Damon Reads Twilight

Just a little extra.....

There was a certain quote mentioned in the lecture that 'maker's are aware of makers'. Following on from the topic of vampires heres a clip from The Vampire Diaries that instantly came to mind upon hearing this.

Made me laugh!

Vampire: Human or Creature?

In our seminar following the Intertextuality lecture we discussed early vampire films Nosferatu (1922), Nosferatu:The Vampyre (1979) and Dracula (1993). Now, personally I could sit and discuss this topic all day. I love the vampire subculture and having always wanting to see Nosferatu but having never got round to it (I know, I know, shocker), getting to watch a clip, if only for 5 minutes was a real treat. (I will now be buying the film!)
Seeing how a vampire was portrayed in the '20's compared to the recent more modern vampires, the look has changed drastically but the story still the same.
In the '20's vampires were made to look like what they are, a monster - scary, creepy, disgusting etc, someone you would want nothing to do with and avoid like the plague. But as the years have gone on film makers have been able to take the fact that this 'creature' is dangerous and evolve it into a type of danger that draws you in. (Of course casting handsome, young actors and making the vampire look more human plays a big part in this!) By making them attractive and human-like you can relate to them a lot more, but theres still that part of them that sets them apart from the rest of us, which is very intriguing and mysterious. This can be seen from the releases of 'The Twilight Saga', 'The Vampire Diaries' and 'True Blood'. All three shows doing very well and being extremely popular over the past couple of years. I think this transformation has been possible as ideas have changed over the years, people becoming a lot more relaxed about certain types of context not only on t.v but in life in general. For anyone who has seen True Blood will know how sexy the programme is - compare this to the bedroom scene in Nosferatu where he takes her heart, no physical contact, the action being carried out to the viewer by his shadow. 

Nosferatu (1922)



The Twilight Saga (2008)

True Blood (2008)



The Vampire Diaries (2009)

As you can see Nosferatu is someone you would cross the road to avoid: scary eyes, sharp teeth, pointy bat ears and long fingernails - an all-round nasty creature, whereas the others are all pleasing to the eye. And going by these pictures alone you can't tell them apart from a normal person. The same can't be said for Nosferatu!

However, srcatch beneath the surface and you find they are all the same, blood drinkers, shy away from human contact (for the most part!) and where ever they go death surely follows.

By changing the look to appeal to a younger audience the subject has gained a cult following, the world currently going vampire crazy!

Haven't I seen That Somewhere Before?

I found last week's lecture on Intertextuality really interesting. Sitting through many films in the past I have often found myself thinking a particular scene looks quite familiar, certain I had seen it somewhere before and then it annoying me for ages after, not being able to figure out where from and why. Now knowing what it is and why film makers do it, I find myself intentionally looking out for these signs when watching not only films but also T.V programmes and adverts.

During the lecture, one scene that instantly came to mind was from The Hangover. Zach Galifianakis, aka Alan, riding escalator into the casino with Bradley Cooper, mimicking the scene from Rain Man with Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise:

The Hangover (2009)

Rain Man (1988)

I instantly recognised it and said as such to my friend. And yes, I did feel a little smug. heehee :)

A T.V series that encorporates intertextuality on a big scale is Spaced. Anyone who has seen this programme will know that sci-fi in particular is referenced A LOT! - Star Wars mainly (as can be seen on the cover of the DVD.) Its very cleverly done and anyone who hasn't seen it then please do!! Its so very good.

Episode 1:Beginnings (just to get you started):

SEE VIDEO ON PREVIOUS POST!

or use this link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYXP05_pV7M

Simon Pegg has then stepped it up and proceeded to take certain jokes from this series on to future projects of his, such as Shaun Of The Dead and Hot Fuzz. So in some way all of his work links together. Watching one of his films for the first time and hearing a one of the jokes you wouldn't think anything of it, but having watched his previous work you feel that you know and understand him and the characters he potrays on a more personal level.

Logos

Whilst browsing through some magazines I have also seen images and logos that are intertextual. For example the Gucci and Chanel logo:



Although not exactly the same, the idea of the initial letter linking together is clearly very similar.

Photographs

Demi Moore's  iconic naked photo whilst pregnant on the cover of Vanity Fair in the early '90s sparked a lot of controversy when first published but has now been recreated many times over by other stars over the past 20 years for various magazines:

What with all of this intertextuality it does make you wonder when it will end but the fact is (as correctly stated in the lecture) it can't. People will always be influenced by other people's work whether consciously or subconsciously. 

In a way I think this is a really good thing as you can take that first idea and improve on it in a big way until its 10/50/100% better. The natural process is that this will keep happening as time goes on, which makes you think of all the possibilities that we have yet to encounter in the future.

And whats not to love about that?! 

Beginnings

Burke And Hare Premiere!

Slightly off track here...but I must mention..

Having managed to attain a pair of tickets I was able to attend the premiere this week!!
Now, you must understand, having neither of us been to a premiere before, to say that my friend and I were a little excited is quite an understatement! We were, in fact, positively ecstatic.
So good news for us, the turnout was surprisingly good, Simon Pegg - looking very dapper in his white suit, along with the majority of the main cast; Andy Serkis, Isla Fisher, Ronnie Corbett and Jessica Hynes.

The film itself was very entertaining with many other famous faces making an appearance such as Tim Curry, Jenny Agutta and Bill Bailey, and not to mention a very funny cameo by Paul Whitehouse!
Crew-wise a special mention was given to the costume designer by director John Landis, which I must admit was well deserved. I also thought the prosthetics were very good, the film being perfect for it with bodies being very prominent throughout!

Overall a great film and lovely evening :)

(Needless to say we didn't pester anyone for photos or autographs like obsessed fans because we are, in fact too sophisticated and mature for all of that(!))

Understanding The Signs

Sooo after much hesitation and deliberation my very first post - and blog for that matter!
Exciting stuff! :) (and just a tad scary)


So I thought I'd start it all off with a little bit of semiotics...

I'd always taken the majority of images I view at face value (having never studied semiotics and being quite ignorant of it.)
Now, having learnt of the subject in all its glory I am able to read more into the photographs that I see everyday in magazines, newspapers, online etc. Not only images by photographers but also my own photos.

Taking one of my own, for example, I am able to produce certain facts about the image that the viewer may easily discern:

Denotation - Trees. Flowers

Connotation - The absence of leaves on the tree show that Winter has just passed with the white blooms proving that Spring has arrived.


By doing this you open yourself up to the image and allow yourself to understand more of the world of which the photographer has captured. 

I actually really enjoyed this lecture (even though i started off a bit confused) and feel that wanting to know more and looking for the signs will definately be something I'll be doing whenever certain images catch my eye.