Week 3 Blog 2

I’ve always loved Young Frankenstein. I mean, who wouldn’t? It’s still as hilarious as the first time I saw it. Gene Wilder is a brilliant actor. Much of the beginning of YF is very similar to the beginning of the previous Frankenstein movie, although it’s much more amusing. The reaction of Frederick (Frodrick according to Igor, although maybe it’s Egor…) is very different from Victor’s upon the realization that he created life. Frederick is very happy, whereas Victor is disgusted and horrified. Although, that may have something to do with how horrible Victor’s monster looks as opposed to Frederick’s completely human-looking monster. Another difference between the movies is the problem with the monster’s mind. Victor’s monster had a brilliant brain. However, the bump, or rather slamming hit on the head along with near strangulation probably ruined the brain a bit, allowing the evil bits of the body to influence the creature’s actions. In YF, Igor grabbed a bad brain, an “Abby Normal” brain. At the end of YF, the monster’s brain has been fixed by correcting the chemical imbalances in the brain. In both movies, the monsters’ mental problems are not their own faults, caused by either a smack in the head and horrible treatment by humans, or a naturally occurring mental retardation. Unfortunately for Victor’s monster, there was no fix available for the monster’s evilness and ugliness.

Week 3 Blog 1

We finished watching Frankenstein. I enjoyed the movie, although it had some minor problems with it. During the movie, whenever a monster was created, whether it was the original monster or Frankenstein’s wife brought back to life, it seemed that the Doctor hacked it up far more than was necessary. For instance, his wife’s face was perfect (except, of course, for the hair) yet he still hacked it up and sewed it back together for no particular reason. If simply sewing a head to a body will work, why should there need to be any alteration to a fully-functioning face? This gave her an utterly horrible appearance. I wonder how the Doctor could stand her, let alone dance with her. And does it not seem extremely selfish of him to try to bring her back from the dead? True, some people should have lived longer and not died an untimely death, but to reach into the gaping chasm that is death and to bring back a person, placing them in a horribly disfigured body seems cruel and selfish. If I were to die tomorrow, I would not want to be brought back to life if it meant permanently disfiguring me. For the life I would lead could hardly be called a life at all. Gaping strangers, people purposefully avoiding me… How could one live like that?

Week 2 Blog 2

The message from TDTESS was very similar to The Weapon: humans currently do not have the wisdom to deal with the weapons they create. As I previously stated in Week 1 Blog 1, I agree with this message.
One of the things I really loved about TDTESS was the way Klaatu introduced himself to Professor Jacob Barnhardt by completing an equation Barnhardt had on his chalkboard. As a future engineer and a person who thinks scientifically and mathematically, I can appreciate the cleverness of this method. One problem with this form of introduction is that the likelihood of an entirely independently developed civilization having the same, or even remotely similar, symbols for mathematics is extremely unlikely. For instance, if the alien species developed with 8 fingers instead of 10, it is likely that they will have developed a system of mathematics with a base of 8 as opposed to our 10. The aliens would have a very small chance of being able to understand our mathematics, let alone complete a complex equation.
Gort was amusing. First, he was very impractical; the human shape is really only practical for humans. There are much better methods of locomotion and moving other objects than the human body functions. More than 2 arms, say 4 arms, would be about twice as functional as the human shape. A future civilization would probably understand this and make sure their robots had more than 2 arms.

Week 2 Blog 1

We began watching The Day the Earth Stood Still. It’s interesting to see the special effects in old films. The flying saucer was just an oval-shaped light. We’ve advanced so far, utilizing special effects that, at their best, cannot be identified as being artificially created. I’m a little scared that in the future there will be no need for the actor/actress, as a digital version would be easier to manipulate and cost even less than an actor/actress. We need a human element in films. Humans can transmit minute feelings through their movements and speech variations that a computerized character would never be able to do. Take, for example, Robin Williams: he is a brilliant person, coming up with jokes and ideas that very few other people could possibly come up with; and when he acts, these jokes and ideas are transmitted to the viewer through his movements and facial expressions along with his many different voices. A digital character couldn’t hope (or rather, its creators couldn’t hope) to possibly transmit as much information in an entire movie as Williams does in 5 minutes.
One effect of having very limited special effects is the increased emphasis on the actual plot of the movie. One can tell that the people who worked on the movie paid attention to the plot, with only a few resources devoted to the special effects. This leads to a much better movie. I just wish more recent producers would realize this.

Week 1 Blog 2

To say the least, I could strangle the girl in Random Sample. She is pure evil. I can’t blame the aliens for burning up the human city, and presumably the rest of the human world. Calling the psychiatrist a Billy goat, kicking the aliens because they didn’t bow to her, blackmailing the psychiatrist in order to get some candy… Hell, I’d burn up humanity too after meeting this girl. Fortunately, she doesn’t exist, she’s fictional. If aliens somehow visit the earth, and they are intelligent, I hope, nay pray (this is unusual as I’m an atheist) that they meet reasonable, kind human beings, not a little devil child.
The Atomic Cafe video came as welcome comic relief from the evilness of Random Sample. The Duck and Cover song was really funny. I’m a little curious why many old films, such as this one, have sped up video for sections in which nobody is talking. For some reason, I find it amusing having film sped up, it makes people look all jittery. However, despite all the comedic elements, I was a little surprised and scared by the military’s willingness to send in volunteers right after a nuclear blast just to see what levels of radiation they experienced. That’s incredibly dangerous for the volunteers who will likely die early deaths due to cancer caused by radiation. Don’t send in humans. If the military really needs to see the effects of radiation, send in pigs; just not humans. Although, if the humans are stupid enough to deliberately put themselves at such enormous risk maybe they deserve their fate.

Week 1 Blog 1

After reading The Weapon, I’m a little more scared about the future. I’ve always thought that humans have far too much destructive power for their own good. Nuclear weapons should never have been made, yet their creation was inevitable. After one country creates nuclear weapons, there needs to be another country to balance it out. However, if there were no nuclear weapons, the world would be a much more peaceful place. The ability to destroy not only thousands of humans at once but to also destroy the land, making it uninhabitable is simply scary. From what I can tell about human beings, they are generally rational as individuals, but get a few together and make them a group and suddenly they can believe almost anything. If people can be convinced that blowing themselves up is good not only for them but for all their people, they can definitely be convinced that blowing up a nuclear bomb is good too. Human beings are simply not wise enough to understand that any use of nuclear weapons is bad for everyone. The peace-advocating, anti-ultimate-weapon man had the right idea, (not that I’m advocating giving mentally impaired people loaded revolvers) that people need to be shown that we are not yet capable, not yet wise enough, to be trusted with nuclear weapons.