...Wes Craven’s Scream 4 was seen by many viewers as yet another repetitive sequel in a franchise where “there didn’t seem to be much life left” (Whitty). According to reviewers, the opening scene of the film seemed to show this very well. The “flashes of wit in the opening film-within-a-film-within-a-film sequence” (Hale) displays the fact that this is the fourth film in the sequel and that each film is fairly repetitive in basic plot. Most reviewers seemed pretty underwhelmed with the plot but liked all of the murders and chase scenes. They felt that it was very predictable and justifying itself. “Sequels don’t know when to stop” (Schwarzbaum). “Existing in a self-contained universe, Scream 4 is its own remake (Screamake), sequel (shriekquel), parody and critique” (Corliss). Gale Weathers’ book The Woodsboro Murders becomes a film franchise called Stab that is “modeled after Sidney Prescott’s fictional life within the film” (Legel). This franchise and even the original series of Scream films are seen by many reviewers as extremely Meta, or self-referential, within the Scream films. “Scream 4 should be subtitled That's So Meta, so pervasive is the movie's habit of commenting on itself” (Travers). In the Stab franchise in Scream 4 the “new Ghostface is mimicking the sequence of killings in the original series” (O’Hehir). Many reviewers felt these Stab films continued the horror in Woodsboro instead of letting the town, and victims, recover from it. Another aspect that almost all...
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...“The Scream” by Edvard Munch has a lot of detail that catches your eye. All the detail impacted my opinion as what I think is going on in the painters mind while he was painting this. A detail that catches my eye is the detail put into the sunset. In the background, the sunset looks like stripes of dried blood stains from a victim. Almost as if the person was hurt severely and were left to die. The blood from this victim was left to stream across the ground. This impacted the painting because I can infer what time of day this painting takes place. Another detail that catches my eye is the black swirl like thing. To me it looks like a giant loch ness monster that came up from the ocean. The monster is swallowing people one by one that were...
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...four victims and one survivor, Sally. The order in which the victims die is true to the outline described by Clover, “ In the slasher film, sexual transgressors of both sexes are scheduled for early destruction” (Clover 55). In this film the first victims are Pam and Kirk who go off to find the swimming hole, with an underlying hint that there is going to be sexual transgressions. Kirk is killed quickly and the viewer only sees him getting hit with a hammer for several seconds before Leatherface closes the door and the spectator is left with their imagination to think about what is happening. Pam on the other hand has a prolonged death. As soon as she is captured she is placed on a meat hook and spectators have to watch her struggling and scream for pain. Pam is overall the longest murder on screen through the duration of the film. Jerry is the third to die as he goes to look for Pam and Kirk. Pam is still struggling for her life as Jerry discovers her nearly lifeless body in the freezer. Jerry’s death, like Kirk’s, is fast with a strike from Leatherface’s hammer to the head. Franklin is the last to fall victim to Leatherface. Franklin is sliced many times by the chainsaw before Leatherface runs to capture Sally. Carol Clover explains that the timing of the males deaths versus the female deaths is no coincidence, the death of the women is prolonged while the death of a male is very fast in comparison (Clover 56). Despite having to watch her friends die and being through hours of...
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...the Munch Museum of Art. Many of his pieces were put into this museum for them to be enjoyed by the public and for his unique style of art to be recognized. The Scream, painted in 1893, is one of Edvard Munch’s most known paintings. It is oil, pastel, and casein on cardboard. In the painting there is a man, symbolizing the artist himself, with his hands pushed against the side of his face making his head resemble a skull with his mouth wide open like he is screaming. In the background, there are people walking away, leaving him by himself. This is most likely why the man in the painting is in such distress because he fears loneliness. Munch is inserting his own emotions into the painting as he fears being lonely as well. The painting came from the author’s actual hallucinogenic experience. His choice of color is rather interesting in the painting. He uses bright colors such as reds, oranges, and yellows to really intensify the sunset. He uses darker blues and pinks for the water. The colors in the painting are in a swirled like motion to symbolize the artist’s mental suffering and pain. Munch states, “I felt as though a scream went through nature- I thought I heard a scream- I painted this picture- painted the clouds like real blood. The colors were screaming.” This explains why he titled the painting The Scream. The tone of the painting seems depressing and gloomy. The author uses expressionism in this like he did with many others as his emotions are greatly emphasized in...
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...Susan Hill’s novella ‘The Woman in Black’ tells the story of a young London solicitor, Arthur Kipps, sent to a small northern town to settle the affairs of an old woman, Alice Drablow, who has recently died. When Kipps arrives in Crythin Grifford he finds that the locals are unfriendly; they shun him and refuse to talk of Mrs Drablow. However, after repeated sightings of a frighteningly ill woman dressed all in black, his descent into true heart-pounding horror begins as he tries to figure out the story behind the mysterious apparitions. At the funeral of Mrs Drablow, Arthur Kipps catches his first sight of the Woman in Black. Hill uses onomatopoeia to create mood and atmosphere; Kipps hears the “slight rustle” which repeated throughout the novel becomes associated with the approach or departure of ghost of Jennet Humfrye. Using words like rustle (onomatopoeia) is literary device ideal for Hill as using such vivid language appeals to the five senses. The sound suggests the movement of fabric, crucially the movement of the apparition’s clothes, however rustle implies an element of subtlety, hence the apparition is slight and not obvious, and for Kipps to hear this sound also presents the silence of the church during the funeral’s procession, also adding to the ominousness of the atmosphere. When Hill uses the word rustle, the word itself sounds like the sound it’s describing this way Hill is making her text realistic, almost audible, imagistic and tangible. Hill also uses...
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...God´s lift is out of order The beauty of emotions is those unforgettable moments with profound happiness, passion and lust, but there is a dark contrast filled of emptiness, loneliness and hardship. Emotions can take you to highest mountains of desire, but emotions can also take you to lowest valleys of emptiness and loneliness. The narrator in the short story “God´s lift is out of order” experiences though a childhood friend´s suicide. The two main characters of the story are the female narrator; I reckon it is a female narrator due to the fact that she is in love with Ed. The other main character is named Aaron, who is a childhood friend of the female narrator. The story starts in media res with the narrator´s dream about Aaron. In her dream Aaron is falling though the sky with armed stretched, screaming her name. Therefore she cannot get him off her mind. About two weeks after the dream on Christmas Eve the narrator is getting ready for a big birthday party. When she stumbles upon a Valentine’s Day card from Aaron, but does not have the time to read it. This is significant; because a Valentine´s day card is given to someone you have strong feelings for - at least according to popular American TV-shows. So Aaron was perhaps thinking of her as more than just a close friend or had been hiding his true feelings in fear of rejection or interfering with the narrators and Ed´s relationship. Later, when the narrator arrives at the party, she meets Kevin, who asks her if she has...
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...Scream 2 Elements of Design Scream 2 Elements of Design I chose the movie clip from the film Scream 2. In this clip there is a movie preview of the movie Stab which is based on the book written by the reporter Gail Weathers from Scream 1. The setting is dark and rowdy with people running around joking. Some movie goers are dressed in the slasher attire complete with the mask and carrying plastic knives. They all seem to be horsing around, running, throwing popcorn, and emulating the slasher character with plastic knives. The camera focuses on a young couple, Maureen and Steven. Maureen is sitting alone when her “boyfriend” Steven with the slasher masked on came back to their seating area unbeknownst to her that her boyfriend was a victim of the real killer and is now dead. Upon her hugging him she finds blood on her hands and the real slasher immediately begins stabbing her multiple times. Although this murder happen in public view, the movie goers assumed it was a part of the show and did nothing as Maureen was killed. The Scream 2 film was a horror flick in one of many other Scream series. The artists involved in the production of this film are; the director Wesley Craven, production designer Robert Zimebicki, and the art director Ted Berner. This team worked hand in hand to deliver a phenomenon horror film. The director Wesley Craven is not new to horror film making. He also is also popular for his direction and acting in the well known film series Nightmare...
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...My name,Dr.Toxic. I was working in my lab taking the toxic out of the milkweed bug and I ingested some. I looked in the mirror and I started to change. I looked down and I had two arms and four leg. I reached up on my head and I had antennas! My skin had changed. I looked yellow, red, and green. I looked over my shoulder and I had wings. But everywhere I went a green cloud follow me. I snapped my finger. I could shoot fire out of my hands. I shot lightning out of other one, and I could fly. I heard screams, so I looked over. I saw somebody at that moment. I knew he was my enemy. His name was Arachnid. I knew we would meet again soon! I meet a young boy. His name was Leroy Jenkinz! I knew he had super powers and he was evil. He told me...
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...watch another movie, I told him that it was ok but he is kind of stubborn, we went to another theatre and watched another movie. The fun thing was it had voice in it and it was a colored movie, the previous movie was like always a silent movie and black and white. After all that nifty fun, it was time to go home because it was owl and women’s are not allowed to hang out late night. So Drake was going to drop me in his Jalopy, I was sitting in his car and he played music my favorite jazz music. It was time to leave, but a date without a kiss would be baloney so I was staring his kisser and was wondering about “when is he going to kiss me” we reached my home and guess what we kissed. I was scared about my dad coming out so I said him to scream but I wanted to be with him for a bit longer, oh it was a swell day. And remember you had a crush...
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...until in the middle of the night, when they heard the most horrific scream. Layla immediately jumps up. “WHAT WAS THAT?” “I..um…don’t know. Should we check it out?” “What do we have to protect us?” “I can call on Mina, my magical llama.” “Nooo….Ashlynn…just no. Here grab this twig, and I’ll take my pillow.” “What are you going to do with a pillow? Sing them a lullaby and make whatever that was fall asleep.” “Shut up.” In a crouched position, they headed for the woods. Somehow the friends sensed the scream came from that direction. As they were walking, Ashlynn spotted a blood trail then heard footsteps to the right of them. She grabbed Layla’s arm and pointed to the right. There was obviously something or someone walking. After a moment of silence, they decided to follow. Finally, it stopped. Layla and Ashlynn crept close enough to see what it was. It happened to be a grizzly bear. They ceased with fear. “I know you are there. You both fail at being sneaky.” Layla almost fainted. She whispered, “Did that bear just talk? It can’t be.” “Indeed I did, sweetheart.” “How can you talk?” Ashlynn demanded. “The same way you can, by opening my mouth. Humans are so naive to believe the conception that animals can’t talk.” Layla jumped back into the conversation. “Did you hear that awful scream?” “Yes.” “Do you know what happened?” Ashlynn asked. “No. You see when the scream took place, I was…uh…running…from a tiger. This must have been...
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...Is there a strong relationship between creativity and insanity as expressed in painting? The ongoing debate of how we can diagnose mental illness has fascinated me since I began research into Psychology a few years ago. It is argued there is a fine line between being a genius and being insane. Scientific evidence has been thrown back and forth to support and refute this hypothesis and yet I believe that there is no clear answer. I hope to explore this border and, using mentally disturbed artists, to explain how, if there is such a thing as insanity, it can be beneficial to the world and not seen as an obstacle. There is such bias and so many flaws in diagnostic systems that we cannot be sure to what extent someone can be creative without being labeled as insane. My aim is to find the relationship between the two, studying artists such as Edvard Munch and Van Gogh. Their art has influenced artistic movements such as post-impressionism and expressionism. It is thought their mentality influenced their work. Creativity is defined as ‘producing or using original and unusual ideas’. Biologically, creative ideas occur from unconscious states of mind, from random nerves being fired. It has been shown that highly creative abilities are common in people who have family history of mental illness and thus they carry a higher risk of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Research into the Thalamic region of the brain show high dopamine levels is the common link between creative and schizophrenic...
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...The Scream By: Edvard Munch From early on Edvard Munch was troubled. His mother passed when he was very young, as well as his sister. The blow of the passing of these family members was not to be softened by a military father who twisted Christianity to fit his radical views. Family tragedy caused Dr. Munch to be very violent and depressed. This, as well as Edvard’s consistent illness, was the motivation for Dr. Munch to constantly lash out and claim that this was Gods way of punishment. Edvard is quoted saying, “Sickness, insanity, and death were the dark angels standing guard at my cradle and they have followed me throughout my life”. The Scream was born from this shadowy place in Edvard’s heart and mind. Originally made from pastels on cardboard, it was created several times with multiple mediums by Munch. On record, The Scream is currently the most expensive painting ever sold. The 1895 pastel and cardboard painting was bought in May of 2012 for $120 million in New York City. This piece is not only rich in monetary value, but meaning as well. Edvard Munch created The Scream to displays the insanity within himself, and how he views the world around him. In his self-expression there are formal interpretations of colors and dramatic use of space and perspective, as well as rippling curves of the landscape which all come together to describe the anxiety and manifestation of the piece. The most evident formal element in the scream is color. Drastic use of color depicts the...
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...The Hidden Parts Everything is hidden. One watches the movies, reads the literature and even looks at the arts but does not really look at the true meaning behind all of this. The hidden theme. Alienation. “It is used to refer both to a personal psychological state and to a type of social relationship” (Kalekin, 1) Many may have heard of Marx theory. Karl Marx, a well known philosopher in the twentieth century went and pursued his calling. “[His] works inspired the foundation of many communist regimes” (“Karl”, 1). Istvan Meszaros clearly states Marx theory on the origination of alienation in a way that no man can ever forget. “It must be made equally clear, however, that such influences are exercised in the dialectical sense of ‘“continuity in discontinuity”’ (Meszaros, 1). There is very much “continuity in discontinuity” in literature, media, and the arts of today. In Mary Shelley’s book, Frankenstein, the hideous ‘monster’ that was created by Victor Frankenstein was frowned upon, fled from, and even abandoned by his own creator. This shows the inhumanity that society shows towards those who are different. “There was none among the myriads of men that existed who would pity or assist me; and should I feel kindness towards my enemies?” (Shelley, 115) The creature had merely a different look, but his emotions and desires were no different than any other human: love, companionship, and a sense of belonging. Many cast him away because his looks rang out evil. "I am alone...
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...effort into the faces particularly of his pieces, it makes them look extremely detailed and look almost real. Erik Jones suffers from mild depression, however his focus is not necessarily on himself, it is much more based upon others who suffer from depression, as well as schizophrenia, multiple personality disorder, etc. This influenced several pieces of his work, if not all of it. Erik was extremely interested in the human body, male and female, however his main passion in the body was faces, but more particularly eyes. Erik shows most of the emotion in his pictures through the eyes of the person he is drawing/painting. This piece of work by Edvard Munch is called ‘The Scream’. Edvard uses distinct coloured oil pastels in his work, such as blacks, blues and reds. He uses a huge contrast in ‘The Scream’, it is supposed to be a reflection on how Edvard felt. He suffered from a depression and later became an alcoholic; this is something which inspired many aspects of his work, right up till the...
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...GENRE: HORROR A genre is used in order to categorize a media text along with those others which share the same elements, components or ideology. With the help of genre people can easily put a label and identify the kind of product they need. The genre that I have chosen to carry out my research on is ‘Horror’. The reason behind my selection being that I find movies and programs that come under this genre quite interesting than those of other genres. These texts hold suspense, thrill and curiosity in the mind of the viewers that makes it different. These movies are mostly based on stories from the past which help captivate the viewers. Though it is presented in a terrifying way; it still manages to entertain the viewers with its element of mystery, fantasy and curiosity that it creates. Horror films go back as far as the onset of films themselves, over a 100 years ago. From our earliest days, we use our vivid imaginations to see ghosts in shadowy shapes, to be emotionally connected to the unknown and to fear things that are improbable. The earliest horror films were Gothic in style i.e. the meaning that they were usually set in spooky old mansions, castles, or fog-shrouded, dark and shadowy locales. Their main characters have included "unknown," human, supernatural or grotesque creatures, ranging from vampires, demented madmen, devils, unfriendly ghosts, monsters, mad scientists etc. Horror film today also carry almost the same characters that haunt the innocent. Taking...
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