains that a man was just murdered in a busy neighborhood in broad daylight which initiates the whole plot of the movie.

           This medium shot (MS) is what we see immediately after the initial opening long shot. This medium shot gives us the vital information that a man has just been killed by two other men, Brandon and Philip. It gives the audience the knowledge that these men just committed murder and will spend the rest of the film trying to cover it up.

           This close-up shot (CU) took place in the final scene when James Stewart discovers the truth that these men committed murder. The rope he is holding is the murder weapon that the men used and is an important detail. It evokes regret and dread in Brandon and Philip once they discover that they have been found out.

Blog Post 5: The Studio System & Vertical Integration

           Vertical Integration was a very important aspect of what made Classical Hollywood's studio system so successful at the time. Vertical integration is when one company owns all levels of production in a company such as, production, distribution, and even exhibition. The studios had huge lots comprised of musicians, editors, and a stable of actors at their disposal.

          The kinds of films the studios produced under vertical integration varied from studio to studio. In vertical integration, each studio had contracts with certain stars, directors, editors, and anything else that you can imagine at their disposal for all of their films. Some big stars at the time would be in over 80 films a year as opposed to the 1 or 2 stars are in today.

           Casablanca is an example of a Warner Brother's film that wholly embraced the idea of vertical integration. This film starring Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart, two of Warner Brother's stars, was a global success after its release, and it was all made by Warner Brothers every step of the way. Michael Curtiz, a relatively unknown Warner Brother's director, directed the film and the most of the film was even shot on a lot in Warner Brother's studio. By controlling all aspects of the film from start to beginning, Warner Brother's made Casablanca a hit and one of the most successful movies of all time.

Blog Post 4: All In The Family vs. The Simpsons

           A modern equivalent to All In The Family from the 1960's can be found in Matt Groening's The Simpsons. In fact, Groening has openly admitted that Homer Simpson is directly based on Archie Bunker in many ways.

           While The Simpsons is a much more ridiculous type of comedy show, both programs share similarities. Both shows make a point to comment on society in each episode. Also, both Homer and Archie represent male patriarchs who are out of step with the rest of their respective worlds. In the episode of All In The Family that we watched in class, Archie was struggling with homophobia. Homer usually struggles with Lisa's progressive ideas in The Simpsons too.

           These shows are different however due to their levels of absurdity. For it's time, All In The Family was very edgy and cutting edge, however The Simpsons have taken the next step further. No issue is off limits for Homer to tackle. Also, the fact that The Simpsons is a cartoon allows for many situations that could never take place on a television set in All In The Family.
           Archie was intentionally meant to be a closed mined character so that the conflict in each episode could arise between him and some faction of society. Conflict in The Simpsons arises due to Homer's intellectual deficiencies against society. All In The Family dealt with issues that were important in society at the time. The Simpsons does that too to a certain degree, but it is not solely limited to that criteria. A simpsons episode can have social relevance or be completely absurd and parody something. Both programs are art in their own ways, because they hold a mirror up to society. I know that enjoy them both!