#dps costume analysis

[ayamari-no-goshi]

Chasing Shadows (10)

AO3 -> first, last, next

Fandoms: Danny Phantom (DP) / DC universe

Summary:  THIS  IS A CROSSOVER.  As Bruce Wayne begins to slowly recover from the loss  of his son, two   separate mysteries open up old wounds. Who is the  unknown leaving clues   hinting at a return to Gotham, and who is the  phantom pretending to be   his lost son? Is it just a coincidence  they’re active in Gotham at the   same time? Or are they connected?  

Warnings: rated T for violence, mentions of death, and questionable mental health

Parings: none

Notes: originally uploaded to AO3. Cross-posted to tumblr

After photographing the graves and taking the flowers for analysis, Bruce attempted to call Dick as he searched the surrounding area for his wayward son. With how unpredictable Jason currently was, he wanted to make sure Dick was aware his brother was active on the off chance he spotted him, especially because he was out with Stephanie and Tim.

On the second attempt, Dick finally answered, exasperated. “Can this wait a minute? I’m kind of busy here…”

“Dick, keep an eye out for Jason,” he explained evenly. “He damaged…”

“What did you do?” Dick had pulled his head away from the phone, judging by how it sounded further away.

Bruce could hear another voice. It wasn’t close enough for him to clearly make out the words, but he thought he recognized the voice. “Dick, is Jason with you?” What was going on? How did they find each other? Was it a trap? He quickly began tracing the signal of Dick’s phone in hopes of locating him.

“Damn it, Jay! Get back here!”

“Dick, talk to me. What happened?”

“The ass just footed me the bill and ran off.”

Bruce had to take a moment to process what he just heard. “The bill? You were at dinner?”

“Yeah, we ran into him while he was taking Danny to dinner.” For a moment, Dick sounded muffled as he told one of the kids or possibly one of the staff something. “Look, we’re going to try to catch him.” More muffled sounds, this time suggesting movement, came over the phone. “You’ve got to be kidding me… You’re an asshole, you know that?” He yelled before grumbled something under his breath. “B, I’ll be on the comms shortly. He’s taunting me from a fire escape.”

Before Dick hung up, Bruce gave him a quick summary of what happened. “I’ll ask him why as soon as I catch him,” Dick told him with a grim tone as he hung up the phone.

That didn’t do anything to ease Bruce’s concern, so he raced to the scene. He received an alert from Alfred letting him know that he would be picking up Stephanie as the trackers in Tim’s and Dick’s costumes came online. His equipment showed they were still in the Diamond District. Moments later, Dick let him know there were going to attempt to capture Jason. Bruce requested that they just tried to keep him busy as opposed to fighting him.

As he approached their location in the Diamond District, Bruce attempted to wrap his head around what Dick told him. His sons, all three of them, had been at dinner together. It wasn’t something that should have been possible, especially with how antagonistic Jason had been towards them. Or perhaps, it was more specifically directed at him and the Manor. Dick had sworn his fight with Jason was friendly until he was asked to return home.

He was getting the occasional update from Tim that they had eyes on Jason, but he wasn’t getting any other bit of information. He could hear sounds of a struggle, but it was the good-natured laughter he could occasionally hear that unsettled him. He knew that laughter, and he hadn’t heard it in nearly four years.

As he finally found them, he stopped and stared at the scene below him. Jason was in civilian clothes dodging out of his brothers’ reach. None of them were using weaponry. If the situation wasn’t as dangerous as it was, they could have just been training.

Worried Jason was lulling them into a false sense of security, Bruce pulled out a batarang, only to have someone gently place a hand on his arm. Glancing to his side, he found Phantom glancing up at him. He was still wearing that mockery of Jason’s suit.

“He’s not going to hurt them. He’s having fun,” the meta explained as his shoulders rose slightly. Between that and the way he kept glancing at the fight, he was clearly nervous. However, that seemed more directed at him than anything his sons were doing. “Nightwing said you figured out who I am. You’re right, but please stop looking into it. You’re going to undo everything Jason’s done to protect me. You might even put him or my family in danger!”

Bruce knew the boy was trying to distract him from his son, but he couldn’t help but listen. Phantom had his hands out in a pleading gesture. Even through the echo of his voice, he sounded earnest and scared. “I know you’re good at what you do,” he quickly explained, “but so’s Jason. The few times he hacked into the GIW to figure out what they wanted with me, they found us. I’m harder to detect in cities like this where there are a lot of natural ghosts and ectoplasmic residue as long as I don’t do anything too flashy.”

“Are you suggesting you have other abilities?” When Phantom glanced away instead of answering him, it was the same as if he outright verified it.

“That’s not really important right now. What is, is that you’ve basically made a beacon saying, ‘the idiot that accidentally made a huge chunk of ice in Gotham is the same superpowered teen you’ve been looking for’.”

Bruce’s attention turned back towards the fight between the brothers. There were still no weapons in sight, and Jason had changed tactics and was on the move again, prompting him to follow from the higher rooftops. Phantom followed him.

“Jay said trying to talk to you is like talking to a brick wall, but I didn’t believe him until now,” the meta huffed as they came to a stop. Bruce elected to ignore that statement. “Maybe this will help you understand. If the GIW find me, they’ll find Jason too. We’re not the same, but whatever brought him back made him similar enough to me that they’ll classify him as a ghost, as something that doesn’t have rights. They have weapons that can literally tear us apart from the inside out.”

That caught Bruce’s attention. “What do you mean?”

“Ghosts are made up of ectoplasm,” Phantom quickly explained. “There are both natural and artificial ways to disrupt and destabilize it. Jay has it in his body too. I know you’ve seen those weird marks he gets. We don’t really know why he gets them, but it’s like the ectoplasm in his body flares at times. Not important.” He waved his hand dismissively. “Anyways, he once got hit with a prototype of something from the GIW, and it was nasty. Took forever to heal. The lady who’d been setting up his training wasn’t very happy with him and tried to convince him to send me away.”

“Lady? Was her name Talia?”

Phantom tilted his head as he thought about it. “I think so. Jason didn’t want me anywhere near her. She said I made him weak, but I asked him for help, so he told her he was going to do whatever he could to keep me safe.”

Bruce finally had confirmation Talia was assisting his son, but just how involved was she? Due to how closely Ra’s guarded the Lazarus Pit, she was the most likely culprit for who put his son in those vile waters. Was it a misguided attempt to get back in Bruce’s favor? If that was the case, she had the opportunity to mention Jason during the Hush plot when she was in Gotham. Instead, she likely assisted him in replacing his own grave, and per Phantom, she set up training for him. Since Talia did not have the same moral compass as Bruce, there was no telling what she exposed his son to. And since Jason would have likely been in a state of confusion and a heightened emotional state from the Pit, she could easily have gotten into his head. Was this why Jason no longer following Bruce’s rule? And just what did Talia get out of this?

Bruce turned his attention back to the fight. Jason was currently perched on the ledge of the building he was on as he watched Tim pick himself up. It appeared he tripped over either Dick or Jason in the last exchange. Once Tim was up, he and Dick rushed their brother, who flipped over them without much effort. And once Jason hit the ground, he took off running again. Worried he’d lose sight of him, Bruce followed, continuing to stay at a higher vantage point. He noted Phantom was no longer behind him.

For a moment, it appeared Jason made a mistake. He wouldn’t be able to escape to another roof if he didn’t have any gear. The buildings to the sides were too high to escape to without a grapple, and the one in front of him was too far away to attempt a jump due to one of Gotham’s largest thoroughfares sitting between it and its neighbor. However, Jason jumped anyways. Horrified, Bruce fired his own grapple in hopes of being able to grab him before he fell to his second death.

But Jason didn’t fall. Instead, he jumped further than Bruce believed was possible and grabbed hold of a downspout and slid down it. When he safely landed in the alley, he dusted off his blazer before moving further into the alley. Bruce landed behind him as he radioed Tim and Dick that he was taking over the chase.

“What? No ‘hello’?” His son had stopped moving and glanced at him from over his shoulder. Without the helmet and domino mask, Bruce could clearly see his son’s face for the first time since his resurrection. He’d lost most of the softness of his youth, but while he was fighting with his brothers, he still looked young. Now, as anger started to creep into his expression, he seemed to age into someone who’s seen horrors no one could imagine in front of Bruce’s eyes. “I’m surprised you didn’t get involved earlier. I saw you watching.”

“Jason…” What was he supposed to say? What could he say? He’d never been in this situation before. His dead son was standing in front of him looking as if he’d never been killed.

His son was so tall, something none of them ever thought was possible. Due to the malnutrition, they believed he’d remain small and somewhat frail. Was it the effects of the Pit that fixed it? Or was that a result of whatever brought him back? Was he done growing? Or could he have another inch or two to go?

Would Jason allow him to touch him? Would he allow Bruce the chance to check whether or not he wasn’t some hallucination brought on by grief? Would he be able to bear his son’s beating heart for the first time in years? Apparently not. As he took a step forward, Jason moved further into the alley though he did finally turn around to face him.

“Are you just going to stand there and stare at me? Unlike you, I have places to be, people to kill.”

That snapped Bruce back to the situation at hand. The one thing that marred their reunion was the reality his son had only broken his one rule he’d never allow himself to break. No matter what else happened, he needed to prevent his son from doing any more damage. “Why, Jason? How could you?”

“How could I what?” His eyes flickered an unsettling green. There it was, the physical proof Jason had been in a Lazarus Pit. “Are we talking about how I’d taken out some human traffickers in Crime Alley? Or are we talking about earlier when I bashed in Sheila’s headstone?” His grin didn’t reach his eyes. “I hope that bitch rots in hell. And you apparently had the nerve to originally bury me next to her.”

Bruce’s stomach uncharacteristically churned at his son’s statement. “What do you mean? Jason, she sang your praises as she died in my arms.”

“Lying even in her final breaths, how fitting,” Jason spat as the strange green marks began to appear on his skin. They did seem to follow where he would have originally had injuries from the Joker. “She told me the Joker was gone when I went to offer her help then led me right to get him to stop blackmailing her. Told me I trusted the wrong person right before I got bashed in the face with a crowbar. She stood and watched as my bones were shattered before trying to double cross the bastard since her own crimes would come to life if he escaped. Karma got her in the end.”

He didn’t say anything as he tried to process his son’s explanation. It had only been after the fact he learned about Shelia’s previous involvement with the Joker. With the limited information he had, it appeared Jason went in knowing his mother was in the hands of the Joker. Sheila hadn’t said anything about how he’d been caught, instead focusing on how he’d tried to take the blast for her. Perhaps that was why she seemed so in awe of him in her final moments because he had still tried to save her after everything that happened.

Jason… if what he said was true, then he hadn’t been reckless. He’d approached his mother when he thought he was in the clear and was betrayed. As much as it pained him, he would need to try to restore the footage from what happened. With how experimental the technology was at that time, it was easily corrupted by any damage to their masks. After the first attempt, he hadn’t been strong enough to attempt to restore it.

His son had tilted his head in curiosity. “Don’t tell me you didn’t know.” When Bruce didn’t answer, Jason gave a humorless laugh. “Some detective. Did you think I rushed into my own death? Decided that the same so-called recklessness that made you get rid of me is what got me killed? No wonder you were so quick to replace me.”

“I didn’t replace you.” Bruce tried to let his voice soften out of the growl he used while in the cowl. “I could never replace you.” He attempted to reach out and touch Jason again. For a moment, he thought his son would let him, but instead, his hand just passed through his shoulder as if it wasn’t there, as if he wasn’t real.

Annoyed, Jason smacked his arm away. This time, Bruce could feel the solidity. Constantine suggested Jason might have abilities now, so perhaps he could turn intangible like Phantom could. That could prove problematic.

“Don’t suddenly act like you care.” The snarled warning promised a fight if he attempted to touch him again. “You had your chance, but you proved again and again that my life and death never meant a thing to you.” He moved into the shadows as he spoke and seemed to vanish in much the same way Phantom had in the past.

Alarmed at the implication, Bruce immediately switched the cowl to its thermal vision, but before he had a chance to survey the area, heard the recognizable sound of someone cocking a gun behind him.

“Don’t move, Bruce,” he heard his son hiss. So, he hasn’t been completely unarmed. “I’m going to be out of town for a bit. Need to tie up some loose ends. You know how it goes.”

“Where are you going?” His son knew how he’d react and would respond accordingly. Jason also knew the weak points in his armor and judging by how good of a shot he was, there was a good chance he’d be able to take him out of the fight without effort. Bruce needed to keep him talking for now in hopes of getting him to drop his guard.

“Nice try. Too bad I’m not your run of the mill criminal, but I will tell you the game will truly begin once I come back. There are two more stops in “The Odyssey” after all.” He paused. “Get your little birds out of the city in the meantime.”

That was an odd thing for him to say. “What do you mean?”

“They shouldn’t even be out on the streets!” The venom in those words surprised Bruce, but in retrospect, he’d shown anger towards the idea when he rescued Stephanie from Black Mask. “… I don’t want to be tempted to involve them again.” Some of the anger in his voice was replaced with bitterness. “The first time was a mistake I don’t want to repeat.”

He must have been referring to when he cut Tim’s throat, and he sounded as if he regretted his actions. That gave Bruce a sense of hope. His son wasn’t too far gone to save. “Jay… Jaylad, let me help you.”

Deciding it was worth the risk when he didn’t get a response, Bruce turned slightly to see where his son’s position. However, the alley was empty. Thankful the thermal vision of his cowl was still active, he searched for any sign of Jason. No one was there.

“Robin, Nightwing, do you have a visual on Jason?” he demanded as he took to the rooftops again in hopes of spotting his second son. When he got to the higher vantage point, he found that Tim and Dick were each watching one end of the alley.

Neither of them saw him leave, so he radioed Barbara. While her new set up wasn’t as efficient as her old one, it would suffice for what they needed. However, she couldn’t find any hints of Jason or even Phantom on the nearby cameras. They had once again vanished into the shadows of Gotham. After a few sweeps of the area as a precaution, they returned to the cave.

…

Dick was still miffed at his brother for making him foot the bill for both him and Danny as they replayed the footage from his and Tim’s masks and Bruce’s cowl. It wasn’t like he couldn’t afford it, especially because he swiped Bruce’s card before they left, but it was the premise of it. Then there was the taunting from the fire escape. The jerk. At least he managed to get a few of his hairs for a DNA test.

If it wasn’t for the footage from Bruce’s cowl, Dick suspected his irritation would have changed to fondness, but dread filled its place. Instead of the theories and speculations, they finally had at least a partial account of what happened to him. Jason fully believed his biological mother betrayed him, to the point he purposely damaged her grave. Dick just knew Bruce would revisit what he knew of what happened to either verify or disprove Jason’s words. That may involve an attempt to restore the footage damaged in the explosion. He should probably be present when Bruce inevitably decided to do that.

“I still don’t get why you didn’t use a batarang or Wingdings or whatever stupid thing you call them, Dick,” Stephanie huffed from the chair Alfred brought from somewhere so she could comfortably watch the playbacks.

“Because he wasn’t being hostile,” Tim supplied as he glanced at him while trying to keep the awe out of his voice. For a brief moment, the kid got to see traces of the Robin he’d tried so hard to honor and never had a chance to meet. “It felt more like a training session.”

“Right,” she huffed before glancing up at him. Dick was pretty sure most of her temper was due to not being able to join them. “What’s your excuse?”

He shifted slightly as he thought about it. Why hadn’t he decided to seriously capture Jason? When Jason was living at the Manor, Dick wasn’t home as often as he should have been due to his conflicts with Bruce as well as his own complex feelings towards his brother. He always thought they’d be able to close the distant yet friendly gap eventually, but he never got the chance. Jason was killed, and Dick regretted not taking the time for him every single day.

Yet, somehow, Jason came back. He came back and stared at him with those unnaturally green eyes while invoking their bond as brothers to make him promise he’d never take the teen under his care to Bruce.

“I didn’t want to break his trust in me,” he eventually stated as he tried to find the words he needed, “because even after everything, he still considers me family.” When he noticed Bruce watching him, Dick felt his temper rise. “Don’t give me that look! You did the same thing. It was so much easier when we didn’t know it was him.”

“I know, Dick.” Oh, that wasn’t one of the judgmental looks. That was one of understanding.

“You know,” Barbara spoke up as the footage looped back to when Jason and Bruce were speaking, “he looks and acts so differently here.” The strange markings which were clearly visible in Bruce’s footage hadn’t been seen while they were at dinner or racing over the rooftops.

“Constantine described them as a type of supernatural scar,” Bruce explained as he zoomed in on the image. “I believe it’s a strange side effect of his status as a liminal combined with being put into a Lazarus Pit.” He frowned as he rewound the footage to when his hand passed through Jason’s shoulder. It was chilling to watch, and the strange display made Jason’s form somewhat hazy on the recording. “We finally have confirmation that Jason now has some form of intangibility, like Phantom’s, but I suspect it’s either situational and/or limited.”

“You know…” Stephanie spoke up, “I didn’t think much of it at the time, but that might be how he avoided being shot by Black Mask when I first saw him.” A frown crossed her face as she paused. “You know, I thought I imagined it, but he might be able to vanish too. I thought Phantom, Danny, might have helped him do that, but I’m not really sure anymore.”

“That is a concern,” Cass murmured. “He will be… harder to stop from killing.”

“We might be to stop some of it without confronting him,” Tim mentioned which caught both hers and Bruce’s attention. “During dinner, he specifically mentioned how he doesn’t think that sending people to Arkham and Blackgate isn’t working because of the constant breakouts. So, either we do something to reduce those or catch the criminals before he does.”

“Jason stated he would be out of town for a while…” Bruce mentioned. “Barbra, would you be able to find which guards and judges have taken bribes regarding shortened sentences or to help with escapes? Replacing them won’t be enough, but it will help limit the amount of targets Jason might choose.”

“That shouldn’t be too hard. Do you want me to get the blueprints ready for you too? I know you’re going to want to review them.”

“Yes.”

“Bruce…” Dick spoke up, sensing the meeting was coming to a close. “There’s one other thing you need to see. When you went after Jason and Tim and I moved to watch over the entrances to the alley, Danny appeared and asked me something. Give me a second to bring up the footage.” He forwarded his mask footage to where the meta appeared beside him and played it.

 “Would it be weird if I asked a favor?” Phantom shifted uneasily before he removed his mask to look up with him with startlingly green eyes.

 “As long as it’s within reason,” his own voice responded.

 Danny nodded. “That’s fair.” His gaze drifted back towards the alley where Jason disappeared. “Jay’s going to be out of the city for a while to tie up some loose ends. When he comes back full time, he’s going to set whatever he’s planning in motion.”

 “Do you want us to stop him?”

 The meta didn’t respond immediately. “Other than the clues and motivations, I still don’t know exactly what he’s planning to do. But, whatever it is, he’s not expecting to live through it,” he eventually stated as he fiddled with his mask. “I owe him everything. If it wasn’t for him, I’d be strapped to an examination table or being used as some sort of weapon. I don’t… I don’t know if that means he’s expecting to get killed in the process or will take his own life once everything’s done. I don’t know how to save him. Can you help me?”

-------------

Notes:

One of the things I’ve noticed in both the comic and animated version of UtRH is that Jason doesn’t tend to use a grapple. Reviewing things, he was making leaps that neither Bruce or Dick could make without assistance. There’s a lot of debate regarding what the Pit actually did to him, but he does seem to have permanently augmented strength. We can argue it’s due to his liminality here.

Plant clue will be revealed next chapter

#Chasing Shadows #dp x dc #dpxdc #dp x dc crossover #fanfic #odyssey au #Danny Phantom crossover #DP #danny phantom #DC #DC crossover

[octaviasdread]

DEAD POETS SOCIETY: Costume analysis, Cultural Aesthetics and the Struggle for Individuality (Part Four)

Part One - Opening Scenes & Historical Context | Part Two - Uniform and Non-Conformity | Part Three - Casual Wear, Chris & the Play

Wow, there has been a lot more interest in this topic than I ever expected. It's taken a while but here is part four with everything I didn't manage to shoehorn into the last three.

Also, a huge shoutout to @shakespeare-slam-poetry (who tumblr won't let me tag) who has some incredible analysis of the film. Not only have they been kind enough to indulge me with some brilliant discussion, but they've also given me permission to incorporate a few points in this post <3

Context - The History of Ivy League Style

The costumes in Dead Poets Society (1989) are inspired by the 1950s Ivy League look, a style laden with tradition and full of implications for a future planned by institutions and parents.

This style originated amongst the Ivy League students during the 1930s/40s to represent their affluent and educated backgrounds in a more relaxed way. The significance of this style in 1950s culture is clear from a LIFE Magazine story in 1954, ' The Ivy Look Heads Across US.' It brought the symbolic style to the attention of aspirational, middle-class citizens who, like Mr Perry, had begun to gain access to preparatory schools, and therefore elite Universities, through their children.

The style fell into decline by 1967 as it became democratised. This could perhaps symbolise the deterioration of the traditions embodied by Welton Academy. Dead Poets Society is set in autumn/winter 1959, heavily drawing on the instability of tradition in the post-war decade, with Mr Keating introducing his students to the incoming change of the 1960s as the new year approaches. The 60s were a turning point in the empowerment of youth through western subcultures, and the creation of the club seems to anticipate the rising intellectualism and political engagement of these young people as they began organising and participating in protests for social change.

The Ivy League look is noted to include:

Most importantly, there was no concept of 'the teenager' until the 1950s, with clothing previously designed for only children or adults. Todd's brown suit (part two) - and other non uniform looks - are a visual remanent of young people having no distinct identity, shown in the modified versions of their parents clothing.

This tension between the new ways of youth and the traditions of the old are shown in the film through costume. The staff at Welton (with the exception of Keating) wear traditional styles discussed in part two. Meanwhile, the student costumes are mainly comprised of school uniform, clothing which imitates their parents, or garments which adhere to the Ivy League look.

Each of these outfits symbolise the poets' feelings of entrapment, and a sense that their youth is dwindling as their planned futures draw closer. This is clear in the choice between school uniform representing the control Welton has over its students, and non-uniform inspired by the Ivy League look as the style is representative of their predetermined futures as "Mr. future lawyer," "doctor," and "banker."

Still not convinced? Well, this film industry website uses Dead Poets Society as an example of the look.

Beatnik Charlie & The Art of Poetrusic

It is Charlie who breaks this trend. When forced into uniform or sportswear, he pushes the limits of respectability as explained in part two. In his own wardrobe, Charlie asserts his individuality by adopting elements of the distinctly youthful (and rebellious) beatnik counterculture.

Although Charlie is never costumed in all black, he is consistently accessorised with a black beret, dark sunglasses, cigarettes, simple clothing items, bongos, and the saxophone as a nod to jazz music - all signature features of the beatnik counterculture.

The use of beatnik style emphasises Charlie's status as the rebel of the group, the one most willing to reject Welton - and by extension society's - traditions as the beats were anti-capitalist and anti-authoritarian, placing importance on artistic self-expression and the rejection of social convention.

I briefly touched on this in @dpleofs post which identifies popular misconceptions of Charlie as the comedic 'dork.' It’s so interesting that some fans concentrate more on the surface details of his dishevelled uniform, outspoken personality, and mischief than his capabilities. These aspects can make Charlie appear as disruptive and lazy, unwittingly promoting a view of his character which aligns more with the adults and traditions criticised by the film.

In fact, this mirrors contemporary adult and societal views from the 1950s on beatnik youths. Adults saw these pretentious, non-conformist, young people as lazy delinquents. This was furthered by many published articles condemning the beat counterculture and their active questioning of tradition.

Photo Credit ^

Charlie has many scenes in the film which show his intelligence, dedication, and creativity as he performs poetrusic, recounts his punishment from Nolan in a poem, and participates in study group with the help of Meeks and Cameron on his self-acknowledged weak points. Charlie shows a great capacity for self-reflection and understanding, along with a flair for performance which places him alongside Neil (the actor) and Todd (the more traditionally recognisable poet) in the film narrative.

In the end, Charlie is disciplined for critiquing authority and refusing to conform. His accolades and achievements (visually shown in his badges) at Welton are ignored. This draws parallels with famous beatniks like Allen Ginsburg or Jack Kerouac. Their extremely public achievements as writers were ignored by contemporaries who denounced their work for obscenity, immorality, and not being 'real' literature due to the break from literary tradition. Today, we view these works as highly creative and influential.

Charlie & Iconography of David Bowie

As others have noted, the red lightening strike which Charlie draws on his chest is emblematic of David Bowie. Although this has no relevance to the 1959 setting, the original audience in 1980s movie theatres would - consciously or even subconsciously - apply this association to his character. Bowie was known for creating alter egos for his albums, much like Charlie reinvents himself as 'Nuwanda' to embody the spirit of the club. Charlie's 'getting red' lightening bolt painted onto his chest strongly resembles the cover art on Bowie's 1973 album Aladdin Sane. Bowie described the bolt in a Rolling Stone interview as symbolising "an electric boy" and "cracked by lightning" which I think perfectly captures Charlie's arc of daring and self-destruction for freedom.

Aladdin Sane as an album is described as having themes of dying culture, bisexuality, and tensions between the older generation & youth. These explorations align with the themes explored in Dead Poets Society while speaking to its resonance with the queer community. Bowie was known for his fluid gender performance in his characters, often appearing androgenous, wearing make-up, or switching between suits and dresses.

Firstly, the Bowie association along with Charlie's adoption of lipstick are often cited for non-binary head canons. Secondly, Charlie's willingness to cross the boundaries of gendered presentation in the 1950s is significant. Society was desperate to re-enforce rigid gender roles after the war, and this provoked strong reactions against any sign of non-conformity in the realm of sexuality or gender.

It is also important to acknowledge the uncomfortable appropriation of Native American culture in both of Charlie's 'getting red' scenes. The film takes symbolism from a culture which has been subject to violent attempts at eradication, and its own children forced to conform to US traditions in assimilation schools. Removing these symbols from their cultural context and using them as a vehicle for expressing a non-native, white boy’s freedom is troubling to say the least. This post by @tellmewhytheyswoon is the best I've found on the subject.

Subtle Hints of Individuality

Knox's individual look - which I like to call his main character moment - is seen on his bike ride to Ridgeway, aka Chris' school. His stalking outfit consists of cream trousers, a red flannel, white jumper, and a pair of dark sunglasses (does Knox borrow Charlie's sunglasses?). This mixing of Ivy League style with the relaxed flannel and rebellious glasses is experimental, and this parallels his first attempt at pushing the boundaries through his pursuit of Chris.

His second unique look is at the party. Knox wears a shirt, tie, and corduroy suit jacket. Although the texture of the jacket and the silver accents in the tie give a hint of fun and personality, this costume highlights his difference from the teenagers at the local high school. The Welton boys are from a privileged background and this shows. Local boys wear letterman jackets and casual flannels over t-shirts to a Friday night party, not a suit and tie.

Meeks is the final poet to display a unique article of clothing - his funky jumper. Although this diamond patterned V-neck fits with the Ivy League look, the item stands out from the rest of the outfits worn by Meeks and the rest of the poets. Its eye-catching and more playful tone express the quiet rebelliousness in Meeks (p1), and its status as an item of genuine self-expression is consolidated by the similar tie he wears to the play. I will discuss the importance of the tie in the next section.

Special mention: Neil's glasses. Idk if this was just rsl needing them or a deliberate choice by the costume department but I adore them. In terms of analysis, Neil only wears them in classroom settings and they serve as a reminder of his reputation at Welton as a ‘golden boy’ high-achiever without removing the focus from his acting talents.

Individuality and Ties

I think there’s something interesting in the consistency of the Welton uniform tie. Todd wears it on his first day with his brown suit, and Knox wears it with his uniform to the Danburry dinner. This indicates that it’s standard formal dress for students outside of school. It’s only when the boys dress for the play that different ties appear more in line with their personalities. I believe the colours and patterns of these ties represent the boys' self-expression as they feel safe, free, and confidant in asserting themselves on the night of Neil's performance.

Meeks has a blue one which resembles the pattern on his funky, red diamond sweater. This indication of his personal tastes is further evidence of his sustained, 'under the radar' (as with his radio) acts of self-expression. The continual association of Meeks with this colour - according to colour psychology - suggests qualities of stability, wisdom, and serenity.

Charlie’s is red and white to match his symbolic ‘getting red' while functioning as a visual reminder of it when the lightening bolt is covered up by his clothing.

Todd wears a reverse of the Welton tie to show his personal progress at the school, and how he has grown beyond it to create philosophies and poems of his own through the club.

Cameron's tie is harder to see but looks like shades of brown and beige. The colour and pattern resemble the suits worn by Charlie, Meeks, and Pitts and this could be a mark of belonging in the group despite his own suit implying otherwise, as explained in part three.

Knox's tie is red with large black stripes and a smaller, silver stripe winding through the pattern. Knox views himself as a romantic hero, and this is reflected in the brooding darkness of the black stripes and the passionate red which makes up the majority of the fabric. The silver adds a hints of glamour which reflects Knox's fairy tale view of love and the world around him. He also wears this tie to Chris' party, and this link further indicates a romantic theme.

The tie perhaps resembles the poets fully letting go of Welton’s teachings and fully embracing Mr Keating’s philosophy of thinking - and choosing things - for themselves. Keating himself rejects all rules of formal dress by wearing no tie at all. He wears a turtleneck jumper beneath his suit jacket.

Collaborative Analysis

@shakespeare-slam-poetry suggested that since the uniforms (including the seemingly standardized sportswear and plaid bathrobes) represent the traditions of Welton, the dead poets can only truly seize the day when they are out of uniform. This is important because Keating (almost) exclusively has the boys IN uniform, and they have to take his teaching to heart in order to implement Keating's lessons when they are out of uniform. Evidence is given with Charlie being the first poet to embrace the Carpe Diem mentality within the confines of Welton uniform as he enacts the phone call from God.

I'd like to extend this point by recognising that over a century of tradition is being disrupted by Charlie's actions. He manages to evade censorship to slip in the article and stage a public protest for the school to become co-educational. In the process, he -perhaps accidentally- campaigns for the same curriculum (and standard of education) to be offered to girls.

There is further evidence for this uniform theory across the poets.

Plaid has a long history in Ireland and Scotland (whose cultures Welton takes a lot of its traditions from, part one). With this in mind, the bathrobes can be read as a symbol of Welton’s rigid tradition as the boys always remove these robes and switch them for coats before leaving the premises for meetings in the cave.

Knox is the poet it manifests the clearest in. His first meeting with Chris (which he completely messes up out of nerves & more so in a deleted scene) takes place while he’s wearing uniform. Most of his following interactions with her - the phone call, school stalking, and the play - take place out of uniform and it’s in these further interactions that he takes on a Carpe Diem mentality. It’s only the poetry reading at Chris’ school which doesn’t fit this pattern, however, it does takes place away from school grounds so it could be considered as either,

a) being away from the influence of Welton and it’s principles

Or,

b) a sign of Knox taking Keating’s teachings (however choke on the bone his own version is) to heart

Neil also fits the trend. He’s out of uniform when he makes the Carpe Diem decision to attend open try outs at Henley Hall. He wears the symbolic green jumper, and again when he returns from rehearsals. This also applies to his grey stage outfit and crown of twigs worn during the play and at his death.

Interestingly, Charlie actually seems more rebellious in uniform than out of it. The beatnik accents could be more expressive of his personality than necessary for a Carpe Diem mindset.

And I would add that Charlie's refusal to sing at Neil’s funeral is another rejection of conformity in full uniform. It has added significance since his silence is as unexpected as Todd's outspokenness in the desk standing scene. For this reason, it could be considered as Charlie's version of the desk standing moment.

I want to finish this very long post with another gem from @shakespeare-slam-poetry, that the desk standing scene is so triumphant because it is the only time that the majority of the boys "seize the day" while in school uniform.

(THE END)

If you made it this far I'm honestly impressed. I went through Taylor Swift's entire discography while trying to make these notes coherent. There's probably a million typos but at this point I just wanted to finally get this post up. I have a fic chapter that's very late and screaming for attention (it's nearly done, I promise!)

Sources:

Uni module 'Angry Young Men & Women: Literature of the Mid-Twentieth Century'

The Guide to Preppy & Ivy League Style - Clever & Chic (vid)

Ivy Style

The Ivy League Shirt

The 1950s, at 0:49:11 for 'Invasion of the Teenagers! ' - The Ultimate Fashion History (vid)

Fashion Subcultures: The Beatniks - The Ultimate Fashion History (vid)

How Beatnik Style Made the Underground Mainstream

David Bowie on the iconic lightening bolt

Aladdin Sane - Rolling Stone

Colour Psychology

#CO posts #dps costume analysis #dead poets society #dps #neil perry #todd anderson #charlie dalton #knox overstreet #richard cameron #stephen meeks #steven meeks #gerard pitts #mr keating

[tellmewhytheyswoon]

Just wanted to say I loved your Knox post and I’d love to hear what you have to say abt the racism in DPS... it felt really icky but it’s hard to articulate yknow. So thank you!!!

thank you, irt the knox comment! and thank u for the inquiry: i’m absolutely not the authority on this topic and i think it warrants more research/a more qualified voice, to be honest. 

i’ll preface my response by saying that this isn’t the *only* interpretation of these scenes, and also i’m white so i am never going to understand this fully. this is just my opinion/analysis of how the film handles race. also, like i said on the knox post, this isn’t me trying to cancel the movie or cancel the characters, i just like engaging in criticism.  

that being said. i agree, it’s definitely an awful moment. 

i think my huge problem lies with the movie refusing to critically engage with its racism, or make any indication that it’s wrong. it is unfortunately unsurprising that a group of privileged white men in the 50s would be prejudiced and/or racist. i don’t think the movie has to shy away from having flawed moments/characters. however, i do believe that the film simply laughs it away, and refuses to clue viewers in that this isn’t ok. this is where i take issue: it’s one thing to have racist characters/moments that are portrayed as ignorant/hateful, it’s quite another to use ignorance/racism uncritically to help these white characters “seize the day.” 

for example, one can look at the way the congo scene is presented. the boys are in a cave that is viewed as mystic and otherworldly largely because of its connection to native americans (it’s called “the indian cave”), and they’re dancing around the cave while reciting “the congo,” a largely controversial poem by vachel lindsay (the section “attitudes towards race” is really helpful in contextualizing the poem!). in this section, they’re using a caricature of “savagery” to  show the boys “seizing the day” and letting loose. 

they’re privileged white teens who are donning the presumed “savagery” of native americans (i.e. “nuwanda” and the face paint) and africans (recitation of “the congo”), and the film presents this completely unquestioned. i think it would’ve been a merit to the film to remind us that the boys’ privilege makes it possible for them to try on other identities as if they’re costumes, or means to “be free.” 

[asilentguardian]

My Thoughts on Gotham

My mom and I finished watching Gotham on December 29th, and this analysis has been sitting in google docs since then. Some of this is a bit incoherent, some of it I wrote as I was watching, and some of it I wrote after finishing the entire show. So here it is. 2,000 words or so of rambling about Gotham. 

My thoughts on the show as a whole: Gotham changed my opinion on a lot of Batman’s villains. I used to be indifferent towards Penguin, now I love him. I used to hate Firefly, now I love her. While there were one or two decisions that I disagreed with, the portrayal of these characters was satisfying and the tone of the show as a whole was refreshing. The writing was good for the most part, however there are issues with sexism and homophobia that I personally noticed.

And now I’m going season by season cause I’m a nerd.

Season One

Season one is a bit of a mixed bag for me. It seemed to me that the show writers and the younger actors were still trying to find their footing and decide what kind of world their Gotham was. Some episodes are slow, but overall it’s intriguing and I was invested after a couple of episodes.

The pilot has a lot of moving parts and it still works. They did a good job of intertwining all of these characters before starting them all on their own paths.

I can’t imagine anyone else playing these roles. I am really happy with the casting choices for this show. Jim Gordon, Harvey Bullock, and Bruce Wayne especially.

Fish Mooney is an interesting but welcome edition! To be honest, the first time my mom and I tried to watch Gotham, we hated her. The second time around, however, I LOVED her and her role in the rise of Penguin.

Having Edward Nygma start at the GCPD was a really cool idea! I think they executed his descent into madness perfectly. I wanted Ed to prevail and to be a goodman just as much as I wanted to see the Riddler emerge.

Speaking of the GCPD, the corruption and the conflict within the precinct is very believable and compelling. It’s easy to believe that Jim Gordon is a young and optimistic detective who believes wholeheartedly in doing good. I also appreciate the fact that Jim Gordon doesn’t lose that drive for good throughout the show. I also don’t find it too cheesy, even if it’s a common trope.

The Batman universe is huge so I was expecting references and easter eggs at every turn, and I was half right. There's plenty of references and cameos but they work and they aren’t essential to the plot which helps casual fans keep up with the story.

A lot of seeds are planted during this first season, and it’s rewarding to see them pay off. I don’t feel as if the first season suffers from the thing that a lot of movies do where they are clearly trailers for the next part in the franchise. 

I think my favorite episode of this season is episode 20 “Under the Knife.” The stakes are high and the story line with the Ogre is definitely unexpected and horrifying but in the best way. Also Ed kills Dougherty and it’s very satisfying.

Season Two

Rise/Wrath of the Villains!

Theo Galavan and Hugo Strange were the big bads of this season and I think they were written and acted very well.

Something I’ve noticed about some of the villains on this show and their interactions with children and Bruce in particular is that they’re... unsettling. I suppose that’s intentional and I definitely think it makes some of the villains more intimidating, but it’s really creepy. There are a lot of adults that are preying on Bruce’s innocence in this show. 

Theo Galavan was not my favorite. He was intimidating for a bit, but I kinda grew bored of him. I did enjoy the nod to Azrael. 

Hugo Strange! I was kinda indifferent to him when playing Arkham City but I enjoy him in this show! Loved when he showed up again in subsequent seasons and you immediately knew some Fucked Shit was happening.

So Mr. Freeze. I’m not too sure how I feel about Gotham’s take on this story. The casting is solid, but killing Nora? Not the move. Actually very angry about that to be honest. The Mr. Freeze episode could’ve been so much more compelling and emotional but instead it was a way to move Lee and Jim’s relationship forward :(

They managed to make Firefly not annoying, but I only found Firefly annoying before because of that stupid boss fight in Arkham Origins. But I liked Bridget.

Penguin and Nygma’s relationship is very fun in this season! More on them later, but at least in season two it’s very enjoyable to watch them learn to trust each other. My mom and I adored their story line.

I LOVE Nygma’s character arc in this season. His interactions with Gordon are some of my favorite bits from this season. They are very rewatchable and I find their relationship to be one of the more intriguing ones in the show.

Overall season 2 was decent. Some of the villains were forgettable, but the relationship arcs and character arcs that were compelling kept me interested.

Episode 15, Mad Grey Dawn, was one of my favorites this season. Seeing the Nygma v Gordon thing play out was so so so fun. I really loved being able to follow Nygma’s logic and feel Gordon’s frustration at being framed.

Season Three

Mad City/Heroes Rise!

There’s A LOT I have to say about season 3. I liked it. There’s a couple of big issues I have with season 3, but overall it was compelling and I enjoyed it.

While I’m not usually one for the “this character has a darkness inside of them” trope, I really didn’t mind it with Gordon. I thought it was believable and interesting enough to be engaging. bounty hunter Gordon was pretty fun, too. And hot. Anyway.

The Mad Hatter v Jim Gordon stuff is intense. Episode 6 where Gordon is forced to choose between Valerie and Lee is where the “dark side” trope lost me a little but I do like that they make a point to have Gordon always make his way back to the light. Valerie’s exit felt very rushed and sudden? I don’t know if the actress was written off for some reason, but it felt very weird.

So. Penguin and Nygma. I don’t know if I would necessarily call it queer-baiting, but it definitely doesn’t sit right with me. Here’s the thing about Gotham’s queer representation: it’s not good, but it’s not bad. There is 100% an issue with making all of your queer characters villains. And there’s a HUGE issue with having Barbara’s attraction to women only be present when she’s a) acting as an antagonist to Gordon’s work at the GCPD (Montoya in season one) or b) on the side of the antagonist and framed as crazy (Tabitha in season two). Also, notice how in season five she’s “sane” when she’s with Gordon. It’s homophobia luv.

However, in the case of Penguin and Nygma, the added layer of Penguin’s love for Nygma makes their arc a little more interesting and compelling (there’s still an issue with queer love being framed as toxic and obsessive in this show, but if I don’t stop talking about that this post will be miles long).

The Ivy thing is certainly a new plot device, but I don’t hate it. Took a bit to get used to, but older Ivy makes sense and to be honest, I wasn’t a huge fan of child Ivy. Not that her character was bad, but I personally found her a tad annoying.

SEASON 3 EPISODE 14. THE GENTLE ART OF MAKING ENEMIES. I HAVE A LOT TO SAY ABOUT THIS. Bruce’s character development in this episode made me extremely happy. I haven’t talked a lot about Jerome-Joker yet, but I really like him. Joker is one of those characters you can take a lot of liberties with and it can either really work or really suck (looking at you Jared Leto). Gotham’s version of Joker, while a bit rushed, is a good fucking Joker.

The reason why I like s3e14 so much is THIS is what the Joker vs Batman relationship is about. This is why they are perfect foils. Batman always has a reason, a method. Motivation and a cause. He believes in Gotham and he believes that EVERYONE has the capacity for good. Joker does things just for the hell of it (i.e. kidnapping Bruce). His point is anarchy and chaos. His point is that everyone has darkness and that they are “one bad day” away from giving into that darkness (subtle nods to The Killing Joke, very nice). This is illustrated SO beautifully in this episode. However, I do see an issue down the line of Joker knowing who Batman is instantly, but I digress.

The birth of Riddler! The development of Penguin and Riddler’s animosity! mwah!

Also. Bruce standing above Gotham in an early version of the suit. There’s no ears or cape but my mom and I were VERY excited. I felt so giddy.

Bruce’s vow not to kill was beautifully framed, props to the DP on that one. It felt nice to hear a live action version of Bruce Wayne say that. (Note from the future: yes he breaks it. Sorta. I’m mad about it, but I explain my feelings in depth later).

Season Four

A Dark Knight!

Alright. Season 4. To be honest, it took me a while to warm up to this one.

Scarecrow. Love his costume. Love his escape. Scarecrow is one of my favorites because he’s creepy and cool and terrifying. Well done. The episode where Jim goes after him is really brutal. He goes there alone, not even Harvey by his side, and he is forced to stare his biggest fear in the face. I loved it!

The Pax Penguina. I’m easily won over by references to old literature and history. This show has made me actually like Penguin. I used to find him annoying and didn’t understand why he was people’s favorite, but this show has proved him to be a competent and cunning villain. I love to hate him. It’s fun seeing him at the top of Gotham.

Riddler’s escape and Nygma’s return. His friendship with Lee and Grundy (Grundy!!). Ed and Lee was certainly an interesting choice. I didn’t hate it, it just seemed really odd. I enjoyed Lee’s rise to power though! 

Sofia Falcone. Not really a fan tbh. Didn’t trust her from the start and it was SO satisfying to see her get shot in the head. Talk about a ruthless mastermind. To be fair, I did love to hate her in the beginning, but then she kinda got on my nerves? The actress that played her was really good though!

Captain James Gordon. Yessir. What a legend. One step closer to Commissioner. But also ouchie he had to go behind Harvey’s back. That subplot hurt so good.

Professor Pyg is. A lot. Gotham is a mature show, but it’s hard to like Pyg even as a villain. He’s unsettling and his episodes are a bit too much. I tolerated him but it just got to be gratuitous. I will say that I am relieved that they weren’t heavy handed on the cross-dressing thing. Would prefer not to see that played for a joke anymore, and this show does not need to vilify queerness more than it has.

Jerome and Jeremiah! ahhhhh!!! What wonderful interpretations of the Joker! Jerome was great, but I think I’m partial to Jeremiah. Maybe because his costume looks so much like the Joker from the animated series and Mark Hamill will always be my Joker. Either way, I LOVED their story line in season 4.

Kinda love Barbara being involved in the League. Very sexy of her. Also very sexy of her to not be dead. 

Alright. Here we go. Ra’s Al Ghul and Bruce Wayne. I have mixed feelings about this. So Bruce kills. Technically he’s not Batman yet, and obviously Ra’s didn’t stay dead, but he already took the oath. I have a hard time staying with any adaptation that makes their Batman a killer, but this one wasn’t awful? And then technically Barbara uses Bruce’s hands to kill Ra’s in the finale. I’m upset that they went with a “what if Batman kills” story line in the first place, but the resolution wasn’t too terrible.

Those last three episodes of season 4. Wow. My mom and I couldn’t stop watching. The nods to The Killing Joke were cool but not too on the nose. The stakes felt high and I was so deeply invested because this story line in particular was very well crafted and planned out and it definitely shows. There’s so many loose ends at this finale, and somehow it works and you still have hope. But holy shit, those bridges coming down, the utter panic and confusion as you’re wondering “is X person okay? what happened to X?” wonderful, chefs kiss.

Season Five

Legend of the Dark Knight!

Oh gosh. I have so much I want to say, but I don’t know how to put it into words. I loved this season. I loved the post apocalyptic vibes of Gotham. Loved the rise of the villains into the people who will one day face Batman. Loved Gordon’s leadership and rise to Commissioner. There’s a few things I have issues with this season, but I’m just so in love with that finale. What a beautiful send off.

I loved how the finale was crafted, how we didn’t see the full Batman suit till the end. I did, in fact, cry when that thing was revealed. The score was beautiful. It felt so much like an episode of The Animated Series, yet so unlike any other piece of Batman media. It was so refreshing to have everything wrapped up nicely, so refreshing to have hope and satisfaction in a finale.

Overall, this version of Gotham City feels like a living, breathing thing that is lived in and flawed. It is wonderful. The set designers did wonderfully and it feels so timeless in the way that the Animated Series did as well. I think that’s part of the reason why I loved this show so much. It made me feel the same way that the Animated Series did.

I know I’ve missed a lot of details and plot lines, so if for some reason you are interested in my thoughts on a particular thing in this show, my inbox is open!!

#long post #gotham #my stuff #my writing #aspeaks #meta posts

[newx-menfan]

What's the deal with Grant Morrison's X-Men, anyway? Why do you think people consider it one of X-Men's best runs?

Grant Morrison’s run is kind of either considered a love it or hate it run by fans…

Personally, I really love it because I think a lot of his ideas (Mutant’s becoming the majority/counterculture, Kick and Sublime, Riot at Xavier’s, ect…) and character analysis’s was really well done.

Even Scott’s affair with Emma- it DOES kinda fit into Scott’s characterization if you remember what went down with Maddie and what had happened prior to Morrison’s run with Apocalypse and Scott being brainwashed. The whole point is that Scott is in a really delicate place mentally and this is where we start to see the shift from Scott and Xavier’s ideals; Scott is finally starting to examine who he is and his desires in life OUTSIDE of the X-Men.

Part of what is great about Morrison is his usage of detail; even the story at the end with the Phoenix is really interesting because of how certain elements relate back to Jean’s psyche and background- it’s a story that you’re not really sure is really the future and just possibly Jean’s subconscious before dying….

While I don’t love everything in that run (coughMagneto'scharaterizationcough); it still is widely remembered because of how radically different it was from other X-Men stories. Much like AOA, Phoenix/DP, ect…- it really set a new era for X-Men and perfectly capsulated the 2000’s.

Also…the costume designs were pretty badass….

#question #answer #opinion #Grant Morrison #new x men #x men #Marvel

[collaborativedocumenteditingsoft]

Colleges With Post Production Editing Majors In Louisiana

Alternatively you can use PluginUpdate, which is a free app from Kasrog that will scan your plugin folder and compare it against a database in the cloud. The picture above shows a Pro Tools session with a stereo audio track called “MUSIC”. CLICK HERE to learn Avid Pro Tools one on one with a digital audio professional at OBEDIA. Freeze is designed to circumvent very CPU-intensive processes, such as software instruments with a complex voice architecture, and complex plug-ins (such as reverbs, filter banks, or FFT-based effects).

A SCR file is a screensaver file for Windows used to display vector graphic or text animations, play slide shows, animation, or videos, and may include sound effects when a computer is inactive for a customized period of time. If you have additional information about the BIN file format or software that uses files with the BIN suffix, please do get in touch - we would love hearing from you.

What is the final stage for picture editing in the post production workflow process?

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Running Windows Firewall, Windows Defender or other anti-virus software on your editing clients can have negative impact on the client’s performance. Therefore, the most common recommended course of action is to disable these services altogether whilst restricting Internet access to the editing clients. It is important to have the time on your storage and the clients synched up. Your ELEMENTS system can easily offer time synchronization to all clients. Under media you can remove/add sounds that you want windows to play.

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[lancecarr]

DP Mihai Malaimare Jr. on Capturing the Dark Comedy of Jojo Rabbit in Living Color

Jojo Rabbit is director Taika Waititi’s satirical send-up and equally sober analysis of Nazi fanaticism told through the whimsical musings of an aspiring Hitler Youth. With Waititi in the scene-stealing role of Adolf, 10-year-old protagonist Jojo Beltzer’s imaginary friend, the film is loosely based on the young adult novel Caging Skies, about a Jewish girl hidden by a German family during World War II. It features Roman Griffin Davis, in his screen debut, Scarlett Johansson, and an entourage of Nazi nitwits played with darkly comic precision by Sam Rockwell, Stephen Merchant and Rebel Wilson.

Cinematographer Mihai Malaimare Jr. was captivated by Waititi’s script, which he read one night while doing reshoots on his last film, The Hate U Give. He was on a Skype call with the director the following day. “For me, the whole thing happened really, really fast,” he says. “I went back home for four days before flying to Prague to start filming.”

We asked Malaimare about shooting in extreme low light with the Alexa SXT, the challenges of working with first-time actors, and what Waititi did to on set to get the best out of his youngest stars.

StudioDaily: What made Prague the ideal location for the film?

Mihai Malaimare Jr: It’s interesting because I’m from Romania, and the architecture is very similar. It felt familiar to me. Lucky for us, the Czech Republic was very careful with the way they let people install air conditioning units and dish antennas, mostly keeping them from public street views. So in these cities there that we filmed [Prague, Ustek, Chcebuz and Zatec], we could shoot pretty much in 360 without having too many elements to remove. When we took the cars and the street signs out, it definitely looked like the photo references of Germany from the 1940s during the war.

What did those references include?

Taika and I spoke quite a lot about the use of color, and the references came from everybody: the art department, production design, costume and makeup. I remember I had quite a shock when I first saw color footage from World War II, because we’re so used to seeing images from the war in black-and-white. All the costume samples and art sketches were full of vibrant color. I talked to Taika about how we could actually use that saturated palette to our advantage, to show Jojo’s world at the beginning of the movie, knowing that we wanted to mute the palette towards the end for the war scenes.

We’re seeing his world through his eyes, too, so at the outset, it’s a kind of personal Disney World of his imagination. 

Pretty much! 

Jojo Betzler (Roman Griffin Davis, right) and his imaginary friend Adolf (director Taika Waititi) in an early scene from the film. Training camp director Captain Klenzendorf (Sam Rockwell) looks on. Photo by Kimberley French. © 2019 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Tell me more about how and why you shot your widescreen images on the SXT.

We were shooting 1.3x anamorphic for 1.85:1. We did a lot of tests and went all the way from 1.33:1 to 2.40:1. We felt that 2.40 was too overly cinematic for our story, but we still wanted to keep the quality of anamorphic, which creates a certain velvety look in the skin tones and it does amazing things with the backgrounds. There is a way to use 2x anamorphic and cropping for 1.85, but you often lose the most interesting aspect of the lenses that way. We used the Hawk V-lite squeeze anamorphic 1.3x, and they allowed us to [achieve] a real 1:85 anamorphic ratio.

The attic room, where Jojo discovers Elsa hiding, was lit very differently from the other sets. How did that setup evolve?

We had a conversation about the attic room in prep before we built it. It was interesting because we realized that it would be strange for the audience if they didn’t know when it was daytime or nighttime in that space; it can not be pitch black every time. We worked off the idea that building a few vents at the bottom of the roof would allow us to see some daylight filtering in or a beam of sunlight reflected in a subtle way. That still allowed us to keep the space fairly dark but you could see a difference between day and night. For the nighttime, we went with candles and petrol lamps. For those scenes we used a set of spherical lenses called [Vantage One] T1, which allowed us to shoot wide open at T1, so it was more like a Barry Lyndon approach. The lenses are also made in Germany, so it was nice to have that support nearby when we needed it.

What was the trickiest part about working with the child actors? 

The kids were really terrific. Roman is unusual because, even though this is his first film, he grew up in the business [his father is cinematographer Ben Davis]. It was also the film debut of Archie Yates, who plays Jojo’s friend Yorkie. Inevitably, every single first-time actor will look straight into the camera at one point, but we never had this problem with Roman because he grew up around cameras. He was never intimidated by two big lenses pointing at him the whole time. The only challenge was the schedule, due to labor laws, for the young actors. They can only work 8 or 9 hours a day, including break time. This made it tough on the other actors because most of the time when you know you are running out of time, you can just use a photo double and shoot over the shoulder with the other actors. But what that means is probably their closeups will be toward the end of the day and they’ll have to act with somebody that’s not Roman, for example. Once we discovered that, it was our safety net, but definitely not ideal for the adult actors.

Jojo’s mother Rosie (Scarlett Johansson) is the radiant — and colorful — heart of her son’s world. Photo by Larry Horricks. © 2019 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

How did Waititi make his youngest actors feel comfortable on set?

Through a lot of rehearsals, mostly, then just blocking and figuring out how to shoot it. We only storyboarded the war scenes. This allowed all of the actors, but especially the kids, all the freedom in the world during rehearsals to search for the best way to convey the scene. We got so many interesting ideas from them during that process. I think you can see the results in the acting, because there’s nothing worse than telling an actor, “You better hit your mark or else you’re not in the light.” Our approach was to let them explore the scene first, and getting the ideas from them so we can figure out how to shoot the scene. It made everyone more comfortable on set.

What was your favorite place to film?

Definitely Jojo’s house, but particularly the hallway. I loved the way the wood panels would reflect the light and the way everything worked together with the wallpaper and all those practicals. It really felt amazing, no matter where you point the camera. Everything looked great in there.

As you mentioned earlier, the end of the film shifts to a much more muted palette. Did you do that in camera as well as in post? 

It was a little bit of both. We definitely played with the color temp feature on the lights and in camera. We also did some grading for the dailies before finalizing everything in the DI.

Malaimare used a Vantage One T1 lens to capture the low-light scenes featuring Elsa (Thomasin McKenzie) and Jojo. Photo by Kimberley French. © 2019 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

What did you appreciate most about Taika Waititi’s style as a director?

He had a rule that there were no cell phones allowed on set, and that created a really interesting working environment where everybody’s paying attention and people are talking to each other. Another thing I loved was that we did projected dailies, which very rarely happens these days. We didn’t do it every day, because we did have some very long production days. But on the other hand, if you do it once a week or twice a week and have everyone in the same room, it really pays off. It’s so different when you’re by yourself in a hotel room watching dailies on a small screen. It’s a totally different experience, even when it’s a small screening room. You get to experience the film the way the audience will, and that lets you see and react to things much differently. You can better judge focus and lighting. Pretty much everybody, from the production designer and costume designer to producers, was invited to the screenings, depending on how long of a day it was.

The post DP Mihai Malaimare Jr. on Capturing the Dark Comedy of Jojo Rabbit in Living Color appeared first on Studio Daily.

https://www.studiodaily.com/2019/11/dp-mihai-malaimare-jr-capturing-dark-comedy-jojo-rabbit-living-color/

[thegumptionguy-blog]

Short Film Analysis

The Heist Directed by Luke Harris https://www.shortoftheweek.com/2017/08/22/the-heist/

I decided to review a short film called “The Heist” from the shortoftheweek.com website. The logline and title immediately grabbed my attention, since it denoted that it was about two handsome mastermind criminals planning the heist of all heists. It was a great angle on heist films because of the way they used clichés throughout the entire film. For example, the two masterminds explain to a rich Jewish guy about the team that they are assembling. Every team member they describe is an example of some stereotyped character from other heist movies. It was funny and genius, to say the least.

The inciting incident happens immediately as the film opens to the two masterminds eating with a rich Jewish guy pitching their plan to hit up, not one, but seven locations of another crime boss. However, they want to hit up all seven joints at once, which deems them to be out of their mind. The plot points are created by the two masterminds as they build the interest of the rich Jewish guy by explaining who they got on their team. The comic relief here is that all of these characters are not needed for a heist or they are over-exaggerated, which makes it even funnier. The midpoint would be when the rich Jewish guy says, “but.” The two masterminds already knew that he was going to object, so they had an immediate answer to the objection. The rich Jewish guy keeps objecting with a subtle notion, so the two masterminds continue to entice him and feed his objections. This is a great play on the rules of comedy and using repetition. After all the anticipation, the film reaches its climax when the rich Jewish guy finally says, “Okay, I’ll think about it.” The film immediately transitions to the resolution with the two masterminds offering the piece de resistance, which of course is the two masterminds explaining to the rich Jewish guy that the heist team needs two handsome mastermind guys pitching the heist plan to a super-rich Jewish guy. The film immediately closes with the rich Jewish guy trying to get more clarity.

The production design was spot on. Every character was placed in an environment that fit the scenario or stereotype. For instance, the entire heist conversation was held at a mansion, which is the rich Jewish guy’s home, the badass getting beat up in an alley, or the bomb maker in his garage making an explosive. Each character and scene had every essential prop and the wardrobe fit each personality of the talent’s characters. Most of the wardrobe was casual wear, but the one costume piece I was impressed they had was the helmet on the post-apocalyptic girl with the hacker. And the makeup and hair on the guy getting beat up and little street urchin girl was simplistic but effective. All they needed was some dirt on their face and clothes.

Loved the cinematography in this film. The reverse shots between the two masterminds and the rich Jewish guy were on-point and kept the story moving quickly, which was the perfect effect the film needed, especially with the comedy aspect. I liked the wide-angle lens and camera positions. After watching the “Joel & Ethen Coen – Shot | Reverse Shot” YouTube video, I believe the director and DP used the techniques the Coen brothers live by, which is filming dialogue from inside the space of a conversation and positioning the camera in between characters opposite of each other. I also liked how the director and DP used revealing shots to reveal certain items or characters, like the scene with two guys pointing guns at each other under a restaurant table or the guy seeing his dead friend in a mirror as he lifts his head from washing his face. They also used some tracking shots or slow push-in shots for particular types of scenes, which made the film move and transition to the way it was edited.

The music score was obviously the typical “heist” type of music. The up-tempo type of score was played mostly when the two masterminds were pitching the rich Jewish guy. However, the filmmakers used the effect of silence by cutting the music right at the climax. The music score then switches to a more epic / drama tone. They did use some sound effects, like the street girl eating the apple or the hackers in their computer lab, which definitely added substance to the film.

The editing was quick, and like I mentioned before, the filmmakers planned great camera movements and positions so that the editor could cut the film more effectively. In other words, I believe the filmmakers used every single second of footage to their advantage and did not waste precious time to tell their story. This is especially relevant when you have a comedy and quick punch lines. I did catch some jump cuts and match cuts. I like how they match cut from the two masterminds pitching the piece de resistance to another set of the same characters played by different actors. And how they used different color grading to create a separation from the two scenes that were meant to resemble the same situation. The one minor flaw I noticed was that I could see some of the camera crew in the windows of the mansion, and I think in one of the actor’s sunglasses. Other than that, I think they nailed this short film.

When it comes to our zero / low resource film, the most important production elements our team needs to employ and get on-point are the artwork, set design and location, shots and camera movements, continuity, and editing. Elements like the music score, wardrobe, and story we have locked in, but it is going to take a lot of effort, planning, and creativity to employ the rest.

For starters, getting a location is not as easy as you would think, especially when you are trying to stick to a budget that’s already low or having the prejudice of others knowing that it’s a student film and not some big feature. If we cannot lock a location for our film, we are going to have to use the soundstage, which means building an entire set and possibly spending more money because of construction and art. If this is the case, then our team needs to get really creative and resourceful so that we can create a set with little to no money. If we can get things donated or for free, it would really help.

Furthermore, if we did have to use the soundstage and build a set, we would have to plan shots that would hopefully still give us the cinematic look and quality of the film we want to get. We do not want our film looking like a student film. Our goal is to make this look like it was done by industry professionals. Having the right crew will help immensely, but this goes along with planning and preparing as much as possible. Without the proper preparation, even the best teams can make a bad film.

Finally, a big concern I have and want to make sure I have covered is continuity. The continuity of the story, shots, props, wardrobe, and dialogue need to be flawless. If they are not, it is going to affect the editing and could potentially ruin the film. A continuity team needs to be super detailed and observant, which needless to say, their job is extremely important.

#short film #film #analysis #self reflection #preproduction #movies

[octaviasdread]

DEAD POETS SOCIETY: Costume analysis and Historical Context (Part One)

Part Two - Uniform & Non-Conformity | Part Three - Casual Wear, Chris & the Play | Part Four - Cultural Aesthetics & The Struggle for Individuality

Look, this is a long, long post I put together throughout this week as an insomnia project. Actually, just think of all my long posts as my version of Gansey’s mini Henrietta model in trc. Useless passion projects.

Opening Scenes

The opening shots establish the context of Welton. We are shown a Mother fixing the uniform of a young boy. However, this is not quite the expected display of maternal fussing, it is the perfecting of a performance, and this is conveyed through costume.

The mother is only visible by her gloves as she straightens her son's tie and collar. This focus on formal dress emphasises a level of detachment in their relationship as there is no skin-on-skin contact (something promoted for new mothers and their babies).

This is reinforced by the accompanying dialogue, "keep your shoulders back." Immediately, all concern for the student is centred on the presentation of his uniform as a representation of both his family and his school. Thus, the Welton uniform is shown as restrictive. It is a symbol of both the expectations and the weight of tradition which is impressed on the children required to wear it as they learn to uphold the inherited image of excellence.

There is no individuality amongst the students in this assembly. As the camera pans over the Chapel we are shown hundreds of almost identical boys in a sea of black blazers, white shirts, and striped ties.

The Procession

The tone of tradition - the first banner to be held up to the camera - is set by the details of the ceremony, notably the use of Catholicism alongside Scottish (and potentially Irish) culture.

Most modern Catholic schools in the US were founded in the 19th century (like Welton in 1859) to accommodate the increase of Irish immigration to North America. Most schools at this time were Protestant, and in 1852, the First Plenary Council of Baltimore (a meeting of archbishops & bishops) aimed for every Catholic parish in the US to open its own religious schools.

These institutions were considered a fundamental method of preserving the values threatened by anti-Catholic bills. They formed close communities with the parents (whose financial contributions were essential) and alumni (representatives moulded by their values). For this reason, tradition and discipline became key features of these schools.

I find it interesting that the Welton procession is led by students in traditional kilts (part of both Irish and Scottish heritage) who play 'Scotland the brave' on bagpipes. The headmaster, Mr. Nolan, has an Irish name meaning 'noble.' These hallmarks of older (and primarily Catholic) cultures add to the oppressive weight of history felt in the Chapel setting.

This general atmosphere is then visually broken down to focus on how it affects the main characters.

Cameron holds the first banner with 'tradition' which highlights its relevance to his individual character arc. He is arguably the one who struggles most with his relationship to tradition, ultimately falling back on it for a sense of safety after Neil's death.

The next poet in line is Knox holding 'discipline.' Knox's main struggle is achieving a balance between two unhealthy extremes. He declares, 'I've been calm all my life," before gaining the courage to ring Chris, and this reflects the rigidity he's always known. However, his supposedly romantic storyline highlights how Knox abandons all necessary self-discipline as he learns the freedom of Carpe Diem.

Finally, is Neil with 'excellence,' foreshadowing how trapped he becomes by his reputation as a model student, and by the expectations of authority figures. This is consolidated at the end of the ceremony when Nolan says, "we expect great things from you this year," and Mr. Perry replies, "he won't disappoint." By jumping in to reply for his son, Mr. Perry asserts his authority over Neil while also showing that his son's achievements are (in his view) inextricably tied to his own.

'Honour,' the final banner, is not held by any of the dead poets. This indicates that none of the main characters feels a sense of honour in themselves, the school, or its traditions and values.

The Teachers

Each teacher wears full academic regalia, a long black gown with a coloured hood denoting their subject of study. This strict adherence to academia indicates the prestige of Welton Academy and the high standard of education that its individual staff has received.

Keating and McAllister both wear white around their necks to signify the study of the arts and humanities.

Nolan also wears a medallion to signify his status as headmaster. This is often an element of formal dress worn by college presidents, which shows Nolan's connection to the Ivy Leagues (where he boasts many of his students attend). Mr. Nolan also has velvet around the neck of the gown to signify a doctorate.

Each teacher also has a coloured trim on their gowns that I can't find the official meaning of. Some staff, like McAllister, have a matching hood and ribbon trim. Others, like Keating, do not as his hood is white and the ribbon trim is purple.

Historically, purple has been a colour reserved for the clothing of royalty or those with power and wealth. In modern history, purple began to be perceived as a colour of creativity and wisdom. By dressing only Keating in subtle hints of purple, this introduction to his character hints at the leadership and wealth of knowledge he provides for the dead poets.

Keating is also shown in a light purple shirt during class, which I mention in part two.

I do also want to note (for the purpose of Keating as a queer-friendly figure) that purple is a colour that carries significance within LGBTQ+ history and literature:

Violet

The flower is mentioned frequently in Sappho's fragments and has been used as wlw code

During the 1920s, 'violet' was a slang term for lesbians

Édouard Bourdet's play 'The Captive' (1926) was censored for its lesbian themes, including a woman sending violets to another woman as a symbol of her love. There was a trend in Paris of people wearing violets on their lapels in support of Bourdet's play

Lavender

The derogatory term 'a streak of lavender' was used to describe men whose masculinity did not match social expectations, hinting that he may be a homosexual, known as a 'lavender boy'

In the 1970s, sapphic feminists, such as Rita Mae Brown, wore t-shirts with the slogan 'The Lavender Menace' as a protest until they were admitted to mainstream feminist circles. This was a response to the well-known feminist author, Betty Friedan, claiming that lesbians were a 'lavender menace' who would undermine feminist efforts

The Lavender Scare

A lesser-known branch of McCarthyism under Senator Joseph McCarthy, most well-known for his anti-communist 'red-scare.'

McCarthy led a very public campaign to rid the government of 'communists and homosexuals' who were considered to be a threat to morality and to national security

Thousands lost their jobs despite a subcommittee investigation concluding that there was no evidence suggesting gay or lesbian civil servants had been blackmailed into betraying state secrets

Purple and its developing association with queerness

The invention of synthetic purple dye in the mid-nineteenth century caused the colour to become widely available. Historically, the colour had been expensive due to its source from a species of snail found in modern-day Lebanon. Until the 1850s, it had been a colour reserved for royals and the wealthy

In the late-nineteenth century, purple clothing became highly fashionable due to its new availability and novelty. As the movement of Aestheticism arose, purple became a popular colour amongst the Aesthetes who many deemed effeminate, or associated with Oscar Wilde and his 'purple hours' of drink and relations with men. Thus, purple began to be associated with a subculture many queer men participated in, and eventually with the queer community

Sources:

(My A-level American History course)

Catholic Schools in the US: here and here and the Plenary Council

Anti-Catholicism in the US: here and here

Academic Regalia: here and here

LGBTQ Flowers

The Lavender Menace

The Lavender Scare

Lavender as an LGBTQ symbol

The history of purple dye

#CO posts #dps costume analysis #dead poets society #dps

[octaviasdread]

DEAD POETS SOCIETY: Costume analysis, Casual Wear, Chris & the Play (Part Three)

Part One - Opening Scene & Historical Context | Part Two - Uniform & Non-Conformity | Part Four - Cultural Aesthetics & The Struggle for Individuality

Common Room Scene

Like the badges, this scene is evidence of the poets being nerds while others play darts, guitar, or chess.

Charlie wears a t-shirt, once again dressed in the least layers and styled to stand out from the multitude of long-sleeve, button-up shirts or flannels worn by the other boys.

Neil and Cameron are dressed in red flannels, symbolising their shared interest in the study group they arranged in the opening scene of the film.

On one hand, their marked difference from Charlie represents him tagging along as Neil's bff and Cameron's roommate to their hang outs. On the other hand, Cameron also wears a t-shirt beneath his flannel which could indicate an underlying similarity to his roommate.

Although Todd studies separately from the group, he is also dressed in flannel which visually links them to him. The green colour highlights this separation from their red, but interestingly, green is a colour heavily associated with Neil. When re-watching, this is a sign of their inevitable closeness.

Meeks & Pitts wear complimentary outfits once again as they work as a team on the radio.

Anderperry

Neil and Todd are often in complimentary colours. Their most common non-uniform look consists of beige trousers with a jumper and converse. Todd wears blue with light coloured shoes, and Neil wears green with dark coloured shoes. This is a satisfying visual balance of sameness and opposites, conveying their ability to balance out one another's personalities.

Green and blue are also associated with the land and sea, complimentary elemental forces and essential aspects of nature which are paired together.

Neil also has a green blanket. It functions as an object of reassurance and comfort when he tells Todd about his dream of becoming an actor and the opportunities he lost because, "my father wouldn't let me."

He throws it off once Todd accidentally reminds him of reality - Mr. Perry will never support him. "Can't I just enjoy the idea?" Neil says once the blanket is off, showing that his confident discussion of his dreams and their possibility (with the blanket on) was his vulnerability, not the cold, daily reality of his Father's expectations.

YAWP

Todd is shown composing his poem in this blue & beige ensemble. In the following scene, Keating wears almost the same outfit (dark coloured jumper and similar watch) in a clear parallel as he guides Poet!Todd.

Keating also wears this outfit when he speaks to Neil about his father after class. However, the jumper is not in calm tones, it is bright red to signal danger (and blood) as Neil lies. This foreshadows his last attempt to help Neil and the tragedy ahead.

The dark jumper/beige trouser combination appears again as Keating cries in his classroom over Neil's death. This positions Keating alongside Todd as they grieve over someone they had a close relationship with and tried to help.

Musical Poetry Chase!

Chameron fans, I'd like to acknowledge that these roommates haven't bothered to change out of their rowing clothes. Were they too busy hanging out? Their clothes replicate the matching of Meeks & Pitts in grey/black shorts and grey/white jumpers.

Clashing colours would indicate conflict so complimentary colours imply their relationship is not purely antagonistic. Charlie hold bongos so he was likely playing them in his room, so why is the anderperry noise an issue for Cameron when Charlie's music seemingly wasn't? The costume indicates Cameron is familiar with it and accepting.

God of the Cave

Meeks is in full uniform while Pitts has removed part of his to relax. This (P2) shows Meek's image hiding his quiet rebellion of sneaking out to smoke, while Pitts is more open about it. They are still matching as the only two in uniform.

Charlie, Knox, and Cameron are in similar light coloured jumpers, but the textures are different. Cameron's chunky knit is practical for warmth. Charlie's backwards rowing jumper reminds audiences of his determination not to conform, while his beret is beatnik inspired to compliment his beatnik appreciation of jazz music. Knox wears the most plain outfit which reflects his claim, "I've been calm all my life," before using his scarf dramatically to illustrate his new Carpe Diem approach.

Todd is in the anderperry signature outfit again. The bold colour makes him stand out but he appears comfortable, showing how much his confidence has grown since the opening scene (P1) where he stood nervously in his brown suit.

This also highlights Neil's absence as the balance of colours is off. When Neil enters the scene he reveals his green jumper and sits beside Todd, visually restoring order and forming a more visually satisfying image.

Their standard-issue school coats have been stripped off and thrown carelessly aside, symbolising the boys' freedom from Welton's rigid expectations in the cave.

Chris

Chris is introduced as an angelic figure. She is presented as ultra-feminine in white, fluffy clothing with accents of pink and gold, and framed by an open doorway like a photograph in a frame, or a polaroid in a locker door. This image of conventional beauty is further elevated by the halo-like light shining from above her head. Another light shines from a lamp on the table to her left (the heart side, indicating romance).

The colour palette of white and pink is consistent across all further interaction with Knox at the party and in her school. This use of typically feminine colours, tight fitting tops/skirts, hair ribbons, and jewellery emphasises her difference from the boys at Welton in their dark uniforms. Chris is represented as an embodiment of 1950s femininity, and as an ideal, she is also a dream.

This dream status is confronted before the play when Chris turns up at Welton in a dark coat similar to Knox's. Although her gender still excludes her from Welton, the similarity in costuming gives her a more grounded and almost terrifyingly attainable image. Only her white gloves carry any hint of her usual, angelic framing. This signals to the audience that Knox has his "one chance" at achieving his romantic dream.

In the theatre, Chris' coat has been removed to reveal white & pink clothing. However, dark pink is worn to show her distance from Chet as she wears light pink with him (this is also used when Knox visits her class). Along with Knox's smile, this costume change indicates that Knox has attained his dream and Chris will leave Chet.

The Play

All the poets wear plaid suits.

Unlike the others, Cameron's grey suit has a very faint red and blue pattern, resulting in it appearing plain at first glance. This shows that he is part of the group (plaid pattern & laughing with Todd), but also the fragility of his position, foreshadowing his fading friendship bonds by the end.

Plaid (especially Todd's) draws associations with the nightwear worn by the boys. This emphasises the dream-like state of the play both in a literal sense of its title & themes, but also for Neil (the only one not in plaid) living his dream on stage. This parallel in costume shows the Shakespearean nature of dps as the play is a dream to wake up from, a tragedy in the end.

The Last Goodbye

As Todd passes Neil at the theatre exit, they are shown wearing complimentary colours in the same frame.

Todd's suit features the colours worn by the other poets that night, and his blue and red scarf matches Neil's coat, which combines with the grey of his jumper to match Todd's clothes.

Todd still wears an accent of blue, but Neil lacks his signature green, hinting that something is off-balance. The usual, visual harmony of an anderperry scene is disrupted, and this disturbance adds to the sense of ominous tension building at the end.

I had some stuff about Knox's fashion™ outfit and Meek's funky jumper but I've typed so much that all three posts are glitching. I can make a P4 with the extras if anyone is interested. I've analysed so much my brain hurts.

#CO posts #dps costume analysis #dead poets society #dps

[octaviasdread]

(Image)

𝒟𝑒𝒶𝒹 𝒫𝑜𝑒𝓉𝓈 𝒮𝑜𝒸𝒾𝑒𝓉𝓎

✒ Essays:

⋆ Costume Analysis

Opening Scene & Historical Context

Uniform & Non-Conformity

Casual Wear, Chris & the Play

Cultural Aesthetics & The Struggle for Individuality

⋆ Gendered Boarding School: Dead Poets Society (1989) & All I Wanna Do (1998)

Character & Plot Similarities

Schools, Teachers & Star Students

Student Rebellions & Secret Societies

Are They Queer?

Other:

⋆ Mrs Perry, the 50s Housewife & Neil

⋆ Cycles, Seasons & Carpe Diem Tragedy

✒ Rambles:

⋆ Representation of Teenagers

⋆ Casting of Gale Hansen

⋆ Mr Keating vs. Miss Jean Brodie

⋆ Traditional Poet Todd vs. New Poet Charlie

⋆ Growing up in WWII: Masculinity & Keating and Part 2 of Keating’s experiences

⋆ DPS as Poems: Todd as Ginsberg’s ‘A Supermarket in California’

⋆ Cast Photo Analysis

⋆ Finding New Details

⋆ The Badges Posts (everything dps tumblr discussed in the notes)

#finally sorting a masterlist #so sneak peak at future posts i guess #CO Masterlist #navigation