Free Essay

Flowers in the Attic

In: Film and Music

Submitted By twizzgurl
Words 905
Pages 4
Flowers in the Attic
Wendy Lupton
ENG 225 Introduction to Film
Jonathan Beller
March 25, 2012

Flowers in the Attic
Introduction
The movie in this essay will be on the 1987 movie the Flowers in the Attic by Jeffrey Bloom. It is a movie where you will feel very suspenseful with all the drama that is happening to the children and what their mother does to stop it. Their grandmother treat’s them very awful when their mother is not home.
Storytelling
The story of the Flowers in the Attic is four children that fight to survive when slowly forgotten about by their mother played by Victoria Tennant. The mother of four children, who loses her husband and father of the kids, returns to her mother’s mysterious family mansion hoping to regain the love from her father to receive an inheritance. But when the children are imprisoned and abandoned by their evil grandmother, the children must find a way to survive a nightmare of brutal cruelty, forbidden passion and final shocking discovery that will shatter their innocence forever. The children consist of Chris, Cathy, and the two younger children, Cory and Carrie. Little do the children know, their mother has essentially given them over to their abusive, religiously-fanatical grandmother (played by Oscar winner Louise Fletcher), and they are locked away in the attic and kept there, while their health deteriorates and they are abused constantly. All the while, their evil mother conspires to receive the inheritance from her own dying father, and plans on starting a completely new life with another man - even if it means murder.
Acting
This film has method acting in it. The Method requires that actors draw on their own memories and experiences to reach the heart of a character, so that they more genuinely feel the emotions they’re portraying instead of just pretending to (Goodykoontz,B. & Jacobs, C. 2011). The children consist of Chris, Cathy, and the two younger children, Cory and Carrie. When the oldest daughter screams because she realized that her father has passed away, she has to pull from her own experiences of someone passing away that was close to her. Then when the kids were put in room just below the attic the two oldest kids had to start taking care of the little ones. They would pull off helping take care of their siblings in their own life or even the emotions of a close friend that might have had to take care of younger siblings.
Cinematography
The cinematography in the film Flowers in the Attic is mainly done in medium long shots. The medium long shots is where the human figures are visible between head-to-toe and head-to-knee in the frame (Goodykoontz,B. & Jacobs, C. 2011). Most of the shots that are shown in the movie Flowers in the Attic were done from the feet or knees up to head. For example, the shot of where the children and their mother were shown in the room under the attic from their grandmother was a medium long shot. It showed from head to toe in that shot. There were a few shots that were medium close-ups and close-up but not as many.
Editing
Effective editing is sometimes called "invisible" editing. This is because viewers often do not even realize when a shot changes from, say, a two-shot to a close–up of one actor, or even from one location to another, if the editor appropriately anticipates what viewers want to see and when they want to see it (Goodykoontz,B. & Jacobs, C. 2011). For example, the shot when the children were on their way up the stairs to the attic then the grandmother stopped them and told them to remember they are not allowed to be seen. That is a time when the editor uses the two-shot from the children to a close-up of the grandmother.
Sound
The sound is based on the little ballerina music box Cathy’s father bought for her when she was age twelve. Everything has a very Gothic, depressing tone, and the mood here fits everything very well. It's an eerie film, mainly because of the disturbing subject matter and the gloomy atmosphere that is present throughout. It makes you feel very sad but yet suspenseful of what is next in store for the children. There also are times when there are sound effects that take place in this film. For example, when the mother is standing in front of her father, you see the mother pull out a bull whip as the children’s mother takes off her shirt. Then you hear the sound of the whip cracking.
Conclusion
As the children get older they get a little bit smarter. They decide against going to the police as they do not want to risk being separated from each other and placed into foster homes—their priority is to get away and make it on their own, always staying together and being there for Carrie. At the time of their escape in November 1960, Christopher is nearly eighteen years old, Cathy is fifteen years old, and Carrie is eight years old. Cathy vows to herself that she will get revenge against her mother and grandmother one day.

References
Goodykoontz,B. & Jacobs, C. (2011). Film: From Watching to Seeing. Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu/books/AUENG225.11.2/sections/ch00

Similar Documents

Free Essay

Cinderella

... In an instant,Cinderella ran out of her tiny bedroom ,down the steep attic stairs. A brown mouse is followed behind her. A new mouse got caught in a trap,But Cinderella always there to help.And tat was just one reason why all the little mouse in there house loved her.But the cinderellas cruel stepmother and her horrible step sisters,they made her in craped,drafty room in attic. Cinderella look at the mouse .She opened the trap but the little mouse is scared.Cinderella place her hand at the opening of the trap to help the mouse get out.she gave a mouse name Gus.Cinderella got back to work. jaq and gus scurried along the kitchen where Cinderella was busy feeding chickens.Cinde-rella gave them a tossed large handful corn.Gus had the whole yard to himself to think up the perfect surprise for cenderella.Gus noticed a beautiful rose bush.He knew that hed find it the perfect present for cenderella.He climed up the rose bunch and quickly to gawn each branch,careully avoiding the throns. Chapter 2 For the rest of the morning gus was vso nervous.Gus heard a loud scream of a lady then he go run to the garden including cenderella and the other household.then they find cinderellas step mother at the bare rosebush.her mouth had dropped open in shock.Cinderella gasp and ask who cut the roses.they found some petals on the floor,and they follow it.The trial of rose petals led them to the attic. They found the roses in cenderellas bedroom.Gus gulp nervously.Gus already...

Words: 911 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Patrick Bryan O Malley's Story Essay: The Haunted House

...could use some updating. There were three more bedrooms on the second floor. The room she used, the one her parents used, and a third guest room. These all needed minor repairs mainly the wood floors needed refinishing and the walls fresh paint. She jotted down more notes. There was one more area to examine, the attic. Remembering that boards covered the windows, she needed something to pry them away to allow light into the space. Casey returned to the car to grab the flashlight from the glove compartment and a tire iron from the trunk before returning to the attic. As the door swung open a musty odor greeted her. Standing in the doorway, she waited a few moments while her eyes adjusted to the darkness before moving into the center of the room. Scanning the room for the general direction of the windows splinters of...

Words: 1730 - Pages: 7

Free Essay

Th Hours

...complex characters, Woolf’s husband Leonard and Vaughn’s best friend Richard intermingle to create a story with a strong message about the treatment of disease especially among the homosexual community. Only after applying Deconstructionist literary theory does Cunningham’s comment on the plight of the homosexual reveal itself. When examining the story from a Deconstructionist viewpoint, Clarissa Vaughn acts as Richard’s binary opposite. When Clarissa and Richard first meet in the story, Clarissa brings Richard flowers, a traditionally masculine role. Richard, in contrast, is describes as having a mind “eaten to lace,” a decidedly feminine image and Clarissa equates his home to “the hold of a sunken ship” a yonic image further depicting Richard as the female in the scene. If, in the novel, the female Clarissa was a literary genius suffering from AIDS feminist literary critics would have dubbed her “the mad woman in the attic;” however, this “mad woman in the attic” concept applies instead to Richard the homosexual man in the story. By applying this feminist terminology to Richard, Cunningham compares the plight of the artistically repressed woman of the 19th century to the repressed homosexual of the late 20th century. During this modern time period when Michael Cunningham gathered ideas for his book, most believed AIDS was an epidemic isolated in the homosexual community causing the afflicted men to become ostracized and stigmatized by their heterosexual counterparts...

Words: 1245 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Feminism

...English 101 Professor Zitter July 29, 2014 Female Stereotype Banished Since the 1960’s, there have been various types of feminist criticism that have been analyzed and interpreted through literature. A feminism critic is one who works to represent the belief that men are superior to women and feminists will create change so women can be fully recognized and respected (Dobie 97). One of the earliest and most influential accounts of Feminism is the American Feminism. The American Feminist criticism, Fun Home by Alison Bechdel, argues that women have been stereotyped through literature, text, and images. Historically, feminist movements have been divided into three waves. In the nineteenth century, the first wave’s focus was on politics of women. For example, the right to vote (“History and Theory” par.6).According to first wave feminist, Simon De Beauvoir, she believes “Women are not born inferior, but made to be so” (Dobie 100). The second wave in the 20th century, focused on “liberation which were legal and social rights for women”(History and Theory” par. 6). Feminists in this wave, Virginia Woolf critiques the absence of women within literary work throughout history and emphasize that gender is shaped by society. (Dobie 101). The last wave, which is still occurring today, overlaps with the second wave and it is a continuation of the failures within the second wave. Each theorist have different perspectives that lead them into different groups according to their belief and...

Words: 1936 - Pages: 8

Free Essay

Trvsell

...metropolis with a nightlife that matches the city’s wildlife. You can hang out with baboons and zebras at Cape Point in the morning, dine at an Atlantic seaboard bistro for lunch, tipple at a Constantia wine estate in the afternoon and party the night away in a Long Street club. All in a Cape Town day. The vast Northern Cape, the largest and most dispersed of South Africa’s provinces, is not an easy region to tackle as a visitor. From the lonely Atlantic coast to Kimberley, the provincial capital on its eastern border with the Free State, it covers over one-third of the nation’s landmass, an area dominated by heat, aridity, empty spaces and huge travelling distances. The miracles of the desert are the main attraction – improbable swaths of flowers, diamonds dug from the dirt and wild animals roaming the dunes. Anatoli- The red-brick façade, green shutter doors, and tall casement windows say old Cape Town, but inside this Green Point restaurant, the sights, sounds, and aromas evoke Istanbul. Eastern cape Sandwiched between the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa’s two most popular coastal provinces, the Eastern Cape tends to be bypassed by visitors – and for all the wrong reasons. The relative neglect it has suffered as a tourist destination and at the hands of the government is precisely where its charm lies. You can still find traditional African villages here, and the region’s 1000km of undeveloped coastline alone justifies a visit,...

Words: 911 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Sounds Of The Hollyhocks Analysis

...One could describe it as some sort of mental sanctuary. This place or these people are created by one’s subcontinents to help find solutions to one’s problems, give one a break from one’s life, or just have someone to talk to. In Teddy’s imagination for instance, he is “his Majesty King Theodore I … [reigning over] Kingdom Upalia” (page 42). This imaginary world of his lets him escape his everyday life, as well as his aunt and uncle, who seem to not be supportive nor loving/caring enough. Upstairs in the attic, where he built this kingdom out of cardboard and paper, he is the King and he makes the rules. Downstairs on the other hand, his aunt and uncle have the control and Teddy is supposed to just “mechanically … [obey]” (page 43). In Upalia he even defeated his uncle, who in his imagination is Zikla the Duke of Anders, as we find out when “Teddy [looks]at his [uncle]… and [reflects] on his resemblance to Zikla” (page 43). Also Bill Ranson seems to escape the torment of his mother and his trauma about his wife’s death, by fleeing into his imaginary world. But in some cases, people become so obsessed with their imaginary world that they can’t tell it from reality. Bill seems to be one of these cases. He is caught between his imaginary world and...

Words: 1826 - Pages: 8

Free Essay

English

...Life without Television When my family’s only television set went to the repair shop the other day, my parents, my sister, and I thought we would have a terrible week. How could we get through the long evenings in such a quiet house? What would it be like without all the shows to keep us company? We soon realized, though, that living without television for a while was a stroke of good fortune. It became easy for each of us to enjoy some activities alone, to complete some postponed chores, and to spend rewarding time with each other and friends. First of all, with no television to compete for our time, we found plenty of hours for personal interests. We all read more that week than we had read during the six months before. We read as a family, but we also read stories on our own. Reading stories as a family brought us closer together it seemed. We told stories of our daily encounters. We even learned of stories from our family history. We each also enjoyed some hobbies we had ignored for ages. Our family enjoyed nice outdoor activities- such as basketball, baseball, and golf. We all learned that we were in fact, a very competitive family. We even learned out to sew and knit in our spare time. We enjoyed old activities as well as learning how to do new ones. In addition, my sister and I both stopped procrastinating with our homework. Our grades improved tremendously. We learned that we could help each other out and our homework became easier. We also learned that it is easier...

Words: 846 - Pages: 4

Free Essay

I Just Did This so I Can Get Answers

...*If Possible, Please don't get movie covers. If it looks like a Movie cover then don't get it...The (^^^^ ) by the books, means it is also a movie and possibly could have a movie cover* Book List A · Halo---- Alexandra Adornetto Halo Hades Heaven · Dollanganger series-----V.C Andrews^^^^ Flowers in the Attic Petals in the Wind If There be thorns Seeds of Yesterday Garden of Shadows · Obsidian-------Jennifer L. Armentrout · Lux----Jennifer L. Armentrout Obsidian Onyx Opal Origin Opposition · Wicked-----Jennifer L. Armentrout · Thirteen Reasons Why----Jay Asher^^^^ · The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle------Avi B · The Syrena Legacy-----Anna Banks Of Poseidon Of Triton Of Neptune · Peter Pan-------J.M Barrie · Six of Crows----- Leigh Barugo Sx of Crows Crooked Kigdom · Dark Water---Georgia Blain · Anna----Kendare Blake Anna Dressed in Blood Girl of Nightmares · The Darkest minds-----Alexandra Bracken The Darkest Minds Never Fade In the Afterlight · Fahrenheit 451-----Ray Bradbury^^^^ · Red Rising-----Pierce Brown C · House of Night----- P.C Cast Marked Betrayed Chosen Untamed Hunted Tempted Burned Awakened Destined Revealed Redeemed Kalona’ Fall (If possible, get the hardback books with the paper cover for the House of Night series.. B/C on the back of the paper cover is a poster.. I want to collect them.. If not...

Words: 606 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

Demeter

...Chrysothemis and Amphitheus I Roman equivalent Ceres Festivals Thesmophoria In ancient Greek religion and myth, Demeter (/diˈmiːtər/; Attic Δημήτηρ Dēmētēr. Doric Δαμάτηρ Dāmātēr) is the goddess of the harvest, who presided over grains and the fertility of the earth. Her cult titles include Sito (σίτος: wheat) as the giver of food or corn/grain[1] and Thesmophoros (θεσμός, thesmos: divine order, unwritten law) as a mark of the civilized existence of agricultural society.[2] Though Demeter is often described simply as the goddess of the harvest, she presided also over the sanctity of marriage, the sacred law, and the cycle of life and death. She and her daughter Persephone were the central figures of the Eleusinian Mysteries that predated the Olympian pantheon. In the Linear B Mycenean Greek tablets of circa 1400–1200 BC found at Pylos, the "two mistresses and the king" may be related with Demeter, Persephone and Poseidon.[3][4] Her Roman equivalent is Ceres.[5] Etymology Didrachme from Paros island, struck at the Cyclades and representing Demeter Demeter's character as mother-goddess is identified in the second element of her name meter (μήτηρ) derived from Proto-Indo-European *méh₂tēr (mother).[6] In antiquity, different explanations were already proffered for the first element of her name. It is possible that Da (Δᾶ) (which became Attic Ge (Γῆ)) is the Doric form of De (Δῆ), "earth", the old name of the chthonic earth-goddess, and that Demeter is "Mother-Earth".[7] This...

Words: 2241 - Pages: 9

Free Essay

Daffodils

...DAFFODILS STUDENT COPY 2012 Daffodils By William Wordsworth Note: This is reference and a training purpose copy only, any copy made or selling this work to public will be liable for penalty and subjected copyright policy. INDEX 1) Poem- Daffodils 2) Questions and Answers 3) Summary 4) Explanation Poem I wandered lonely as a Cloud That floats on high o'er vales and Hills, When all at once I saw a crowd, A host, of golden Daffodils; Beside the Lake, beneath the trees, Fluttering and dancing in the breeze. Continuous as the stars that shine And twinkle on the milky way, They stretched in never-ending line Along the margin of a bay: Ten thousand saw I at a glance, Tossing their heads in sprightly dance. The waves beside them danced; but they Out-did the sparkling waves in glee: A Poet could not but be gay, In such a jocund company: I gazed--and gazed--but little thought What wealth the show to me had brought: For oft, when on my couch I lie In vacant or in pensive mood, They flash upon that inward eye Which is the bliss of solitude; And then my heart with pleasure fills, And dances with the Daffodils. Questions and Answers 1) What was the poet doing when he saw the daffodils? Answer: The poet was walking around through the hills and valleys, but he felt all lonely and mopey. Suddenly, as he passed the lake, he noticed a big group of yellow daffodils waving in the breeze. 2) What does the poet compare himself with? “I wandered lonely as a Cloud...

Words: 3465 - Pages: 14

Free Essay

Return to Neverland

...Return to Neverland They say that Disneyland is a place where all your dreams come true and as a seven year old girl, my dreams did come true. One can never expect the sights and sounds that emanate from this massively giant unknown world I was about to enter. As I walked past the statue of Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse and through the walkway of Cinderella’s castle, I could feel my heart pounding in my ears as if a bass drum was my brain and being pounded with excitement. Going back as a nineteen year old was just as exciting. In some ways it was better. I felt like a little girl again. I was able to remember a lot more. The scenery was much the same. The flower bed of Mickey’s face was just as beautiful as I remembered it to be. The crowds and the heat were about the same although I don’t remember it ever feeling like I was in a 105 degree sauna all day long. Both times that I went to Disneyland, I felt like royalty. I felt as if nothing in the world mattered except that I was with my family and I was having the time of my life. I don’t remember not liking any of the rides except Its A Small World. I couldn’t stand it. It is about a thirteen minute ride and I wanted to get off after the first five minutes. Being tall for my seven year old age, my knees hit the seat in front of me and I felt like I was being scrunched into the fetal position, with my knees up to my chest making it hard to breathe. The ride played the same music over and over again in different languages...

Words: 1032 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Comparing Grimm's Cinderella And Snow White

...example “The Little-Match Seller,” was about his mother as a child. His mother would constantly remind Hans of how lucky he was to eat all the regular foods regular families had on holidays. Another story was “The Snow Queen,” which was about his mother’s flower garden in their attic. As he grew up, he discovered his love for acting. So when he grew to adulthood, he went to Copenhagen to become an actor but when he tried to present his skills to a professional artist he was quickly turned away. So he went to another professional artist to become a singer, but this time the artist said he would take him as an apprentice if he learned German. Hans accepted and learned German and had practice sessions with the artist, but Hans was still poor and the weather was cold, so when his boots wore out he got a cold which ruined his voice. Again he was soon turned away. He then tries to become a dancer and is accepted into a school for dancing, but again Hans is soon turned away. So one day he goes back to visit a family he's friends with and reads them a poem, seeing as he occasionally wrote stories and poems, and he reads the poem to the mother of the family, and she hands him a rose and tells him every poet gives a girl a flower. After that moment in his life, he knew he had to write his way to fame. Soon after he tries to write a play and sends it to the Directors of the Royal Theater, but soon after is told his play is illogical and isn't good enough ...

Words: 1592 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Male Characters in Jane Eyre

...Unit 1 – Explorations in Poetry & Prose “The main interest is the male characters.” Both Jane Eyre and The Magic Toyshop present the reader with a rogues gallery of men who exhibit the worst, and occasionally the best, traits of their gender. To a modern feminist, the suggestion that both Jane and Melanie are defined by their experiences with these male characters would be a heresy, but there is little doubt that the males’ primary function is to provide the challenges that shape the emergent womanhood of the female protagonists. They are interesting because they are grotesque. Jane’s early experiences with men are physically and verbally abusive, highlighting Jane’s vulnerability as both orphan and young girl in a patriarchal society: ”Wicked and cruel boy --- You are like the Roman emperors! “ This comparison may seem exaggerated, even comical, were it not to show how John’s reign of terror impacts on a young child whose only frame of reference lies in the books she reads so avidly. These early experiences also reflect the connivance of women in men’s abusive behaviour towards other women, whether through defect of character or social conditioning. “John no-one thwarted, much less punished…” John’s mother indulges her wayward son just as she preconditions Mr Brocklehurst in his treatment of Jane by calling her a liar. Melanie too is quickly exposed to the brutishness of a dominant male, the extreme effects manifest in the symbolic and actual silencing of...

Words: 1168 - Pages: 5

Free Essay

Summer Outreach Program

...SUMMER OUTREACH PROGRAM A Community Service for Children SPEAK ENGLISH (AGES 3-5) Location: Brgy. Holy Spirit Quezon City Personnel: Volunteers( Professionals, Students) I. Introduction This program will definitely help children ages 3-5 in a community to be able to speak in English. Our targets are the children in the community that needs to develop their speaking skills. Teaching children to speak correctly requires patience and persistence. The program will help facilitate the process of proper English acquisition by having the children play fun games and singing songs. Volunteering some of your time to outreach activities can be truly rewarding both for you and the children you help. Sometimes actions speak louder than words, when you are trying to witness to people. Participating in outreach program can help show the world you can do something worthwhile. I believe that each child becomes a whole person through growth in all areas of development social, emotional, intellectual, physical, sensory and language. Play and learning experiences provide age appropriate stimulating and fun enhancing each child’s potential future success in speaking English. This program is unique in that design to meet the individual needs of its children. The performance of children varies on their abilities, needs and goals. This program will supply assistance to help enhance the child’s ability to speak in a step by step process. At the same time it will prepare them to...

Words: 2129 - Pages: 9

Free Essay

Palace

...The Secret Underworld Palace | | By: Arianna Maria Ketwaroo | | Prolong Long ago there was a powerful wizard named Celine. Among most of her abilities her most powerful one was that she could tell what would happen in the future. Many years passed and Celine got married to a wizard named Sammy, they had two beautiful daughters named Angel and Sarah. One day Celine fell ill and couldn’t get out of bed, for the past weeks she got worse and she was unable to speak, so she was forced to write what she wanted to say. It last for four weeks then six months poor Celine was bed risen. Not long after Celine had a vision but sadly she couldn’t tell anyone so she found some paper and wrote it down: The prophecy said that two girls born to become Queen’s will come to the palace and defeat the wicked ice beast; they shall be trained by a young man for two months after those two months are up the time will come that they shall defeat the wicked ice beast and they will be crowned Queens of the underworld palace. The oldest shall be name Angel and the other Sarah they are my own so they shall consist of the power I have both from myself and Sammy. They will come from the mortal world and will be accepted into our un-mortal world both of them shall have a butler to keep them safe from our world. When they both become Queens they shall each marry one of our kind and shall be honored throughout the underworld palace. After Celine finished writing down her vision she passed...

Words: 7461 - Pages: 30