Extra Credit - Atlee

So I will attempt to answer all of these questions to the best of my ability. The films that I find most compelling, is difficult because I have never really thought about it. I like all movies. If I see a preview or hear someone talking about a particular movie that may not be exactly main stream I may check them out, but the only movies I see in theaters are action/adventure/fantasy (i.e. comic book movies, Harry Potter type movies, and Inception type movies) and comedies. Everything else is just the same repetitive stuff like romantic comedies and the drama is pretty much dead at the movies. Dramas get Oscar nods, but they are not huge box office smashes. People have enough drama in their own life, why go get more of it? I go to the movies to escape my own life, for however brief a time I can, so why would I want a drama. It's safe to say that I quite enjoy the studio era. I do enjoy independent films but I have to be in an almost depressed mood to watch them because that's the feeling I get from them. I feel like when people make certain independent films, they do so because they want to make this work of art, which I think is total bs, because I just don't consider film to be art. But I also think that the things that qualify as "art" aren't actually art either. Anyway going back to my main point, studio films are much brighter and happier. Little Miss Sunshine is one of my favorite movies and it is an independent film, and while it is funny, it is also depressing. The studio era is for me.

I do go through periods where I may go see a movie based on the star or the director, but it has been a while since I have done that. And yes, I would go see a movie because of the personality of that star. But there are much bigger reasons to go see a movie other than just a star. These are so difficult to answer and somewhat frustrating because I don't feel like I think about anything when seeing a preview or hear about a movie. I just see the preview and think that's crap or that will be awesome. I don't look at colors or compositions of shots and what they might mean even when watching the movies themselves. I find very little hidden meaning stuff because I don't thing it contributes very much to the story. Like the use of color in Do the Right thing with the reds and yellows. I guess that there could have been some subconcious recognition that those colors focus on the hotness of the neighborhood, but I really doubt it. They complained that it was hot and were constantly sweating so I know its hot, and the colors just fit with an African American community, they have no comment on the climate. Symbolism, I think, is about 95% just crap that people make up. I read an interview with Christopher Nolan a few days ago, and they were asking him about certain questions that fans had about his movie Inception, and as the interviewer was asking him these questions, he seemed really confused about what he was being asked. *Spoiler Alert* He was asked if Dom was still trapped in inception at the end of the movie because his kids were the same age and the top didn't stop spinning. He said no because the kids were different because they were working with 2 different sets of kids and that they were in different clothes and that the top just seemed like the right place to end the movie. And the rest of the questions were him shooting down other theories that people had about the movie. I think people constantly try to over analyze films and their hidden meanings (although some films do have them).

If a films has a clear political intent, I am far less likely to go see it. I do not care what you think. Entertain me and leave me alone. I wouldn't have gone to see Do the Right Thing in theaters. Happy feet, along with several other animated movies are slipping in their messages at the ends of movies. Is nothing sacred? Can't I watch a penguin dance in peace? Although I actually do care about recycling and the environment to a degree that annoys my parents to no end.