F. Scott Fitzgerald: Godfather of the 1920's

Background

Born in 1896 in Saint Paul, Minnesota to an upper middle class Catholic family, Fitzgerald was named after his famous second cousin, Francis Scott Key, but was referred to as "Scott," hence the pen name F. Scott Fitzgerald. He was also named after his deceased sister, Louise Scott, one of two sisters who died shortly before his birth. His parents were Mollie and Edward Fitzgerald.

Childhood

Scott spent the first 10 years of his childhood primarily in Buffalo, New York (1898–1901 and 1903–1908, with a short time in Syracuse, New York between 1901 and 1903). His parents, both practicing Catholics, sent Scott to two Catholic schools on the West Side of Buffalo, first Holy Angels Convent and then Nardin Academy. His younger years in Buffalo revealed him to be a boy of unusual intelligence and drive with a keen early interest in literature, his doting mother ensuring that her son had all the advantages of an upper-middle-class upbringing. In a rather interesting style of parenting, Scott attended Holy Angels with the peculiar arrangement that he go for only half a day, and was allowed to choose which half.

Teen- College

When Scott was ten years old, his father was fired from Procter & Gamble, and the family returned to Minnesota, where Fitzgerald attended St. Paul Academy in St. Paul from 1908–1911. His first published work, a detective story, was published in a school newspaper when he was 13. When he was 16, he was expelled from St. Paul Academy for neglecting his studies. He attended Newman School, a prep school in Hackensack, New Jersey, in 1911–1912, and entered Princeton University in 1913 as a member of the Class of 1917.

There he became friends with future critics and writers Edmund Wilson and John Peale Bishop, and wrote for the Princeton Triangle Club and the Princeton Tiger. His absorption in the Triangle, a kind of musical-comedy society, led to his submission of a novel to Charles Scribner's Sons where the editor praised the writing but ultimately rejected the book.

Influences

The 1920s proved the most influential decade of Fitzgerald's development. The Great Gatsby, considered his masterpiece, was published in 1925. Fitzgerald made several excursions to Europe, mostly Paris and the French Riviera, and became friends with many members of the American expatriate community in Paris, notably Ernest Hemingway. Fitzgerald’s friendship with Hemingway was quite vigorous, as many of Fitzgerald’s relationships would prove to be. Hemingway did not get on well with Zelda. In addition to describing her as "insane" he claimed that she “encouraged her husband to drink so as to distract Scott from his work on his novel."

While at a country club, Fitzgerald met Zelda Sayre (1900–1948), the "golden girl," in Fitzgerald's terms, of Montgomery, Alabama youth society. Fitzgerald attempted to lay a foundation for his life with Zelda. Scott returned to his parents' house at 599 Summit Avenue, on Cathedral Hill, in St. Paul, to revise The Romantic Egoist. Recast as This Side of Paradise, about the post-WWI flapper generation, it was accepted by Scribner's in the fall of 1919, and Zelda and Scott resumed their engagement. Scott and Zelda were married in New York's St. Patrick's Cathedral. Their only child, Frances Scott "Scottie" Fitzgerald, was born on October 26, 1921 and died on June 16, 1986.

Questions

1. In all honesty Fitzgerald left because of Zelda's influence and prohibition. When alcohol was banned in America he needed somewhere to drink.

2. Fitzgerald did not do all that much notable work, his reasoning behind Paris I feel mainly must have been Zelda's choice.

Sample of Art

Fitzgerald did no work in Paris but his most well known work must be the great gatsby.

"I hope she'll be a fool--that's the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool... You see, I think everything's terrible anyhow... And I know. I've been everywhere and seen everything and done everything."
- F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby, Ch. 1

3. I love the Great Gatsby it's extremely inspirational to me. It's one of the greatest literary works of the century. Fitzgerald's writing style and tone are absolutely captivating.

4. I would love to read more work by Fitzgerald. But sadly there is not much work done by Fitzgerald in the height of his life.

e.e. cummings

e.e. cummings: The lowercase signer 

     E.e. cummings was born into a Unitarian family on October 14, 1894. He was raised in a religious family and used prayers as an inspiration. Cummings wanted to be a poet ever since he was a child. He was married three times and had one daughter. His influences were Amy Lowell and Gertrude Stein. He went to Harvard where he started to have interest in modern poetry. He wrote eighteen books and received eleven awards during his lifetime. Cummings wrote about 2,900 poems, two autobiographical novels, four plays, several essays, and a few paintings and drawings. 

     In 1917, cummings enlisted in the Norton-Harjes Ambulance Corps with his friend, John Dos Passos. There was an administrative mix-up where cummings wasn't assigned an ambulance for another five weeks. During the five weeks he stayed in Paris where he fell in love with the city. While serving, he and his friend continually wrote letters home expressing their feelings of anti-war. Five months later he and William Slater Brown were arrested by the French military under suspicion of espionage and undesirable activities. They were held for three and a half months in a military detention camp. 

     Cummings returned to Paris in 1921, where he stayed for another two years before returning to New York. Throughout the 1920's and 1930's he returned to Paris numerous times and explored Europe. In 1926, his father died from a car accident. This had a major impact on his life and his writing. In Paris he was exposed to Dada and surrealism. This changed his poetry by relying on symbolism and allegory versus metaphors and similes , which he used to use. Cummings died on September 3, 1962 at the age of 67 from a stroke. 

Questions 

1. What brought your person to France? Was there a particular reason he or she left America to pursue their work in France? 

He first went to France during WWI. He was supposed to be a part of the Norton-Harjes Ambulance Corps, but there was a mix-up and wasn't assigned an ambulance until five weeks later. During this time he got to spend five weeks in Paris. He loved the city, and decided that he would visit frequently. These visits changed the way he wrote poetry by using symbolism and allegory instead of comparisons. 

2. Why France? What did your person find appealing or inspiring about France? How did this show up in their work? 

Cummings was exposed to Dada, a cultural movement that focused on anti-war politics. Also, he enjoyed studying the art that he found in France. His inspirations showed in his work by changing the way he wrote. He wrote using symbolism and tried to paint a picture using words. He also wrote with allegory, which means that the poem has a hidden meaning, instead of using comparisons. 

^"Seven Poems" by e.e. cummings"

3. What do you think of your person's work? Does it appeal to you? Why or why not? 

His work is great, but it's not my favorite. A contributing factor to that is that I'm not a big fan of poetry. If I had to read poetry I would read William Butler Yeats, Emily Dickinson, or Robert Frost. Cummings' early work was more love themed, which are beautiful, but don't appeal to me that much. I like cummings' anti-war poems more than the other genres that he wrote. 

4. Based on what you know about the person and the samples you've found, would you be interested in more of their work? Why or why not? 

I would be interested in reading a couple more of his poems. His poems are entertaining and have hidden meanings, which make them interesting to read. I don't enjoy reading poetry all that much, though. If I had to read poetry I would probably read poems by other poets. All in all I would read some of his poems, but probably in the anti-war genre. 

Sources: 

Websites: 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E.e._cummings#Poetry

Pictures: 

http://img.americanpoems.com/cummings2.jpg

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b9/Seven_Poems,_E._E._Cummings,_1920.djvu/page1-376px-Seven_Poems,_E._E._Cummings,_1920.djvu.jpg

By Jordanna Segal

French Film (The 400 blows)

French Film (The 400 blows)

The 400 Blows-Les Quatre Cents Coups

The cast of the film:

Jean-Pierre Léaud was starred as Antoine DoinelClaire

Maurier as Gilberte Doinel (Antoine's mother) .

Albert Rémy as Julien Doinel, (Antoine's father).

Guy Decomble as School teacher (Sourpuss).

Patrick Auffay as René Bigey.

Georges Flamant as Monsieur Bigey.

Francois Truffaut was the director of 400 Blows. The French film was produced in 1959 and was announced the Best Director Award at the 1959 Cannes Film Award. Also it was awarded the Best European Film award at the Bodil Awards. Another major accomplishment for the film was the Best Original Screenplay at the 32d Academy Awards. It has a 100 rating on Rotten Tomatoes and on the BFI list of 50 movies you should see by the age of 14.

1) Did you like the film, why or why not?

I adored the film, though without a moral or specific aim behind the film it acheived to captivate a 16 year old American teenager in another language. The plot is interesting and never loses action, while showing the drama that one would never realize from the outside of a family, but is truly so common.

2) Was the film aesthetically beautiful? if yes how and if not why not?

The film was impeccably shot, with truly beautiful camera work done. The transitions in each shot were well put together, several shots were truly captivating, that of the Eiffel tower in the opening credits, and my personal favorite, the shot of the boy running away from the observation center, the shot may look simple but in understanding the shot one realizes that the camera was not in one location following him across the field, the camera moved with the boy for a distance of almost a football field, which would be extremely difficult to set and shoot. A final aesthetically pleasing shot was that of the boy staring out over the ocean, which although under slightly different circumstances then he imagined im sure, was the fulfillment of his dream.

3) How does the film compare to an American film of a similar genre, how is it different

This is an extremely difficult question to answer as it does not really fit into a genre, the best niche it fills is a "coming of age drama" in which the character is almost a hero to the audience, with individual flaws and positives, trying to find there place in the world, this movie however does not have much of an American counterpart, or atleast none that i have seen, though if there is one i would much enjoy to see it. as a film though it is not directed or shot in the same way as many american movies are, most american films are shot to keep the crowd captivated, while French directors appear to focus more on the beauty and art of cinema, as apposed to the aspect of making a salary through box office sales, french films are almost an indy genre in a way, though much much better

4) what are 3 major themes the film addresses? how are those themes played out?

The film demonstrates many themes, drama, heart ache, a sense of lostness, struggle, and hardship, though there is also joy, and a sort of flamboyant state of mind that one only observes in youth. to choose the main three it wold have to be conflict, mainly that of the home life, which is played out in the issues the boy faces in coming to terms with being an illegitimate son, a mother who does not particularly care for him, and that his father is being cheated on. the next theme would be the sense of lostness, which is demonstrated through the boy's desire to "make it on his own" as he puts it, he struggles through this by skipping school, stealing, running away, all because of a sense that he could do better on his own and that even his attempts at success are met with failure, such as his attempt at writing his essay. the 3rd and final theme has to be that of crime, which the entire film is based around, the boy begins with milk, moves on to clocks, and finishes with typewriters, his final masterpiece is escaping from the correctional facility

5) What does this film show about French culture?

The film is very revealing about French culture, or at least, French culture in the time period. Children were allowed far more freedom, even so young as grade school. Also from what I can see, physical punishment was far more common, and also taken far lighter by the children themselves. I am glad to know that French children still have the same sass and wise cracking streaks as American children do. These children also display far more initiative and independence then I have ever witnessed in an American child of that age.

Summary: This film depicts the life of young Antoine Doinel, a child growing up in a lower-middle class Parisian family. The film describes Doinel's journey into adolescence, filled with less then typical adventures. Between Antoine and his young partner-in-crime Rene, the audience is given their fair share of mischeif, theft, vagrancy, jail, sassy attitudes, and under age drinking. It is a very good film which I personally adored and I'm sure anyone else who enjoys movies would as well.

Cult Proj 3

Title: Un Long Dimanche De Diancilles

Title:(eng)A Very Long Engagement

By:Jaron Segal

Un long dimanche de fiancailles is a World War 1 film about a wife that refuses to accept her husbands death. Little does she know that her husband was sentenced to no mans land ( the area between trenches in World War 1 where almost everybody died) for attempting to hurt themselves before battle so they could be sent home. She goes so far as too hire a detective to hunt and track him down. His name is Germain Pire.

     The film is about their voyage looking for him. Throughout the movie, she is told of others who were sent to no man’s land to die, and she is even told by somebody who watched her husband get shot that her husband is probably dead. However, she refuses to listen and continues looking. At the end of the film she is still looking.
This film is a tradgic romance.
Director:Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Actors:Audrey Tautou, Gaspard Ulliel, Ticky Holdago.
Awards: 4 ceser awards including best actress.

A. I ended up liking the film surprisingly. It was what I was looking for; a creepy strange film. I like how I felt confused in the end as to why she kept on looking even though there is proof of her husbands death.

B.I wouldn’t go as far as calling the film beautiful, but they weren’t horrendous. They were like most other films made in 2004, just simple graphics. I did not appreciate the violence and blood  when it was shown though.

C.This film is pretty much like an American film however there is one big difference. In American film we usually end with an ending; something we can grasp on. This doesn’t really have an ending because in the end she is still looking. I personally liked that but it just isn’t as common in American film.

D.Three major themes the film shows are: hope, love, and sorrow. You see hope as she is always looking for her presumed dead husband. You see the love in her going all around Europe looking for him. Last but not least, you see sorrow as she is constantly told no, he is not alive.

E.In this film you see the stereotypical romance that the French have. It is hopeless but you see it throughout the film. Mathilde is from Brittany, a French town.

                                 La Cité des Enfants Perdus-The City of Lost Children

The City of Lost Children starts in a children's room.

It should be Christmas and the little boy, one's little brother was really excited about it, because he got to see Santa Claus. And this is were everything begun.

More than one Santa Claus was there, many came in there and the little boy got scared and started to cry and they took him with them.

One heard them and he run after them but there were just too many so he had to let him go.

One found his little brother one time in a trashcan which is really sad and since that he always looked after him and loved him as his little brother.

The reason why they took One's brother is because Krank got no dreams while he was sleeping and that annoys him so badly that he started to take children and get their dreams with a special machine.

At this time they tried it out with ones brother he is already searching for him and he found some other kids and one girl named Crumb helps him a lot.

They found the Labor were his brother is trapped.

One can not help a lot because he is to big so Crumb did all by herself

and helped the young children to get out of there .

At the end Crumb also gets a family member and she is really happy about it because she was a child who lived without her parents.

Well I will not tell you the end. When you want to know it, rent the movie and watch it by yourself. ;)

The movie was made in 1995 .The Director was Marc Caro and Jean -Pierre Jeunet.

The Cast includes Ron Perlman ,Daniel Emilfork,and Judith Vittet .

Was nominated 10 times and won twice.In 1996 they got the Golden Reel Adward for the movie.

Questions:

What does the film compare to an American film of the similar genre?How is it different?

I've never saw a movie like that before.It was kind of wired  I think the French peoples just have a different kind of humor.

Did you like the film?Why or why not?

I think it was not the best movie I've ever saw, for me it was just kind of weird and  didn't make really sence to me .It's just a really different kind of movie and maybe the only one in the world.

Was this film aesthetically beautiful?If yes ,how?If no,why not?

No ,I think you can't say that for that movie because it was more a sad movie with pain.So you not really can talk about something beautiful in it.

What does the film show about the French culture?Be specific.

I already said it in the first Question ,that I just think that the French people have a different kind of humor.For me it was just strange what for them something is to amuse.

Le Petit Nicolas

French: Le Petit Nicolas

English: The Little Nicolas

By Jordanna Segal

1.           a. The movie starts out in a classroom where the teacher asks the students to write an essay on what they want to be when they are older, but Nicolas has no answer because he loves his life how it is and wants no changes to his current way of living. Nicolas has a friend, Joachim, who's parents just had a baby boy. Nicolas's group of friends talk about how the Joachim is jealous of the newborn because he is afraid he will lose all of the attention and get sent to the woods, garage, or garden. Joachim says that the father started being nicer to the mother and took out the trash without nagging about it. Nicolas looked out of his bedroom early one morning and saw that his father was taking out the trash, so he concludes that he will have a new baby brother. He then goes on a mission to try and get his parents love and make sure that he won't be sent anywhere, but his mother is not pregnant.  


                   After a couple of attempts at trying to get his parents more caring of him, he gets in trouble for doing bad things like messing up the house, and decides to run away. He gets scared and runs back home. The children continue to try to impress Nicolas's mother, so they try and get a cleaning service that costs 500 francs. They come up with ways to make money including getting a child to drink some sort of liquid to lift a car and playing Roulette with random people, but the people won and they ran away. 


                  Soon after, Joachim comes with the newborn and shows him off saying how happy he is to have his brother. This makes Nicolas happy and excited because he still thinks that he is going to get a brother, but he isn't. This disappoints him greatly, so his father has to make weird faces and noises used odd objects to cheer his son up. One day, Nicolas comes home from work and his parents tell him that he is going to have a brother or a sister. It ends up being a girl, and Nicolas was expecting a boy so his plans of teaching his brother to play sports and boyish things were crushed. He soon gets jealous of his sister and insults her, but the parents and company take it as some funny comments. He figures out what he wants to do when he grows older: make people laugh. 
            
            b. This movie is a children's comedy
            c. Director- Laurent Tirard
               Actors- Main characters: Maxime Godart- Nicolas, Valerie Lemercier- Nicolas's mom, Kad Merad- Nicolas's dad, Vincent Claude- Alceste, Charles Vaillant- Geoffrey, Victor Carles- Clotaire, Benjamin Averty- Eudes, Germain Petit Damico- Rufus, Damien Ferdel- Agnan, and Virgile Tirad- Joachim. 
               Year produced- 2009
               Awards- Nominated for three, but didn't win any. Award: Cinema Brazil Grand Prize- Nominated in 2011, César- Nominated in 2010, and Audience Award- Nominated in 2010. 




2. (see left and below) 

^"Le Petit Nicolas" movie poster^ 

^Movie trailer for "Le Petit Nicolas"^

3.
4.        a. Did you like the film? Why or why not?
              To my surprise, I enjoyed the film. I enjoy the more happy movies, along with some action movies, and this was a happy, cheerful, and upbeat movie that was also a little comedic. The plot was easy to be like if you were to read the dialogue in English at the bottom of the screen. The movie provided unique characters including a fat kid, Alceste; a sleepy kid who's not very smart, Clotaire; a tattle tail, Agnan; and some children who's parents were rich, which includes: Geoffrey, Rufus, and Eudes. The movie makes it look like a normal school with a bunch of average kids having fun. 


*Below shows the children in line to go back into school*

           b. Was the film aesthetically beautiful? If yes, how so? If not, then why not?
               The film was entertaining, but it was no masterpiece. The movie showed no signs of beauty, just immature humor that I found funny. For a film to be beautiful it should for one have a mature plot line that has some romances progressing in it. This movie was more along the lines of "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" or some other children movie made in America. A beautiful film should go down in history and be remembered for a long amount of time, and I believe that this movie may go down in history, but it wasn't beautiful as it showed little to no signs of beauty.




 c. How does the film compare to an American film of a similar genre? How is it different?
               This film shows similar plot lines, but in France they dress a lot fancier. If I had to compare this movie to an American move, it would have to be "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" because it shows school life. In "Le Petit Nicolas" the children were allowed much more privileges; such as, walking alone, roaming the streets with friends around the city, and being allowed to stay home alone. In "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" the main character is allowed much less privileges and the parents have rules that are clear, but in the French movie I saw no signs of rules being set and little discipline being displayed. They show similarities by both being about young children (they look about 7-9 years old in "Le Petit Nicolas") going off on their imaginations and ideas and playing tricks on the adults. Also, both movies are unrealistic because a child can't lift nor drive a car and I can't think of a school that has cheese on the basketball court that nobody touches because it will give you a form of "cooties." 


             d. What are three major themes that the film addresses? How are those themes played out?
                 The film adresses a child, Nicolas, wanting his parents love and attention. This is played out by having Nicolas cause trouble and destruction to the household, say strange things like if he could have 500 francs so his parents would make his brother live in the woods instead of himself to his father's boss, and eventually getting his way. Another theme is the theme of Nicolas wanting a baby brother after seeing his friend, Joachim, so happy with his baby brother. This plays out by Nicolas coming home and confronting his parents about being excited and happy for having a new sibling soon, but they disappoint him by saying that's not going to happen. Nicolas is unhappy with this news, but his father cheers him up at dinner by making funny faces and noises. Another theme would be Clotaire succeeding in school, or at least being able to answer a question correctly. Clotaire is not the brightest, nor is he the one to stay out of trouble, so and ongoing plot is him being able to answer a question in class because he sleeps and is sent into the corner. At the end of the movie he answers the question right. The answer was "La Seine."


               e. What does this film show about the French culture? Be specific!
                   This movie shows that the French have a lot fancier uniforms than Americans do. An example would be the First Baptist uniform compared to shorts, a sweater vest or suit jacket, a collared shirt, and a bow tie or tie. In a driving scene it shows Nicolas's mother driving on the right side of a vehicle like they do in France. This movie didn't show the typical five meal a day eating schedule that France has, but instead showed heavy meals like America has. An example of this would be that they ate lobster and pasta. The school scenes showed that France's education is more strict than America's is and has more harsher punishments and advanced stuff for younger children. 


Sources: 

Movie-

• http://tubeplus.me/player/315963/Le_petit_Nicolas/

Pictures-

• https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiflbedR0W_gpnck5C61ByAMKUvH-fOXwhKHYKvKRqg4pcvml0Xho9G2zV_x5qkbIf4l4ucX0mIXpWqM42-qx_u3EBTZLnUCTmT41vXzvNR4MufJS7fto_ZLuE8cmzA2ZAQa3TH2jpB1kLT/s1600/Le+Petit+Nicolas.jpg
• http://content.internetvideoarchive.com/content/photos/7306/604547_257.jpg

La Femme Nikita--Sara Stansell

La Femme Nikita is based on a violent, drug addict, and psychotic girl who shot a police officer in his face to “save” the drug store that her and her companions were stealing from. She was sent to court to be convicted of her crimes she committed, and her sentence was death. She was then sent to some sort of basement to be injected with a “lethal toxin” but in all actuality, it was a sleeping drug. The government decides to take her over into a special program from which they only take violent people who they think have potential in being a secret agent. They plan her “funeral”, begin to train her into a spy, and her past life has now been left behind.

When she completes her training, it was her 23^rd birthday and she was sent out on her first mission to test her if she had learned anything. If she succeeded in assassinating the people she was after and got away without getting caught, she would then be sent out on her own to a top secret government agent. Sent out to live a normal life again was different for her. She fell in love with a grocery-store cashier and later married him without him knowing who she was and what she did for her job, kill people. He later then started to notice that she was acting weirder than normal and figured out what she had been doing the whole time. While they were on their honeymoon, she had also been on a mission. She finished the dangerous mission without getting killed herself. Becoming an agent taught her how to become a woman and helped her in the rest of her everyday life.

La Femme Nikita is an action/drama movie directed by Luc Besson in 1990. Anne Parillaud acts as Nikita, the main character, in the film. It had been nominated for many awards such as the Best Foreign film and the Best Foreign Language film but was the winner of the best actress award thanks to Anne Parillaud.












1) Did you like this film? Why or why not?
--This movie was very interesting. The only way I could keep up was because of the subtitles. They spoke so fast but I could pick up on a couple of words. It was very dramatic and full of excitement, which I like. It could have been a little better with the acting, but overall it was good.
2)How does the film compare to an American film of a similar genre? How is it different?
--By only watching one movie of a dramatic/action genre I can't really compare it to American drama/action movies because there are many movies that are totally different but have the same genre. Comparing with current movies today, I would have to say that they have the same intensity but it would have been better if they actors could actually act.
3)What are three major themes that the film addresses? How are these themes played out?
--When Nikita is taken in by the government and given a second chance, it shows that the government , or any other person cares for you no matter how messed up you can be. There aren't always second chances, and when they do come up, you don't always want to risk taking them, but by Nikita taking the second chance at life it turns out that she was better off. She also proves to us there there is love everywhere. She accidentally falls in love with a grocery store cashier even though she is supposed to be focusing on her mission. No matter what, you can't stop love.
4)What does the film show about the french culture?
--Just like in America, there are movies that involve shooting and violence. This could possibly be one of the reasons society is so violent today because of our media. it also show that action movies like "La Femme Nikita" are internationally loved by all. Films such as this shows the French aren't that different from us when it comes to the movies we like.