David and Eliath

David and Eliath
(awesome)

Thursday, February 24, 2011

The Themes and Motifs of "Batman Begins", and the Evolution of Bruce Wayne

In 2005, director Christopher Nolan faced the daunting task of revitalizing the Batman film franchise.  The origin of Batman, one of the biggest icons in American culture, has been rehashed so many times that it has become redundant.  Nolan, however, not only defied the odds and made one of the best comic book movies of all time, he superbly rebooted an overly played out story and added much depth to an already fleshed out character.  Nolan's Batman Begins presents several fascinating ideologies on the human psyche, and examines the evolution of an icon.

The story of Batman Begins details Bruce Wayne's life from the tragic murder of his parents to the beginning of his vigilantism.  The film examines what drives this possibly psychotic man to forgo his vast inheritance and pampered life and risk his life unrewarded.  Through his use of realism and grittiness, Nolan makes the story (and characters) far more believable, and because of this, the audience fully understands what drives Bruce Wayne.  Since the story takes place during several different periods, the viewer essentially sees five different Bruce Waynes: the young eight year old who witnessed his parents' murder, the rebellious adolescent who's angry at the world, the mature but intense 30 year old Bruce Wayne, the drunkard/billionaire facade, and the Batman persona.

The first Bruce Wayne seen is the 8 year old Bruce.  His phobia of bats is first established at this juncture, and becomes a significant theme of the movie later on.  He's still young and wide-eyed, and his naivety doesn't allow him to understand why Joe Chill (his parents' murderer) would commit a murder.  This is a driving point in the next part of the film.

We next see Wayne as an adolescent returning from college, intent on killing Joe Chill.  He has become jaded and cynical, and his biting and incorrigible tone reflects this.  After being denied the chance of killing Chill, Wayne is lectured by both his childhood sweetheart about the fine line between justice and vengeance and the crime boss of Gotham City, Carmine Falcone, about fear and naivety:
 "This is a world you don't understand.  And you always fear what you don't understand."
Wayne realizes how naive he really is, and goes on to travel the world in order to understand the criminal mind.

After several years of traveling through Asia as a wayfarer, an older Wayne is offered the chance of joining a powerful and secret organization in order to fight injustice.  Wayne agrees, and begins to train with Henri Ducard, who serves as a surrogate father to Wayne.  Ducard teaches Wayne several valuable lessons.  Ducard states that Bruce's unbridled anger and determination can allow him to truly make a difference in this world:
"If you make yourself more than just a man, if you devote yourself to an ideal and if they can't stop you, you become something else entirely--a legend".
Ducard also tells Wayne that his anger gives him great power, but if left unchecked, can destroy him, and turn him into the very criminals who he despises.  This alludes to how in the real world, people with noble intentions can fall from grace and turn into the very things they sought to to eliminate.  Again, this theme alludes to Wayne himself, as he too fears what he is capable of:
 "They told me there was nothing out there, nothing to fear. But the night my parents were murdered I caught a glimpse of something. I've looked for it ever since. I went around the world, searched in all the shadows. And there is something out there in the darkness, something terrifying, something that will not stop until it gets revenge.  Me."
Most notably, Ducard states:
"Your training is nothing.  Your will is everything."
Again, this applies to the real world: that determination and heart is the foundation of success.
Finally, Ducard has Wayne take a hallucinogen that makes him see bats in order to confront his fear.  This alludes to the fact that one shouldn't shirk from his fears.  Rather, he should seek to overcome it.

Upon learning that the organization fights crime with a brutality rivaling that of the criminals they clash with (they murder as well), Bruce leaves, and travels back to Gotham to liberate the crime ridden city.  Wayne becomes the very thing he fears most, bats, and takes up the mantle of Batman.  To hide his identity, Wayne pretends to be a drunken billionaire in public.  At this juncture of the movie, Nolan fleshes out Bruce's psyche, and ironically points out that his normal persona is his mask, and his true face is that of the Batman's.  Nolan also points out Wayne, despite being a noble and righteous man, is not entirely stable.  Nolan, however, points out that Bruce Wayne is such a noble figure because he is aware of his imbalances and instead of descending into vengeful madness, uses his damaged psyche to help people:
"I'm using this monster inside me to help people."

Finally, in the ending scene, Nolan portrays just how righteous Bruce Wayne really is:

Thursday, February 17, 2011

'Ey Yo Foget 'Bout it: the New York Way of Speaking

OK, so maybe we don't actually say that.  Despite this, New Yorkers still have a unique way of speaking.  The New York accent is easily one of the most recognizable accents in the entire world.  New Yorkers also abbreviate many phrases, giving them a distinguished dialogue all their own.

New York City is a hustling metropolis.  Here, eight million people have to scramble and hustle to make their engagements on time: they have to hail taxicabs, board buses, transfer subway lines, and speed through social interactions.  Because of this, New York culture is rushed, and things move a lot faster in New York than in other places.  The dialect reflects this.  As New Yorkers are constantly trying to punch the clock in order to meet their engagements in time, they often abbreviate phrases in order to speed things up a bit.  For example, instead of asking someone if they finished eating, a New Yorker will instead ask, "Jeet?".  Jeet is obviously faster than saying, "Did you eat?", therefore, it becomes part of the New York vernacular.  Also many New Yorkers often say, "comere", as opposed to, "come here".  Again, this is due to the fact that in New York, time does equate to money.  In addition to the innovative abbreviations, New Yorkers will speak very, very fast in general.  In fact, many non-New Yorkers have trouble simply keeping up with a NYC native in a conversation (my sister, a New York native, often talks so fast that even I, another New Yorker, can't figure out what she's saying).

While the abbreviations and fast paced way of speaking are easily identified with New Yorkers, the New York accent is the driving force behind the New York dialect's iconic status.  The accent is so easily distinguishable that when many people first think of New York, they think of the accent.  For example, the fact that New Yorkers replace the "r" sound at the end of a word with an "a" sound (New Yawka, Peanut Butta, wata) has become common knowledge.  A less known change in pronunciation revolves around the swapping of an "er" with an "iz".  For example, my grandmother, an old relic of Brooklyn, asks if I would like some "red-hot peppiz", as opposed to "red-hot peppers".  She also likes to wear her "slippiz" (slippers) at night.  These are but two of the many examples of unique New York accents.  Others include: "Long Island" becomes "Lawn Guylang", "Florida" becomes "Flarida", and "milk" becomes "melk".

The New York dialect has become one of the most iconic speech patterns in the world.  Hell, why do you think Bugs Bunny,  possibly the most recognizable character of 20th century culture, has a noticeable New York accent? (Bugs says he's from "toity toid" Street.)  And our very own Joe Paterno, the most famous man in the county, has a distinguished Brooklyn accent.  Because of the dialect, New Yorkers have been stereotyped as being uncouth and acrimonious.  Whether this is actually true, however, remains to be seen.  If you're curious, I recommend taking a little trip to the Big Apple and finding out for yourself.

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Groundhog Day, and the Many Speeches of a Misanthrope

Groundhog Day, a highly regarded film, concerns an arrogant and misanthropic weatherman who is stuck in a time loop and repeatedly forced to live his personal hell.  Protagonist Phil Connors, to his horror, finds that he keeps reliving February 2nd, or Groundhog Day (a day where he travels to backwater Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania to cover the Groundhog Ceremony), and realizes that nothing can stop the time loop.  In other words, he can do anything he wants, and, regardless of his actions, will wake up at 6 AM on February 2nd as if nothing ever happened.  Upon realizing this, Phil initially exhibits bewilderment, than excitement, excessive hedonism, anger, hopelessness and depression, and finally, compassion and humility.   As a reporter covering the Groundhog ceremony, Phil is obligated to broadcast the events via television, and his numerous speeches (due to the time loop) reflect his gradual changes in personality and outlook and ultimately reflect his newfound sense of humanity.


In the first coverage of the Groundhog Day ceremony (the time loop hasn't yet begun), Phil Connors is his usual egotistical and condescending self.  He views the people of Punxsutawney as uncouth hicks who are uncultured due to their worship of a rat, and his first speech reflects these views:


The first speech, although indeed professional and succinct, has more than a little sarcasm and arrogance woven into it by the misanthrope.


Upon relieving February 2nd for the second time in a row (the time loop has begun), Phil's confident swagger and arrogant overtones have almost completely vanished, and he can barely contain his bewilderment.  His second speech conveys confusion:


(on camera)
"It's Groundhog Day...again.  That must mean we're at Gobbler's Knob waiting for the forecast from the world's most famous weatherman, Punxsutawney Phil...whose just about to tell us how much winter we can expect...


His sarcasm and disdain gone, Phil's second speech now contains a sense of doubt, and his inflection sounds unconfident and perplexed.


After multiple February 2nds, Connors begins to realize that he can live a life without consequences, and begins to indulge in excessive hedonism: he eats whatever he wants without having to worry about health, constantly seduces women, and steals money.  His next speech reflects his newfound sense of invulnerability:


(on camera)
"...Punxsutawney Phil, who as legend has it, can predict Spring.  The question we have to ask ourselves is, 'Does Phil feel lucky?'"


While this version of his speech sounds remarkably similar to his previous ones, his tone is much more light-hearted, and it seems the question he asks concerning "Phil" is not about the groundhog, but himself.


After what is implied to be several long years of repeating February 2nds, Phil Connors has become bitter and jaded about his fate.  He resents himself, and he wallows in his misery.  His next speech reflects this:




His tone is biting and vengeful, and misery seems to ooze from his body.

After more time has passed in the time loop, Phil has lost all hope in life and is desperate to end his misery.  Instead of the obviously venomous disposition he had before, his actions now seem to border on insanity:





There is now a sense of dark humor in his speech as he begins to believe that he must physically kill the groundhog to end the cycle.  He now also begins to contemplate suicide in an attempt to free himself of his wretched fate.


After many more years pass in the time loop, Phil, at the urging of his co-worker, Rita, begins to have a new outlook on his situation and on life in general.  He begins to use all of the excess time to his advantage, and begins to culture himself.  He learns the piano, learns French, and reads classical literature.  In addition to this, he begins to help the people around him, as he has gotten to know the citizens of Punxsutawney and is aware of their upcoming situations.  His newfound outlook is reflected in his final speech:



His speech, which is both cultured and well-versed, exudes good will and empathy, and elicits a positive response from both the townsfolk and his co-workers (who previously resented Phil).  Phil's final speech also helps convey the overall message of the movie: that life is what you make it, and that a positive outlook and compassion to your fellow human beings can alleviate any predicament.

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Rhetoric about Nothing: The Themes and Language of Seinfeld

Seinfeld, one of the most successful and iconic television sitcoms of all-time, gained notoriety for its unique format and dialogue.  While many sitcoms focus on zany situations and moral values, Seinfeld emphasized realism and lack of sentimentality.  Though the show's dialogue is sometimes seen as mere frivolous banter, co-creators Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld use the dialogue and situations as spot-on mediums to address the quirks and daily occurrences seen in modern society.

The basic formula for a typical Seinfeld episode goes as follows: protagonist Jerry Seinfeld and friend George Costanza are eating together at a coffee shop, discussing an encounter they've previously had (typically with a girlfriend).  while this may seem simple,  the dialogue is so down to earth that the audience gets the feeling that in a real life situation, they would actually talk like Jerry and George.  Because of this, the dialogue resonates with the audience, and as a result, the viewers become so enamored with the plot that they begin to realize that the quirks pointed out in the show are in actuality commonly seen idiosyncrasies.  For example, in the episode, "The Mom & Pop Store", Jerry, in an attempt to find out if he actually was invited to a party hosted by a mutual acquaintance, sends his ex-girlfriend Elaine to investigate.  After speaking with the acquaintance, Jerry and Elaine are unable to figure if the host actually invited Jerry due to the fact that they are unsure of what word he emphasized:

Why would Jerry bring anything?

How many times have you found yourself unable to figure out if a person's being sarcastic or serious because you didn't know what word they were emphasizing?

The writers of Seinfeld have also used the witty dialogue and familiar situations to express their beliefs.  In a subtle yet astute manner, Seinfeld manages to critique beliefs that modern society have labeled taboo.  For example, in the episode, "The Outing", a newspaper reporter mistakenly believes that Jerry and George are a homosexual couple.  Jerry and George, in an attempt to prevent themselves from being "outed when they weren't even in", try to persuade the reporter to not write the article:


With that iconic statement, the writers of Seinfeld manage to express the dualism between homophobia and militant Political Correctness.  By stating "Not that there's anything wrong with it.", the writers have exposed the fact that P.C. has compelled people to state things in a supercilious manner out of obligation and in fear of offending the masses.

The genius of the show's writers (Larry David in particular) have made Seinfeld not only one of the funniest shows of all time, but also one of the most intelligent shows as well.