Author: tommy o

tommy o.

Hello DTC 354.

I chose “Meshes of the Afternoon” because it was very difficult for me to understand, and I’m not sure that I do understand it. I am interested to hear more about this film in class discussion.

There is no dialogue so the viewer is left with musical scoring and visual information to interpret the film. The general flow is a loop in time where the central character changes perspective each time. Each perspective changes reveals an aspect that may not have been seen or understood before, which heightens the tension between understanding and curiosity. It’s like a spiraling journey of recognition.

The music was moody and at times discordant, which fostered unease. The initial shots were mostly of high contrast shadow which added a disconnected feeling and an urge to understand what was beyond the metaphorical shadow.

Very early on I thought the main character was, or would be dead. Unfortunately, I have yet to connect why I guessed that so early in the film. With each progressive loop the story moved more strongly in that direction eventually being represented visually by the knife being the key to understanding the story and unlocking the memory or reality of the end.

I found the visuals disorienting through the use of camera movement, camera angle, and harsh lighting. Both running and use of slow motion also built a sense of urgency toward grasping the final understanding that the main character is dead, leaving behind things unfinished like a drink on the table, a disconnected phone, and turntable with a played out record.

Building stories without words is fascinating to me. Using visuals that have a dream-like or not quite real quality to them intrigues me. I’d like to know how each of you would tell a story without dialog.

tommy o.

But is it a tragedy?

If so, who is the hero? There may be two, but I’m going to argue against that. I will start by saying Marge is not a protagonist. Maybe I’m wrong. Let’s start with the character Mike.

Mike seems to be a reversal of fortune for Marge and I believe tied to Geaer as well, at least as a push toward realization for her.. When it’s revealed that Mike’s story is entirely untrue Marge can not understand why he does it. In the same way when she is scolding Gaear in the police car about violence for the sake of money she can’t conceive of a reason why he did it. Both of these moments push Marge’s  realization that she just doesn’t understand the motivation to do wrong, and she says so directly when she says, “I just don’t understand.” What interests me about this is her acceptance. Despite her inability to comprehend these motivations in others she easily accepts evil’s existence in the almost idyllic world around her. It appears to me that outside of that moment of recognition Marge will remain effectively unchanged. So, is Marge ever reversed or, perhaps, is she an unchanging balancing element within the plot that drives the actual protagonist? In this context Marge may not even qualify as a protagonist because she doesn’t seem to be permanently reversed or changed in character.

Jerry appears to be a protagonist in that the audience sees he is pitiable, he is flawed, and his downfall is feared, or at least concerning, and the audience wants to avoid his fate in their own lives. Jerry seems to realize the catastrophe he has caused and in the end laments the misfortune of his own weakness and pride, weakness in that he makes self-serving choices and pride because he believes he is entitled to be more than he is in the world. Yes, his motivations appear base as Aristotle attributes to characters in comedy, but Jerry’s motivation is arguably to become a greater person then he is.

Overall, it could be a tragic-comedy because of the base motivations of Jerry if he is the protagonist. However, I think Fargo is more closely tied to straight tragedy regardless of Jerry’s selected means to change his fortune, which was immediately reversed from the very beginning of the film.  If Marge is seen as an unchanging balancing element instead of a protagonist, then Marge is inevitable as that force and Jerry was doomed by this force from the moment he confirmed the deal with Gaear and Carl, if not from the moment he committed fraud prior to the story. It’s arguable that this is not a tragedy, at least not to Aristotle, if we note that for Jerry there was never a moment of prosperity; his tragic flaw (hamartia) was always active, his reversal of fortune (peripeteia) was at the beginning if not before, so the structure of the story doesn’t follow the Aristotelian beginning, middle, and end for a tragedy. There is catastrophe and Jerry suffers consequences, and a catharsis is fostered in the audience, but modes of narrative have changed over the last 2000 years so maybe it’s okay to mix the parts up and still call it a tragedy.

What do you think?

tommy o.

Hello Storytellers!

I’m Tommy, a transfer student returning to school after a 30 year diversion; well, it was almost 30 years ago that I left the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. This is my second term since coming back to school. I chose WSU-V specifically for the DTC program and its roots in both the arts and technology, two things that are dear to me. My main career was in global information security; Once a geek, always a geek. I am passionate about games of all kinds, video, board, role-playing, etc., and have a special place in my heart for collective storytelling. My goal in this class is to grow my skills as a storyteller.

Storytelling Genres: I favor sci-fi, fantasy, and psychological thrillers/horrors on screen. For books and comics I lean heavily toward horror and sci-fi. Sometimes I read fantasy, though not so much recently. For video games I prefer sci-fi, horror, and an occasional western theme. I tend toward single player mode and like to explore open-world environments. Although, all of my favorite games have very strong plot lines.

Story Media: I’m fascinated by short films. When time is tightly restricted it’s amazing to me how critical every aspect of sound and vision becomes to a well told story. Watching short films helps me better appreciate and digest longer format cinema. I read comics. I suppose it’s a similar attraction to short films, everything matters. Though video games have been important to me, I used to collect retro systems and games, I am not as interested in them currently. Or rather, my interests are focused elsewhere for now. I would not be interested in making video games, but the topic is a great discussion.

I am especially interested in seeing your various approaches to storytelling and creation in this class. I find other peoples’ perspectives an exciting prospect, and am curious to know more about your styles and processes.