Every person is connected through experiencing hardships and them finding themselves again after their suffering.

Every person is connected through experiencing hardships and them finding themselves again after their suffering.

Media:
          Technology and media has allowed people to share their stories and connect around the world. People have always been connected but it is more than ever now. From the beginning of time, humans have made connections with other humans and other living things. "We [people] are actually soft wired to actually experience an other's plight as if we are experiencing is ourselves" (Rifkin, The Empathic Civilization). People connect with each other through empathy and other shared emotions. Rifkin is saying humans can see another experiencing an emotion and feel it themselves. This sharing of emotions allows people to make connections and understand something that one would never experience. Sharing emotions just by reading facial expressions and nonverbal cues can go even farther. If people from completely different backgrounds shared their stories with each other, those two people would share a strong connection. "We need, for example, empathy museums. A place which is not about dusty exhibits... but an experiential and conversational public space. Where you walk in and in the first room there is a human library where you can borrow people for conversation" (Krznaric, The Power of Outrospection). A human library would allow people that would never meet in actuality to share experiences. This sharing of stories can increase understanding and make people empathize. Many people are ignorant to ideas that don't directly impact their lives. Everything is connected and, in some small way, everything impacts everyone. By understanding more about the worlds struggles, more people would be willing to help and make it better. People are starting to move into this direction by utilizing technology. The physical human library is an idea that is hard to create, but a virtual one on the Internet for everyone to access is possible. "The Empathy Library is the world's first online empathy collection and a treasure house for catapulting your imagination into other people's lives. What might it be like to be a child growing up in Tehran, or to be born without sight, or to be a soldier fighting someone else's war? The library takes you on there journeys into unknown worlds" (Krznaric). The human library exists and allows people to connect in ways they never could before. People with completely different backgrounds and life experiences can find connections world wide. Sharing pains and stories helps heal people. Healing and connecting with others has always been a part of human nature but now this ability can be via the Internet too.

Smoke Signals:
          Everyone experiences hardships like poverty and alcoholism but there is hope even in the worst places to make a better life. Indian reservations are the most impoverished places in America. Alcoholism, gambling, and poverty are rampant and everyone suffers to some extent. Aaron Huey visited the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and took pictures of the terrible conditions people live in. In one of the images there is a man sleeping on an old, torn up couch cushions and the only other possessions in the house is a dirty table and an old chair. There is alcohol and other empty bottles on the table (Huey). This man is in incredible poverty and is driven to alcoholism. He has very few possessions and what he owns is damages or broken. The alcoholism is a natural response and a common self medication on reservations. Reservations seem to be their own country because of their suffering. America often ignores these poverty pits and focuses on other problems. "'Y'all got your passports?... Yeah, you're leavin' the rez and goin' into a whole different country, cousin'" (Smoke Signals). People are isolated and the cycle of depression and poverty is allowed to continue uninterrupted. Not much is done to improve conditions and, to the residents, America seems to ignore them. That isn't to say that the residents give up. For some, leaving the reservation is finding a better life, while others find the good in the bad. In Smoke Signals, Thomas lives on a reservation and could hate his life like his friend, Victor, but he chooses to be happy. Thomas says "some days, it's a good day to die. And some days, it's a good day to have breakfast" (Smoke Signals). Thomas loses his parents as a baby and has so many reasons to fall into depression but he doesn't. He is happy and tries to share that with Victor. Thomas is a living example to Victor. Even when everything is lost, there is a way to heal and find happiness in life. 

Seven Pounds:
          Moving on from suffering means accepting what has happened and finding a new path to follow. Healing can come in many different forms but many include paying for the wrongs someone has done. Karma is one of the central ideas for healing. The idea that people have good and bad karma depending on their actions. Good deeds cancel out bad deeds and the reverse. "It's a cause and effect. Karma is learning from experience... When you do things to pay back your karmic debts, pay them back with interest. Go above and beyond the call of duty" (Psychics Universe). Every action has multiple sides and can be negative or positive. People want to get rid of their bad karma so better things happen in their life and so they can move on. Guilt can eat at people and stop them from moving on. In Seven Pounds, Ben Thomas has awful karma and feels incredibly guilty. He is responsible for a car crash that kills seven people. "Ken Anderson, Nicole Anderson, Ally Anderson, Ed Right, Steven Phillip, Monica Freedman, and Sarah Jensen..." (Seven Pounds). Ben repeats there names to keep him on track. It reminds him of what he did and why he wants to save seven people. Ben begins paying back his karmic debt by donating himself to other people. He gives parts of his lungs and liver away. He picks seven strangers to give his organs to. One of them is Emily Posa who is dying of heart failure. She asks Ben if he ever thinks about dying and he says "every now and again... I lied to you. I think about dying everyday" (Seven Pounds). Ben thinks about what he has done everyday and it haunts him. He has found a way to move on by sacrificing himself but it is still a part of him. He is accepting what he did by dying himself and saving seven people in the process. His choose his new path to fix what he has done.

Ceremony:
          Religion and family can be a great source to heal and find oneself again after suffering. There are many ways to find oneself and heal after going through a hardship. Religion and stories are often what people turn to when they are need of hope and inspiration. "Throughout the novel, Tayo's own difficulties are being mirrored by those of the characters in the poems. Both are struggling with drought, loss, and a disconnect between the way things are and the way things should be, which is the source of all the problems, and both learn to heal there problems by rediscovering their roots and participating in ceremonies that are designed to reconnect them to the truths that they all have lost sight of" (Gardner). Tayo has suffered through war and now a drought. He is lost and looks to the Laguna Pueblo traditions to heal him. The poems are stories of people who have suffered and healed. Tayo follows these examples, completes his ceremony, and finds himself again. He accepts himself, scars and all. "..Thought-Woman/ is sitting in her room/ and whatever she thinks about /appear. /...They created the Universe/ this world/ and the four worlds below" (Silko 1). Ceremony starts with this poem about creating the universe. It is back to the beginning and that is where Tayo must start in order to heal. Looking at these old stories and seeing where his evil came from helps Tayo understand what he has to do. He begins healing when he understands what went wrong and how he can fix it. Tayo has many dreams that help him in his journey. "[Tayo's uncle] Josiah was driving the wagon, Old Grandma was holding him, Rocky whispered 'my brother'. They were taking him home" (Silko 254). Tayo also looks to his family to help him heal. Their stories and support help him overcome his struggles. Going back to ones roots is a great starting place to begin again.

Reel Injun:
          We are all humans and all experience the same pains and joys in life. People are the same when it comes down to it. People are all one species and the differences are irrelevant. Throughout history people have been oppressed by these little differences. Native people in America have suffered from this ever since settlers came over. "[The settlers] used war, history books, textbooks, and when film came around they used film... how many of us are trying to protect our identity of being indian... we are starting not to recognize ourselves" (Trudell). Being indian has become an identity when it shouldn't be. People are people and not whites, blacks, and indians. These labels have people believing there are different types of humans. These differences seem to make it okay to fight. If someone is different, they are less. Russell Means in Reel Injun recalls a time when he went to see a western movie with his brother when they were younger. "And we'd come out of those theaters after the, uh, cavalry had rescued the white people, and all of a sudden we'd hear, 'There's those Indians,' and we'd start fighting. We has to fight them white kids. Every Saturday we knew we was gonna get in a fight" (Means, Reel Injun). These children are not the evil indians depicted in the film but they are attacked. The kids attacking them have more in common with the kids they are hurting than the people white calvary in the movie. They live in the same place, go to the same school, and share some of the same values. People all experience pain and joy in life. These little differences shouldn't be a big deal. John Trudell says "We're not Indians and we're not Native Americans. We're older than both concepts. We're the people, we're the human beings" (Reel Injun). Trudell sums it up perfectly. Everyone is the same when it comes down to it. From that, people are all connected by their similarities and experiences.

The Balance of Life and Death

There is an equal but opposite side to every event people experience in life. Life is a balance of good and bad. Some people believe in karma, e idea that ones actions directly impact their future. People who do good things get good in return while people who make bad decisions and harm others will get punished by the universe later in life. In the end there is even an opposite to life. Everything that lives will eventually die. Tim, in Seven Pounds, experiences this fragile balance first hand. On the night he proposes to Sarah Jensen, he is looking at his phone while driving and ends up killing seven people including Sarah. Tim decides he needs to suffer and pay for what he has done. After creating a secret plan, gives up going by Tim and becomes his brother Ben. With the help of his brothers IRS credentials, the new Ben sets out to change the lives of seven people and right his wrongs. He is trying to rebalance his world. The use of duality throughout the film in symbols, parallel editing, and diegesis demonstrates the imbalance of life and death that Ben is trying to right.

Throughout Seven Pounds, there are several symbols that have a dual meanings. From the first scene, the ocean is important. The audience hasn't even seen Ben yet but it is implied the voice-over and figure swimming in the ocean is him. The shot is from the bottom of the ocean with one spot of light in the top corner of the shot. A figure is swimming towards that spot of light (Seven Pounds). This shot implies hope for Ben. He is able to swim towards the light instead of being swallowed up by the dark ocean. The ocean appears in a few different scenes throughout Seven Pounds in various conditions. When the ocean is calm like in the open scene it shows hope and peace. When Ben looks at the ocean after the crash it is rough and chaotic just like how his life feels. The ocean in the film mirrors what Ben experiences. When the ocean is used as a symbol it often refers to life and balance. It has tides that go in and out just like life has its ups and downs. The salt water will often lead into salt tears and eyes. Eyes are another symbol that has multiple meanings. Ben chooses to donate his eyes to a stranger and picks Ezra. Ezra is a blind man who is lonely but the waitress he could love can't seem to get past his disability. When Ben asks him why he doesn't ask the waitress out, Ezra says "uh...no...I don't, I don't think she sees me" (Seven Pounds). Ezra is the blind one but he is able to see people better that a woman who has working eyes. Eyes are often referred to the gateway to the soul. Ezra is able to see peoples souls without seeing eyes while everyone else struggles to see past the surface. Another vital part of humans is their heart. Ben donates his heart to Emily, a woman with a failing heart and a rare blood type. After Emily gets Ben's heart there is a scene of her in the bathtub. Emily sits very still and lowers her ears under the water so she can hear his heart beating in her chest keeping her alive (Seven Pounds). The literal heart saved Emily's live but so did loving Ben. He gave her his heart both literally and fugitively. Ben loved Emily enough to finish his quest and give her the life that she wanted to have. But they couldn't both survive. Ben chooses to sacrifice himself but in a unique way. Ben chooses to die by the sting of his pet jelly fish. He has been holding onto death for years waiting for the right moment. Ben admires the Box Jellyfish and says "the first time I ever saw a Box Jellyfish I was twelve. My father took us to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. I never forgot when he said they were the most deadly creature on earth. To me it was just... the most beautiful thing I had ever seen" (Seven Pounds). The jellyfish is a simple organism with no organs or emotions. It kills and consumes what it destroys. It is death, but it is also beauty. It is hard to imagine something beautiful coming out of death but they way it moves and just lives by floating in the ocean is mesmerizing. Ben is attracted to this beauty and this is what eventually causes his death. Symbols are often used to give stories more meaning but Seven Pounds also uses it to connect two stories. 

Parallel editing is a great way to tie two story lines together. In Seven Pounds, everything connects to death and the car crash that Ben caused. The crash is the cause of Ben's quest to right his world before dying. Everything he does makes up for the mistake he made. Ben carefully calculates every part of his death. He even tested out the bathtub he was going to die in. After Ben calls the ambulance to come get his heart and eye, he begins to prepare his final resting place. To preserve his organs, Ben dumps ice into the bathtub. The ice spreads out into the water as the tub fills up (Seven Pounds). The ice has a direct correlation to the car crash and the shattered glass. The ice is  scattered around Ben like it was Sarah, his fiancé. They are both surrounded by glass. Ice is often seen as ice because it shatters and it clear like glass. When Sarah dies, Ben goes over to touch her arm. To hold her hand and wake her up. Sarah is lying crumpled on the ground surrounded by shattered glass. Ben crawls over to her and touches her arm. In the parallel scene where Ben is dying, the Box Jellyfish is grabbing Ben's arm. The tentacles line up with the veins in Ben's arm and it stings him (Seven Pounds). The two images are comforting but they both end in death. Ben dies because of the jellyfish sting and Sarah dies from the crash. In both cases holding onto their arm is significant and almost a comfort before dying. As each person dies there is a series of shots that connect Ben, Emily, and Sarah together. The shots alternate from Sarah lying on the dark road surrounded by glass to Ben brain dead in the hospital nearly frozen and donating his heart to Emily still barely alive going into the hospital to receive the heart. There is a heartbeat playing in the background along with the beeping of the heart rate monitor. After flashing through the images quickly the heartbeat stops and the flatline noise is all that the audience hears (Seven Pounds). At this moment all three of the characters are dead. Ben, Emily, and Sarah are all gone for a moment. Emily gets Ben's heart and comes back but for a moment everything alines. There is also a duality where Ben dies so Emily can live. One of them had to die and Ben made it him. Emily understands this sacrifice and in one of the closing scenes takes a moment to listen to the heart. Emily is in her bathtub. It is rounded and light as opposed to Ben's coffin shaped bathtub. Emily lies very still and lowers her ears under the water. She can hear Ben's heart beating in her chest. The heartbeat sound gets louder and Emily's face begins to relax (Seven Pounds). Emily finally understands everything Ben did and why he dies for her. She feels his heart beating in her chest. His life became her life. The heart gave her the chance to live. The parallel editing allows the two stories to coexist by overlapping two story lines. 

Seven Pounds would not have the impact is does with out diegesis. Diegesis is what is used to fill the set and give the audience clues to what is going on in the actors head. Colors, music, and lighting can all indicate diegesis ideas that aren't explicitly explained. Each scene in Seven Pounds has these objects or specific types of editing that give it deeper meanings. Ben is very conflicted throughout the film. He is doing a great thing by donating parts of himself to people he has never met but he is haunted by what he caused. In almost every scene Ben's face is half-lit (Seven Pounds). This shows the light and dark in Ben's life. One side is hopeful and light because he is doing a great thing by donating his organs. He is significantly improving people's lives and it is light. The dark is the reason he feels compelled to donate himself. He is the reason for the car accident and he kills seven people. His one mistake cost him and seven people their lives. Ben's beach house is a good reflection of who he is. On the outside Ben looks alive, but inside he is dying. The beach house has beautiful gardens that are blooming and full of life, but inside the house it is dark and empty (Seven Pounds). Ben gives people hope of a better future and looks alive. He puts on the face so people don't worry about him while inside he is hurting. He lost his fiancé and killed six other people. He is filled with pain and loss. He is empty like his house. Emily is the opposite. She is alive on the inside but appears to be dying. Her heart condition makes her look sick and weak but her spirit and home send another message. Emily's house is full of family pictures, bright color and life (Seven Pounds). Emily wants to live and doesn't let the death that haunts her control her life. She is constantly battling her sickly appearance with her lively personality. Everything about Emily is alive. She makes Ben feel alive and she is surrounded by flowers and family. Emily is life but she is forced to think about death all the time with her heart condition. She asks Ben if he ever thinks about dying and he says "Every now and again...I lied to you. I think about dying everyday" (Seven Pounds). Ben has the full potential to live but wants to die where as Emily is near the end of her life and wants to continue living life to its fullest. Emily wants to go running and travel without having to worry about her heart. The diegesis shows the live and death duality in Ben and Emily's life. They want their life to end in completely different ways and it is all tied in the balance of life and death. 

Ben kills and saves seven people in three years before dying himself. Ken Anderson, Nicole Anderson, Ally Anderson, Ed Right, Steven Phillip, Monica Freedman, and Sarah Jensen all die in the car crash he causes. To repay his dept to the universe and rebalance his world, Ben gives part of his lung to his brother, part of his liver to a social worker named Holly, a kidney to hockey coach George who makes a team for inner-city kids, his house to the abused mother Connie and her kids, bone marrow to a little boy, his eyes to a blind man, Ezra, and his heart to Emily Posa.  It is simply one for one. One person is saved for every one person lost. Symbols, parallel editing, and diegesis connect the life and death in Ben's life. Life is a balancing act with good and bad. Film analysis allows the audience to see ever scene in a different light. The director, producer, editor, and everyone else involved in making the film put certain objects and moods into the film in order to evoke stronger emotions and pass on a message. Seven Pounds shows the world that there is balance in everything. Ben takes 'an eye for an eye' to a new level. People make mistakes and it may drastically change their lives. These changes might not always be a bad thing. It is just the reaction to the initial action. There is two sides to everything in life and in death. 

Mise-en-scene and Cinematography

Television is not often thought of as film or something that can be analyzed with literature. Many of todays shows focus on pleasing an audience instead of creating a grammy worthy film. That doesn't mean the same elements can go into its filming. Top dramas to ridiculous sitcoms have elements of a great film that deserves to be analyzed.


In this first image there is a deep space element which is a part of mise-en-scene. Taken from Game of Thrones, the image shows a castle that the charaters are approaching that is up in flames. The deep spaces shows how far the characters still have to go and what they still have to accomplish. The path ahead isn't what they expected and they will have to fix the chaos they are coming to.





Lighting can also indicate mise-en-scene. In this scene from Grey's Anatomy, the woman, Meredith, is in a coma and deciding weather or not to stay dead. The episode up to this point was dark and rainy. This is the first time where the scene is lit up with high-key lighting. It gives the audience a feeling of peace. She is almost in a godly place and the bright lights help portray that idea.




The opposite of high-key lighting is low-key lighting. In this image from Criminal Minds the man is kidnapping a girl after threatening and killing her family. He is a truly awful person and the lighting embraces that idea by creating a dark scene. The idea is to make the scene as dark as possible while still having the audience see the actions. It makes it hard to see and connect with the man as well as creating an eerie feel.

Mise-en-scene is all about the details. Costumes can send the audience subconscious messages. The character in this image is always angry and used to getting whatever he wants. He also has no mercy for anyone and when he feels threatened he wants that persons blood. The red overcoat and red tint to his hair can hint at his anger and want for violence. He is sitting on a throne and wearing a crown which shows how powerful he is weather or not he deserves it.

Decore is another way to hint at ideas. In the image there is an extravagant feast with gold glasses and candles. The clothing and candle light shows the era the show is said to be set in and the bounty of food shows the wealth of the family hosting. The main table and all the tables behind it are covered in more food than anyone could imagine eating. The idea of excess and the fine glasses and plates show wealth and power.


Cinematography is another element of film analysis and is definitely used in television shows. One camera trick that is used often is the zoom shot. In this How I Met Your Mother scene, the camera slowly zooms in on the yellow umbrella where the mystery girl who becomes the mother is hiding. In a sea of black umbrellas, the camera picks one to focus on. The audience never gets to see past the umbrella but its importance is emphasized do to the increased focus on the one umbrella.  

Another good way to focus on a key aspect of the show is by using an extreme close up shot. In House, MD.  this image shows a sick woman. The camera proceeds to go into her nose and show the audience what is wrong with her. Her illness is the focus and the whole episode is spent trying to figure out what it making her sick.




The depth of field might also emphasis an emotion or important piece of the episode.  This image shows Sherlock pointing a gun at Moriarty and his shock. The gun isn't in focus and neither is the background. This is where Moriarty almost loses his game. It is a turning point for him and all of the focus is on him.




Framing is another way to place focus on an event. In How I Met Your Mother two of the characters get married. The whole scene is shot in close ups and shots from above. The angle of framing gives the scene an intimate feel. The audience is able to look on and see the happiness. It's a looking over shot.

In the final image there is a point of view shot. The camera is looking through Meredith's eyes to her husband being held at gunpoint. It is an intense scene and seeing it through her eyes makes it more real. The emotion is more raw when it is seen through a characters eyes.

Music Videos

There was a lot of great music videos shown in class this past week. One of the most surprising videos I saw was Swimming Pools by Kendrick Lamar. Whenever I heard the song before seeing the video or hearing is analyzed I just assumed it was a song about getting drunk and having a crazy night. The auteur has a completely different message. It is about struggling with addiction and how alcohol can ruin a family. Seeing the video blew me away and I will never be able to listen to that song again without thinking of the auteur's message. It had very strong shots that helped portray the message. There is one with Kendrick Lamar sitting alone in a room with only a bottle of half empty liquor. He looks so alone and beaten down. The alcohol is the center of it. The light puts a focus on the bottle. It isn't the only object in the room but the eye is drawn to it.


The video with the most interesting editing was Just a Dream by Carrie Underwood. The scene where her wedding dress becomes the funeral dress is amazingly done and finally reviles the true message behind the song. It flips back and forth constantly between the past and the present. The lyrics don't give away too much of the real meaning but the video hints at it a few times. It is hard to tell if it is a wedding or a funeral for most of the video but the edited transformation scene gives it away.


Diegesis and mise-en-scene can go hand in hand and the music video that I thought best showed them both was Jar of Hearts by Christina Perri. The song is a pop song and became very successful. This was Christina Perri's first big hit and it has helped her other songs become popular.  From the beginning there is a diegesis of sadness and feeling broken. The whole video is black and white. It is smoky and most of the backgrounds and flashbacks are out of focus. The final scene has a great mise-en-scene. It focuses on the girls heart coming back into its jar. The scene becomes colorful and in the background, the black rose petals that have been swirling around the whole video turn pink and start falling gently. It changes the mood from sadness to happiness without any words.