Review 5: The Other Side of the Coin.. For the Sake of Objectiveness

Howe, Desson. “Braveheart.” Washington Post 26 5 1995, n. pag. Web. 5 Mar. 2014.

This review provides a summary of Braveheart, along with comments that are none too kind. Howe seemed to have a problem with every facet of the film, believing every part of the film to be way overdone.

Really, most of the reason why I want to use this is because it basically tears Braveheart a new one. I do not agree with this man in any manner on what he said, but this is a research paper I am writing, and so I must make sure I have all sides. This article is one of the aforementioned articles that pointed out the historical inaccuracy of the movie, as well as the fact that there is little known about Wallace. However, based on his writing, I’m not sure that Howe truly knows this, because all of his criticisms are based upon the fact that everything is way overdone. I do not think he can judge what is realistic and unrealistic, as he has nothing to go on, and his argument is therefore invalid. However, this article provides me with an insight into the mind of a negative critic, as well as a few other things.

*I realize I went on a rant but this guy’s review really ground my gears

Research 4: Historical Accuracy is Important.. For Some Reason

Ebert, Roger. “Braveheart Movie Review.” rogerebert.com. Ebert Digital LLC, 24 5 1995. Web. 5 Mar 2014.

This is again, partly a summary of the film. However, it is presented in a different form, and provides some comments that are quite different and provide a different insight. Ebert also some structures it differently, in that he prefaces his plot summary with some comments about William Wallace, some historical context, and pointing out that this film was not meant to be historically accurate.

While this is yet another positive review for Braveheart, it has some different elements to it that make it important, such as the noting of historical accuracy. This is not the only review I have read that has pointed out the lack of historical evidence to back up Gibson’s film, but it is one of the few that acknowledges that there is hardly any information known about Wallace, and also that Gibson’s intention was not to create a historically accurate film, but a movie of action and story. This has helped me conclude, along with some other reviews that I have read, that historical accuracy seemed to be ridiculously important to reviewers when they viewed this film, despite there being no claim that it was historically accurate and there being hardly any information on Wallace.

Research 3: Insights and Definitions

James, Caryn. “Braveheart; The Splashy Epic Finds New Life in the 13th Century.” New York Times 24 5 1995, n. pag. Web. 5 Mar. 2014.

The critic of this review, James, provides what is for the most part, a summary. He describes the plot of the movie, comments on certain elements of it, and gives his opinion at the end of the review.

This review is a good source for me for a few reasons. First off, It provides me with a nice succinct plot summary so that, should I forget a certain part of the movie, I can simply read over this article rather than skim through the movie. It also provides me some of the opinions of a reviewer of that time, providing me with what they found to be good about the movie, and some of the qualms that even someone with a positive reaction to the film had. Lastly, it gives me a definition of what over-the-top and extravagant were considered back then, through the examples of such provided therein.

Research 2: A Theme and Some Background

Ryan, Desmond. “The Highlands, The ‘hood Moor Is More: Mel Gibson and His Epic Scottish Fling.” Inquirer[Philadelphia] 24 05 1994, n. pag. Web. 5 Mar. 2014.

The writer, Ryan, gives a brief summary in the middle of his critique, but for the most part, he chooses to focus on other elements. In particular, he covers some of the back story of the movie, such as the way in which Gibson decided to direct the movie, using thousands of people to fill his marvelous battle scenes, and also a brief summary/commentary on Gibson’s history in film, connecting his previous characters to William Wallace. However, he also identifies some flaws in the movie, such as Wallace’s eloquent speeches on freedom seeming quite modern, and also pointing our that the film conveys the contemporary theme that power corrupts.

This article should be useful to me in showing one of the ways in which Braveheart set it apart. It also points out some elements that might appeal to the people of today, such as one of its contemporary themes, possibly causing people to be more receptive of it.

Research 1: A Modern Braveheart

Wallace, Bruce. “A Nation In Search Of A Modern Braveheart.” Maclean’s 109.44 (1996): 28. Academic Search Complete. Web. 5 Mar. 2014.

This article is about the impact of Braveheart on the people of Scotland. Just as William Wallace inspired the Scotsmen of the 14th Century, so too did he influence the Scottish of the 20th century. This film, being released in 1995, had a large impact on the Scottish people because some were yet again trying to free themselves of British rule. The Scottish Nationalist Party used this movie to represent and carry their beliefs in order to reach a larger crowd, in the hope that they would gain enough support to be able to liberate themselves from the English.

This is very important to my research as it gives me a huge piece of information on the impact of Braveheart, showing that films can make a greater impact than I think some people give them credit for. This movie acted as an inspiration to the modern Scottish, and instilled that same sense of patriotism that William Wallace inspired in his day.

 

A Silver Lining in Everything

When I look at Silver Linings Playbook, I have trouble figuring out what it’s really about. On one hand, you have two people who are pretty different fall in love, and on the other hand, you have nearly every single character in the film with some kind of mental disorder, hinting at it being about mental illness. So what’s it really about? After thinking about this for quite awhile, I believe that this movie is really about mental illness. Nearly everything in this movie has a connection to a mental illness. Even the relationship between Pat and Tiffany who, as opposites, represent Pat’s bipolar disorder.

Related to that, I believe that one of the main themes of this film is running. Running from one’s problems, in Pat’s case his past and his mental disorder, and in Tiffany’s case, her running from her past and her mental disorder, as well as chasing after Pat. There are other central themes, but I believe this one to be the most important, as some of the others actually tie into or stem from this theme.

Having never seen this movie, I wasn’t sure what to expect, as I didn’t really remember the commercials that were shown when it was in theater. So, I can say I was pleasantly surprised when I saw this movie, as it had all the elements of a great film; great characters, great actors, a great story, and a great ending.

As with every great story, there is always a scene or two on which the entire plot depends on. For me, that scene is when all the main characters are gathered at the house after the Giant’s game. This is where the bet that could change everyone’s lives is made, when Pat figures out that Tiffany wrote the letter, and when Pat’s parents figure out that they like Tiffany, so suffice it to say there is a lot riding on what happens in this scene.

If I were to write Inquiry 1 on this film, there are a few questions I think I would ask to get started. First off, I would want to know what the general reaction was to the movie, and then I would want to research impacts on mental disorder, taking into consideration that this is what the movie is about, and I would want to see if it made a difference.

Watching this film and reading some of the articles about it have helped me to better understand what I should be looking for in both the film and in my research. It also helped me realize that I have no idea what I want to do with this paper yet, but I’m sure I’ll be able to figure it out once I put some more time into it.

Who Makes it Matters

While reading this article, I can’t relay say I was genuinely surprised by the fact that corporations and other organizations can steer the making of movies. For me, this was something I vaguely new about, not in any sort of detail, but I knew about it all the same. And really, when you think about it, it makes sense. With all the money that goes into making movies, and all the money that corporations have and want to make more of, it only seems natural that they would want to influence the way consumers think about something, particularly their products. I believe that it is a generally known fact that corporations use money to place their products in movies to attach a positive meaning to their product. This doesn’t affect my film, Braveheart, at the moment, as I’m not too sure who is involved in making/producing this film other than Mel Gibson, nor I there any room for product placement as the movie is set in the 1300’s. I don’t believe that my film has been redefined yet, at least here in the US, and I don’t anticipate it really ever doing so, unless there’s something ridiculous that Mel Gibson does (other than already being a bit loco). However, that is merely my stance at the moment, and after some additional research and digging, my opinion may be liable to change.

Inquiry 2 Brainstorming

For Inquiry 2, my ideas might need a little more thought than I have been able to invest so far. While I would love to write about Return of the King again, I don’t really feel like that’s an option, and that’s really due to the fact that I think I would have trouble connecting it to the historical context of its time. Out of the movies I saw on the list however, there were a couple that caught my eye. Forrest Gump and Braveheart both jumped out at me, mostly because they are fantastic movies, Braveheart being one of my favorites. Again, I have the same problem, but that’s mostly due to the fact that I was born in 1994. With Forrest Gump, I could see myself connecting the growing awareness and updated perception of autism/mental disabilities, as well as the difference in how they are treated. I think if I were to use either movie I would need to do more research into that time period to see if I could make any more connections. If I can’t I’ll probably have to look for a different movie to analyze and write about.

Making Changes

Well, after getting my essay reviewed and critiqued, I was able to pin down some things to do to to improve my writing. First off, I need to make some minor changes to how I wrote some parts of this essay, just for the sake of clarifying some things for the reader. My really big change though, is a bit of a concept change. I made a lot of connections to time, and while that’s not a bad thing, I don’t mention it at all at the start of my essay, so my readers may get a little confused as to why that was there. It shouldn’t take a whole lot of effort to fix, but it will go along way toward improving my essay. One last thing that was brought to my attention is that I fail to elaborate sometimes on what I’m saying. I think in fear of summarizing, I may have left some parts shorter than needed, again possibly causing some confusion for the reader. Given these problems, I am confident that I can fix them and make my essay even better.

CCM Essay Comparison

I thought that the better of the two essay was “Soft Rain on a Hot Mind.” Reading both the essays, it is very clear that both authors understood the pieces that they were reading. However, what really interested me about these two essay was how differently they were written, and yet still accomplishing the same general goal of pinning a theme to the pieces that they were reading. What stood out the most to me was the difference in how they analyzed their pieces, and for me, what made my decision. “Soft Rain on a Hot Mind” gathered a theme based on a single sentence, which to me, demonstrates a complete understanding of the work if you can gather the whole of the essence of a book from one sentence and be able to connect all these other elements to it, while the other essay basically relied upon a standard chronological analysis.