Joshua
Malang
Professor
Flack
English
6
British
Literature
Extra
Credit #1
Movie
Title: Cracking the Da Vinci Code
Ardustry
Home Entertainment
Director
Geof Petch
Executive
Producers Wayne S. Williams and Larry Katz
Dan
Brown, Novelist (The Da Vinci Code). New Hampshire Writers Association. May
2004
The
documentary begins with the following caption:
“Throughout
its history, the Catholic church has suppressed alternative and unapproved
Christian beliefs. Dan Brown’s publishing sensation, The Da Vinci Code,
explores Mary Magdalene as the mother of Jesus’s Children. Long before the
infamous inquisitions, this controversial belief led to a brutal 13th
century crusade “for Christ” which murdered 100,000 peaceful Christians in
southern France known as the Cathars.”
A voice of Dan Brown is soon
heard in which he states he wrote the novel upon his own spiritual quest, after
reading the press in New Hampshire he is aware of his supporters and his many
critics who dislike the novel in which he points out that they missed the idea
of his novel and he’d like to point out that there is one undebatable truth,
prior to 2,000 years ago we lived in a world of gods and goddesses, today we
live in a world solely of gods, women in most cultures have been stripped of
their spiritual power and our male dominated philosophy of absolutism having a
long history of violence and bloodshed which has continued to this day. He
later goes on in the film to point out that science and religion, yet separate,
are both trying to tell the same story, both are manifestations of man’s quest
to understand the divine, while science dwells on the answers and religions
savors the questions. Many guests are interviewed stating things such as:
Scottish Folklorist, Mark Oxbrow “The Da Vinci Code has brought together a lot
of ideas from alt history books”, “although it is a novel, it is based upon a
variety of research books ideas.
Hundreds of ideas are presented, one I felt intrigued
was towards the end of the documentary where using John the Baptist ideas in
decoding Da Vinci’s paintings, for instance the Virgin, where somehow they were
able to come up with an idea that John the Baptist was superior to Jesus and
being regarded as the true Christ. In the end the people in the film seem to
agree that the ideas of the origins of Christianity, suppression of the
feminine and the idea that the church is involved in cover ups of information
that they know to be true has brought a broader and bigger audience in which
more viewpoints and theories can be recognized. Initially I predicted the film
to be much about Da Vinci and his life, but it touched upon more significant
ideas and people like John the Baptist and Mary Magdalene, political issues,
and I felt ironic that there was little about the paintings.
Overall, I did like it, I didn’t
love it, but I didn’t hate it either. The editing tools were great, but the
interviews were of people in their homes or workplace. To be frank, it slightly
helped me understand the time period of Da Vinci, and the religious, social,
and political conflicts of the time. People seem to be following Catholic
ideas, but having no awareness that they might be left to not know that the
church maybe covering up things. Also the film continuously mentions the lower
placement of what they call of the Feminines. With these in mind, I seldom
thought of the works and people we have read in class for instance, Margery
Kemp and Geoffrey Chaucer. I’d compare their stories with the documentaries
ideas of how life was back then.
Joshua
Malang
Professor
Flack
English
6
British
Literature
Extra
Credit #2
The
Canterbury Tales – The Miller’s Tale
Pater
Noster Hush Productions
I came across this short film, which
is also uploaded on Youtube (January 31, 2008) by Vrig Organa who presents a
legomotion film of Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Miller’s Tale. Personally I have a
love for legos, however, I feel that this short film’s material as being the
best part of the video. It summarizes the entire story, provides necessary
quotes, and the film is very funny and easy to view. It’s like watching a comic
book of The Miller’s Tale in video form.
The narrator of the film not only
used the lingo of Chaucer as he voiced over the play and presented the audience
with direct quotes such as:
“Sweet
heart love me right away or I will die so God help me”
“Noah’s
flood! Alas!”
I loved the fact that the director
chose to mention Absolon being squeamish towards farts. Its overall adaption to
the story I believe is spot on. I would encourage anyone who has read or is debating
on reading the story to watch this film. It’s not enough to replace the written
version itself, but I definitely believe it gets main aspects of the story. It
still sets up the carpenter and his wife situation. It mentions the wife as
being younger, which I believe is vital to the story. The wife still is
presented, like Chaucer’s written piece, as young and easily gullible or
willing. The short video also brings up Nicholas as a lower class student, and
it comically gives awareness to Absolon and his obsession with Alisoun (which
courtly love traits are humorously displayed). John the carpenter is still
presented as foolish and easily manipulated, which the film comically shows him
breaking his arm when he releases himself thinking God’s flood has come just as
Nicholas predicted.
The story is not modernized, it kept
to the language, and overall I believe it successfully did Chaucer’s work
justice. Again I feel it’s a great short film that summarized the Miller’s
Tale, but I would still encourage readers to read the play first. With its
creativity, I believe it enhance viewers interest and it did not deter you away
from the primary principles Chaucer is trying to convey.
Of course my favorite part is when
Absolon is “courting” Alisoun at her window side and after kissing her hair
behind (a hairy lego butt was not shown), he comes back only to get back
Nicholas, not Alisoun, who screams out “ooooh my arse (ass)!”
Although I loved this short film, it
was not my favorite of the films I watched simply because it could of used more
quotes. However this is not something to increase your knowledge and study, but
its just damn funny. I feel the movie I found of the William Shakespeare’s
Twelfth Night to be highly effective, because it basically went through ninety
percent of the dialogue. Similar to this legomotion of The Miller’s Tale, there
is also a animated cartoon of the Wife of Bath which brought out a similar
aspect of enjoying watching an accurate adaption of the works we read in the
course. Again, this short film, in my opinion as a film critique, two thumbs up
the funniest.
Joshua
Malang
Professor
Flack
English
6
British
Literature
Extra
Credit #3
Wife
of Bath
A
Beryl Production for S4C/BBC/HBO
A
film by Joanna Quinn
Found
on Youtube, captioned as “ A raucous and acerbic adaption of one of Chaucer’s
Canterbury”
Interestingly this animated adaption
of Chaucer’s Wife of Bath successfully provides an accurate adaptation to
Chaucer’s original work. It is not
modernized, yet is was able to pull off two different types animation in which
clay animation and cartoon print provide viewers a highly accurate
representation of Wife of Bath.
The short movie provided visuals
that helped place me in the setting of story. The story also provided scenery
in which I felt the presence of renaissance Britain. Fairies, the Court, horse
transportation was portrayed and it help me personally feel as if I was
watching Chaucer’s writing words jump
out into visual actuality . It brought Arthur’s court, and vividly showed the
Arthur’s Queen punishing the Knight and sentencing him to find out what women
want.
Concepts and themes of Chaucer were
displayed. Courting and women’s past roles were displayed and one of my
favorite parts was, as the Knight is riding around on his horse looking for his
answer from his sentencing, he comes across a lower class family in which the
head of household (peasant looking fellow) answers standing next to what
appears to be his wife, “fancy clothes!”.
Shortly after his answer, the wife strikes the man in disgust of his
answer. This helped me realize that sometimes a woman’s voice is placed under
the man’s, husband, and instead of voicing her own opinion she strikes the man.
I found this funny in the clip, but probably would have just ignored it in the
readings.
I do feel it’s more of an adaptation towards the wife of Bath tale, rather
than the Wife of Bath’s Prologue. Also I
feel the production did focus on the hideous Old Woman, but it did not deter me
away from the written work. I felt that this detract my understanding, but it
enhanced it. I like how she was presented, visually shown hideous, with a giant
hunch and a huge snoggin for a nose. The
animator did a great job in showing her as disgusting, yet powerful. She was
able to win over the knight and the clip did a great job transforming her into
a beautiful maiden, but there’d be moments that while she was pretty, her
shadow or quick glance would still portray her as the hideous Old Woman.
Keeping its essence of doing a great job relating to Chaucer’s writing was
key and I am pleased to have seen the clip. I have regrets of not watching this
during the course because I feel it would of helped me understand Chaucer’s
writings more. Sad to say, I do feel like it is more interesting than reading
the play, but again, for the sake of research and analysis, one must read the
play line by line to fully appreciate and understand Chaucer’s work, themes,
setting of time, social and political aspects of the Wife of Bath. Highly
recommend and two thumbs up.
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