Weathering the Storm

Amanda ReyesBenny YehLuis D. Centeno

Reggie RoblesRichia Castro-Larsen

Ryan Goyette

By: Space Cowboy

The Film is set on the weekend of and following thanksgiving in suburban Connecticut.

The film revolves around the lives of the Hoods and Carvers.

Reference to Fantastic 4

Luis Centeno

The Hoods are comprised of Ben Hood, Elena Hood, Paul Hood, and Wendy Hood.

The Carvers are comprised of Jim Carver, Sandy Carver, Mikey Carver, and Janey Carver.

Luis Centeno

Drugs, Alcohol, and Casual sex.

Lack of boundaries and Purpose.

Luis Centeno

Realization of issues and the value of family.

Luis Centeno

Screen Shot Scene

Richia Castro-Larsen

Title of Selected Movie: The Ice Storm

Scene:When Mikey’s body was carried to the Carver’s house by Ben Hood and the Jim Carver mourns over the loss of his son.

Duration of Scene: 3:39Number of Shots in Selected Scene: 30

Characters in Scene:Ben Hood, Elena Hood, Jim Carver, Janey Carver, Wendy Hood, Mikey Carver, Sandy Carver

Setting or Composition of Scene: At the Carver’s house

Actions: Carrying Mikey’s body into the house, talking, crying, hugging

Lighting: Natural light (overcast outside)Camera Angles: High angle, straight-on

Type of Shot(s): Crane shot, mid-shot, long shot, close up

Sound: Wind, crying, long silences, instrumental background music, and yelling

Transitions: Cut

Symbols (Meaning of Symbols):Ice (the mood, chilly, sobering), Mikey’s dead body (symbolizing failed patriarch, irresponsibility)

Special Effects: None

Screen Shot Analysis

Richia Castro-Larsen

Mi Familia

• One young man migrates to the U.S.• He lives with a relative.• He falls in love and marries.

Reggie Robles

Cont…

• He and his wife have life obstacles to overcome.

• His family goes through tragic events.• They lose a family member.• The family grows up.• The parents get older.

Reggie Robles

Parallel Movie Comparisons

• Dysfunctional families• In Mi Familia there are many changes going on

with everyone's life • In Ice Storm there is a theme of disconnection• In both families, they recognize that there is a

problem• In the end they know that they are: a family,

and that is what matters

Reggie Robles

American Beauty

• Written by Alan Ball and directed by Sam Mendes

• Lester, Carolyn, and Jane Burnham

• The Fitz Family• Angela Hayes

Amanda Reyes

American BeautyThemes

• Dysfunctional suburbia• Perfect exterior, decaying interior• Lester Burnham: Diegetic• Repression: sexuality, desires, and true self• Transformation of self and emergence of true

self

Amanda Reyes

SimilaritiesThe Ice Storm

• Dysfunctional suburbia• Repression• Death: Mikey Carver• Sexuality• Adolescence• Weather: Ice storm and

foreshadowing• Substance use: alcohol

marijuana• Infidelity: Ben Hood and Janey

Carver

American Beauty

• Dysfunctional suburbia• Repression• Death: Lester Burnham• Sexuality• Adolescence• Weather: Rain and

foreshadowing• Substance use: marijuana• Infidelity: Carolyn Burnham

and Buddy Cane

Amanda Reyes

DifferencesThe Ice Storm

• Era: 1970s-Watergate, key parties

• Family dynamics: Dominant Ben and passive Elena

• Focus on family appearance• Color: Dark tones• Remains repressed

American Beauty

• Era: Late 1990s-less influential

• Family dynamics: Dominant Carolyn and passive Lester

• Focus on physical appearance

• Color: Vivid tones, use of red

• Transformation and expression

Amanda Reyes

-Film based on the novel written by Rick Moody in 1994.-Deals with the American life in 1970s-Discusses the falling apart of two suburban families.-Novel focuses on teenagers who are dealing with safety and privilege of suburban life and its constraints.-Parents go into affairs and parties -Moody's controlling metaphor of the ice storm. -Critic is skeptical that Ang Lee understood the 1970s.

Readings

Benny Yeh

Ang Lee on The Ice Storm

-Success on the film Sense and Senibility helped Ang Lee with The Ice Storm-The Ice Storm was done because not much has been created from the 1970s.-Shooting the film took 5 more days than expected due to the seasonal effects on the trees.-Ang Lee’s role as a directed is to be a good seducer, meaning to observe things and make an attempt to control them.-Portrays actors rather than using them as moving objects in the film.

Benny Yeh

-Preproduction was the most time spent. Ang Lee likes portraying father figures see the collapse of the patriarchal society.-Ang Lee studied the music from the 1970s to get a feel for the decade.-Goal is to create every movie different from the previous ones.

Benny Yeh

Auteur Theory and AuthorshipAuteur Theory

• Auteur = author.• Who is the author of a film?

• “important in every art form, whether for reasons of intellectual property rights and the art market or for reasons of status and identification.”

Authorship

http://scienceblogs.com/startswithabang/upload/2009/07/science_what_is_it_really_all/writer.jpg

http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQc3KB1ha3qK3ez8XHZ6se-

f6amcJSvgeOUpI5M7WGX6J8iEAcW

Ryan Goyette

Authorship in Cinema

• Basic idea of “dominant personality.”

• Simple, easy definition.

http://www.crystalinks.com/quotes10.html

• Director = auteur.

Ryan Goyette

Authorship and Mise-en-scène

Authorship

• Director attains auteur status through mise-en-scène.

Mise-en-scène

• Design aspects of film production.

Ryan Goyette

Auteur Structuralism and Beyond

Auteur codes• Distinguish between real

person and creative personality.

• "Hitchcock," "Ford," "Hawks,“ etc.

Death of the Author• Author = “unconscious

catalyst.”• Author is a byproduct of

writing and the audience’s interpretation.

Ryan Goyette

References

• Fantastic Four Pictures– http://www.profilethai.com/download/download-2715-fantastic-four-wallpaper1024.html– http://www.encomics.com/wp-content/gallery/1/Fantastic%20Four%204.jpg– http://www.comicwallpapers.co.uk/images/main/Marvel%20Comics/Fantastic%20Four/1280960/f

f554_1280_519.jpg

Thank You.

Quiz

• On what holiday does The Ice Storm occur?• What was one of the parallel films observed

for the presentation?• Who wrote the book which the film The Ice

Storm was based off of?• What does auteur mean?• What was significant about the patriarch role

in The Ice Storm?