catching up with the killers

I wasn't sure if my blog entry about them before would count as a response to the films. My first reaction to seeing the 1960's adaptation was"dragnet," turns out the director was one of the co creators. I enjoyed the 1940's version but I didn't care for the liberties taken with the backstory of each character. I think other routes could have been possible, it could have gone towards the gangster genre in different ways, it could have gone into other genres. I guess thats why its a good story to adapt, so much leway is granted with it being such a minimal story. I imagine The Killers may have a few more revivals left in it.

brokeback mountain

Out of all the movies we've watched in class I would say that Brokeback Mountain was the most loyal adaptation. The short story is around twenty pages but the movie uses it almost verbatim. There is more background and chances to learn about Jack Twist. Giving his character a stronger back story while still keeping somewhat of an emphasis on Ennis Del Marr. I thought the movie was visually stunning, the images of Montana gave it a feel of a very beautiful and very isolated way of living. The story playing out in this setting of perfect wilderness puts more emphasis on how the relationship played out. Ennis alone seems to be in a lot of gray toned scenes, namely on his ranch homes, living above the town laundromat and visiting Jack's parents. When Jack was in scenes their was still a certain amount of color in the backgrounds but they all had a sense of discomfort, particularly if you're Jack Twist; a sub par rodeo cowboy who married into money and became a salesman who seemed to want control of his own life more than anything. Ennis believed he was going to marry Alma, Jack believed he'd be a cowboy. When neither could make their lives what they wanted they could however go get away together and be themselves, and that's when the scenery of the movie becomes most colorful and natural. I suppose that common connection is what drove their relationship.
I was hesitant to ever see this movie when it came out and waited a long time to see it because I cared less for the hype surrounding it then the actual controversial subject matter. I had no interest in giving an opinion on how controversial the main characters are. In all honesty I thought it hypocritical to praise heterosexual actors Jake Gylenthal and Heath Ledger for playing gay characters when so many homosexual actors are expected to play heterosexual roles(Rudolph Valentino, Rock Hudson, Neal-Patrick Harris.) The two actors portrayed themselves as being professionals who ignored the controversy. Is there any connection between the actors follow up roles playing a Marine(Jarhead) and Casanova, the great lover of women. The lack of public outcry is what I enjoyed about the short story. the story felt more like thee story of one man. The visual aspects and use of setting are what I enjoyed about the movie. Giving a semblance of equal back story makes it more of a love story.

The Life of Ennis Del Marr

The short story "Brokeback Mountain" seemed less like a love story than the story of Ennis. It wasn't a balanced back and forth story of the two men. Alma the wife of Ennis is introduced where Lurleen, Jacks wife is only introduced when she speaks to Ennis for the first time. Nothing is really learned about Jack Twist unless it's learned through Ennis. Jack is either describing his life or upbringing to Ennis or Ennis is remembering a particular story about Jack. The story is obvious about what Jack Twist wants, the two men to have a ranch and be together as they were the few months they herded sheep. Ennis won't even consider it, describing his disciplinarian father, not unlike Jack's. Ennis goes on about two local men he knew as a kid one of which turned up viciously murdered. By the end of the story Jack turns up dead himself and Ennis is left with horrible thoughts of Jack being beaten to death.
I took the two characters as ashamed and hypocritical men. Their motivations and average behavior show more than that going on. they both had hard upbringings, they were both outsiders, and neither one related to anyone else but the other. Again Jack had no confusion about what he wanted, Ennis was the one who was confused.

What the hell Raymond Carver?

I've read Raymond Carter now, I've watched Raymond Carver's movie about his stories and damn. When you read about the male leads like the father in Jerry and Molly and Sam who destructively solves his problems; and you watch Chris Penn as this emasculated husband with a look on his face like he just wants to run free into the woods and live off the land Raymond Carver knew the mind of the repressed man. His characters aren't these moral figures who overcome adversity. They've compromised some part of themselves and these two men Raymond Carver created resent it. They both exist in a world with little control of their own unless it's crazed reckless decisions they make. writing about a person's inability to maintain control is another theme for Carver.
"A Small Good Thing" is about two parents and the lack of control they have when their son is hit by a random car. The story is also portrayed in "Short Cuts" but the nervous mood wasn't as strong in the movie. The random couple watches their son die days later, only to be comforted by a baker, unknowingly harassing them. The circumstances are beyond the control of the characters and this again feels like another theme of Raymond Carver's.
One of the overlapping stories portrayed in the movie is of three men who want nothing more out of life than to enjoy their weekend vacation fishing. discovering a woman who died unrelated to them is discovered in the water near their fishing spot. To make the most of this simple pleasure they want, they secure the body until they're done fishing two days later. (This leads to my suspicion that "Weekend at Bernie's may have been vague adaptation of this specific story)On the one hand these men never did anything to the dead woman they found, it isn't their fault a body turned up at their spot. On the other hand the girl is most certainly missing and someone wants to know where she is and if shes alright.
In summation, Raymond Carver is a son-of-a-bitch. He presents life changing scenarios to ordinary everyday people. Often as in real life the right decision's aren't made but the repercussions still exist. I suppose my biggest gripe with Raymond Carver is his honesty and ability to portray human beings as flawed without being evil villains. Damn him and the characters psyche that he flushes out so damn well.

John Updike, Ernest Hemingway and Tobias Wolff walk into a bar...

I apologize for no clever joke, but after picking these three authors at random they told stories that with enough imagination could easily intertwine. I read the Tobias Wolff story "Powder," which was only five pages. It's a five page story and the reason I chose it is because I wanted to read stories that could force imagination the way "The Killers" had. The story seems straightforward, father and son go skiing and dad seems determined to get his son home for Christmas in the midst of a snow storm. So determined they sneak through a highway roadblock. Small details come to light throughout the story. You realize they get stuck in this snow storm because the father was getting in a good day of skiing. You realize the father needs to get his son home because he is struggling to keep his marriage together. The story ends without saying if they make it home or not, which I suppose is irrelevant. The boy in the story is still young enough to be amazed by his father's skill at handling the car in this storm, and how amazing the sight and feeling was when it happened. When I was ten I went to Colorado to visit parents friends. When I was there I got to go for a ride in this tiny little classic red MG. The weather wasn't dangerous but to come along those mountain sides and to imagine this father doing the same sort of thing with near reckless abandon is well, impressive on a level. The John Updike story I chose turned out to be a story about a slightly older boy making his own decisions.
In all honesty I chose John Updike because I recognized his name as a guest on The Simpson's. When I researched his name I was very sad to see he had just passed and we did not get the chance to be formally introduced. With John Updike's passing I wanted to read one of his earlier stories so I chose "A&P," published about 1961. The story is an account of a teenage boy trying to make a stand in the name of or either to impress three bikini clad teenage girls in a A&P he works at. The boy describes the physical features of the girls in detail. He is overcome with want for them but totally intimidated by their presence. When his boss and a family friend embarrasses the prettiest of the three, the boy quits. He makes a public show, unties his apron, tells his boss a thing or two and becomes a champion for the downtrodden everywhere. And everyone knows your reward when you make this decision is three bikini clad teenage girls. However the young man realizes shortly after going outside his display was for nothing; they were long gone. as he stands there seeing his boss doing his job he realizes he made his heroic stand not for himself but to impress girls, a valuable lesson. He's left with a short of empty feeling and realizing his life won't get any easier after that moment. This simple moment is not unlike the last story I read by Ernest Hemingway.
"Old Man at the Bridge" has a strange calm to it when I read it. The narrator is a soldier sent out to explore the enemy advance when he is confronted by this old man at a pontoon bridge. The old man goes on to say he's seventy six, without politics, and was the last to leave his town because he was taking care of animals. The man goes on to talk about his animals, probably more than the soldier was paying attention too. His home was being destroyed with artillery and the concern he repeats is for his animals that he had to abandon. It ends without a climax, only the image of a lonely old man sitting in the road thinking of the things he took care of being lost to him now.
The three stories, separate could be spun into the same life with enough creativity from Hollywood. Maybe wrap his life up with a Faulkner story so this man seems truly tragic.

the sky is literally gray

After watching the film version of "The Sky is Gray" I would have to say that is is probably the most literal adaptation and also for me the most disappointing. When I read the story I felt a stronger connection with the characters and the their struggle. The verbatim film took away that connection. The movie felt like a two dimensional story about the hardships of the segregated south. Racism is a serious issue addressed in the story but it's one of many serious issue's. The story addresses poverty, women's rights, and religion. the movie brings these issues up but not in the way the story does, from the point of view of James, the eight year old being taught how to be a man. The movie felt more like a "back in my day..." tale from a grandparent. The story Ernest Gaines wrote was real. Gaines made me relate to the weight and severity of this family's decisions. The movie shows the hard life and choices this family makes, but not having James narrate the story looses some of the realism. His not understanding a grown up world makes Ernest Gaines story authentic, the movie is recycled sentiment. The story is what teaches, the movie though faithful in its interpretation, loses its authenticity.

She's One Tough Motha...

The first page and all the imagery of rural Louisiana immediately brought to mind Faulkner describing the living conditions for Jackson Fentry in "Tomorrow." To hear such a serious story from an innocent eight year old boys perspective makes the difference. He doesn't necessarily understand why his mother behaves so but Gaines gives significant details about who she was and is. The Minuit details of how the mother carried herself showed so much of her personality. She was obviously raising a family alone, her husband was "in the army," hinting that the father was dead or at least long gone. The son saying that his mother use to stay up late and now she seems to worry all the time, I have those friends at home. People who are forced to grow up faster than they are ready too, is that what made the mother so angry to hit her son with a switch when he wasn't ready to kill small birds? Is she hard on her son because she wasn't prepared to grow up to be a single mother with a mess of children, are they then growing up together? I think the mother leads an exhausted life with a lot going on in her head and doesn't see a change, so she is preparing her boy for the same life. She gets frustrated with her son because he is young and doesn't want to do certain things. She's young and doesn't want to do certain things as well. The mother was the most interesting character in this story because she was described by a small boy who didn't know everything that was happening inside his mothers head.