Movie Presentation cont.

          I had a lot of thoughts while putting together my presentation on James Franco's film adaptation of As I lay Dying and I really wanted to do a post but had to wait until after I presented so everyone would know what I'm talking about/I wouldn't spoil anything. Also forgive me if I repeat things I said in class. 

          To give you a context for my reactions to the film, I'm going to describe how I came into contact with it because I think the atmosphere you watch something in definitley affects how you feel about it and how it affects you. In order to do my presentation I bought the film and watched it by myself in my living room (which has a fairly large flatscreen). It was around 9 or so at night, and I sat on the couch with a notebook on my lap and all the lights on (I'm really glad I left the lights on because otherwise I would've ended up in a ball on the floor). At one point, my dad came in to tell me something. Before he actually came into the room I could feel him standing in the doorway and it really irritated me. It's hard to describe, but I didn't want him to see any part of what I was watching since he wasn't familiar with it and I was in the middle of the film, which actually relates to what Isaak was saying during discussion about the movie not seeming to be made for people who hadn't read the book. He was sort of interrupting the intensity of the movie. Usually I like watching really depressing or really scary movies with other people around because it sort of calms me down and reminds me that what's going on isn't real. But, with this movie, even though I had such a hard time with it I'm really glad I watched it by myself. It's very unique in that it really doesn't have the same feel or leave the same impression as other films that might be in the same category or deal with similar themes. It's a film that gives you a lot to contemplate and for me, at least, that definitely was more effective in solitude (actually not quite true, my dog did sit on the couch with me for part of it). 

          A few people in class commented that the elements that accentuated the depth of the darkness in the film were really unnecessary and that Franco should have maintained some of the more humorous tones that are in the book. This is a movie that its hard to get the full feel of it without watching the entire thing start to finish, but I disagree that Franco should've put in more humor. While it isn't exactly the same as the book, while you're watching it it doesn't feel like it should have been presented in any other way. The really tough scenes (which I didn't show any of) especially tie all the effects Franco uses together. They make you feel like, yes, this really is as tough as what I'm seeing and the members of the family really are going through this much crap and there isn't really anything great about the journey or anything to laugh at. A scene that just made a weight fall on my chest- I never cried during the movie, it was heavy but it wasn't a crying movie- was when Dewey Dell goes to the pharmacy and then later goes to the cellar. It actually shows MacGowan in the act of raping her and he's talking to her while he's doing it and you just see this look of complete loss and desperation on Dewey Dell's face. Seeing these more graphic and heartbreaking scenes- another being all the scenes having to do with Cash's leg- makes you feel like the "creepy" music and slow motion and everything totally fits. In response to what Shaleen said about the scene with Darl being humorous, it's doesn't seem so funny when you watch the film because it's right around Cash's leg being cut off. 

          I could go on for pages about my responses to the film but I think this is a good stopping point. I just wanted to get in a few things that I couldn't really talk about in class. 

Busybody

         Cora is a character we don't really get a lot on as we continue later in the book. She does provide some deep insight into various Bundrens, but at the same time she is a very comedic. I picture her as the typical busybody neighbor. Cora's nosy ways and opinion of herself as being morally superior remind me a lot of a character in Anne of Green Gables named Rachel Lynde. She's the neighbor of the Cuthberts who involves herself in everything that's going on and is always gossiping. She's very tough on Anne, making rude comments about her and criticizing her for everything. I distinctly remember one part of the story where the Cuthberts' cow had gotten loose and into Rachel's cabbages. She completely blamed Anne and yelled at her about it even though it wasn't her fault. She also unnecessarily said Anne's hair looked like a carrot- which she was very sensitive about. Even though Rachel means well, she comes off as not very likable.
          Cora doesn't really have much to entertain herself outside of work around the house/farm, and they live in the country so she preoccupies herself with getting into the business of the closest people to her- the Bundrens. She seems to have a strong moral compass and an opinion on everything the Bundrens do. One particularly strong example is her opinions on Addie's religious stance. There are multiple times when we get glimpses back to when Addie was healthy and she was discussing religion with Cora (both from Addie and Cora's perspectives). Cora took it upon herself to save Addie. She tries to convince Addie to put herself in God's hands and rethink her sinful and cynical ways. She says that Addie can't make judgements because that's God's job. This seems a bit contradictory considering that Cora herself is judging Addie. However, Addie thinks about sin and religion much differently than Cora does. It's almost like she actually completely ambivalent on the inside but puts on this mask of having some kind of religious belief since Cora (and Whitfield?) care about religion a lot.
         

Poor Old Anse

          While every character in Faulkner's As I Lay Dying is fascinating and complex, Anse is particularly so. One thing about him that I've really been wanting to focus on is his lack of work ethic which people (in and outside of the book) tend to give him so much grief for. 

          The main thing readers of this novel tend to laugh at is Anse's inability to sweat. It's mentioned in the novel by multiple characters that Anse will supposedly perish if he sweats due to a case of sunstroke when he was younger. Although this story does sound ridiculous, Anse doesn't seem like the type to just completely make something up. So, I took it upon myself to do a little research on psychological conditions. I came to the conclusion that Anse has a psychosomatic disorder, meaning a disease affecting the mind and the body. Physical symptoms of psychosomatic disorders stem from the mind. And, according to patient.co.uk "Your current mental state can affect how bad a physical disease is at any time." I think that after his sunstroke trauma when he was younger, Anse became convinced that sweating was bad for him which probably brought on severe physical symptoms when he did so. These also would have been aggravated by Anse's stress over Addie and the family. 

          Aside from having a psychosomatic disorder, there are other reasons why Anse is always sitting around. He is not in great shape. He definitely has arthritis (a reason for constantly rubbing his knees) and isn't getting any younger. He doesn't have any teeth, and Darl describes for us in detail the state of his feet which are somewhat crippled and warped from years of work previously. Taking all of these factors into account, it's understandable why Anse seems to be so slow and lazy. He has a lot of issues and doesn't deserve to be made fun of for them.