Being the neighborhood “Peeping-Tom” is a title that few people would want to live with. In the film Rear Window, this label is one that L.B. Jefferies fits perfectly. Stuck in a wheelchair for what seem like endless weeks, Jefferies amuses himself by watching his neighbors through his window. While most other characters in the film disapprove of his watchful eye, Jeff does it purely out of entertainment. What started as an innocent way to pass time suddenly became a murder mystery. While Thorwald’s window is the one with most of the action, each and every one of Jefferies’ neighbors give insight to what his life could end up like, depending on the decisions he makes. In the film, the windows not only act as a distraction, they act as mirrors as well.
The first window is quite possibly the most popular one for Jefferies. By watching Lars Thorwald’s window, Jeff does indeed witness a murder but he sees something else as well. Throughout the entire film, Lisa is constantly nagging Jeff about marriage and being committed to their relationship. When Jefferies looks in the window which leads to the Thorwald’s flat, he sees a man who is so annoyed with his wife that he puts himself out his misery and murders her. While Lisa has many other attributes besides her bothersome ways, Jeff can’t help but see his and Lisa’s future every time he glances in that window and sees an irritating wife and miserable man.
Another window which catches Jefferies’ attention is one that belongs to “Miss Lonelyhearts.” In the film, we see this sorrowful woman with so much love, but no one to give it to. In one scene, we actually see her having a date with an invisible person, just to act as though she had someone to spend her nights with. Of course, reality sets in and she comes to term with her loneliness. This window is a mirror for Lisa. When she gives Jeff everything she can, she still feels inadequate. John Fawell wrote in his critical essay on Rear Window, “Lisa has all of the same needs as these women. She finds no response from Jeff to her beauty or loneliness, and his concern for Mrs. Thorwald, his sympathy for Miss Lonelyhearts, and his erotic interest in Miss Torso all represent ironic counterpoint to his cruelty and indifference towards her (Fawell 5).” His rejection to her leaves her feeling lonely and as if she’s not good enough for him. Lisa puts all her effort into she and Jeff’s relationship, while it seems Jeff hardly gives at all.
Another similarity between Jefferies and his neighbors is the discouraged composer which lives across the courtyard. In the film, we see this composer constantly working on his music at his piano, and never feeling satisfied with his work. In one scene, we actually see him blast his papers across his room. This frustration is that same way Jefferies is feeling with his career. In one of the opening scenes, Jeff’s boss calls him and informs him that one of the biggest stories will be given to another photographer, instead of him. This of course highly upsets Jeffries, much like the anger the composer is feeling with his music. Luckily, both men find a way to work past their setbacks. The composer hosts an elegant party with many friends while he entertains playing the piano and Jefferies focuses his energy on the murder involving the Thorwald’s.
The main feminine character in Rear Window, is the lovely Lisa Fremont. She is described as a woman who could have any man she chooses and is also a popular socialite. While Lisa is madly in love with Jefferies, he tends to shift his attention elsewhere. Rather than spend time with Lisa, Jeff watches “Miss Torso,” a beautiful young woman who lives across the courtyard. The mirror effect in this scenario is that Jefferies sees the same traits in both Miss Torso and Lisa. According to Fawell, Jeff ignores real-life love in Lisa, instead investing himself in a fantasy woman who lives in the apartment building across his courtyard and who he watches through binoculars and the telephoto lens of his camera--the sexy Miss Torso (Fawell 3). Both women give off a sense of exhibitionism which attracts many men, including Jeff.
Lisa’s persistence of she and Jeff’s marriage is a recurring theme throughout the film. Jeff fears what life will be like with Lisa as his wife, and sees examples of what marriage does to people merely by looking out his window.
In one window lives a newlywed couple. At first they are uncontrollably happy and couldn’t be any more in love. While it all seems perfect in the beginning, the husband soon becomes exhausted of his wife. In repeated scenes, the audience sees the husband lifting up the window shade, which stays down for the most part, and opening up the window. He pokes his head out the window and lights a cigarette, enjoying his moments of freedom from his wife. Then, within seconds, she calls him back in and he returns back to his wife. Jeff sees this man as being way too tied down and couldn’t imagine his life being like this.
While the film Rear Window entertains audiences with L.B. Jefferies peering into his neighbor’s lives, it is clear that he is not only seeing them, but he is seeing himself as well.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Money and Happiness
The Swimmer came off as an odd story with a middle aged man who was delusional. The audience was left wondering what the point of the story was. Why was a man swimming through different backyard swimming pools? The plot line was confusing and hard to follow but I think the story was written to show Ned Merrill’s transformation from a powerful family man to bankrupt and alone.
The movie is about Ned’s goal to swim the county. This quest is important to Ned and he is determined to finish. As the adventure continues from house to house, the story of Ned Merrill’s life is slowly told. The first few houses welcome Neddy and show excitement to see him because it seems they have not seen him in a while. Ned comes off as a very popular and well-liked man. His friends are very wealthy and Ned acts like he also belongs to the upper class. As the film proceeds the audience starts to notice that Ned is unaware of certain facts about his recent life. The next house shows that Neddy may not have as much money as he used to because the husband at this house wants to give Ned money which shows that he is in fact having money problems. Ned’s stops grow worse. The audience is shown a different side of Ned when we find out he has a mistress which shows family problems. The last stop was the public pool. Ned becomes more delusional and confused at this part of his quest and he runs into two families from the lower class. The audience finds out that Neddy’s two daughters no longer respect him and he owes both of these families money. His life had gone from being filled with love and wealth to anguish and failure.
In conclusion, the movie at first may have seemed weird and not something we were used to seeing. But I think the writer was trying to show how wealth and power can affect a man. The swimming pools were just a way to show the different stages of Ned Merrill’s life. This was an interesting and daring way for a writer to tell a story. Readers may be left confused but I do think the movie helped to explain.
The movie is about Ned’s goal to swim the county. This quest is important to Ned and he is determined to finish. As the adventure continues from house to house, the story of Ned Merrill’s life is slowly told. The first few houses welcome Neddy and show excitement to see him because it seems they have not seen him in a while. Ned comes off as a very popular and well-liked man. His friends are very wealthy and Ned acts like he also belongs to the upper class. As the film proceeds the audience starts to notice that Ned is unaware of certain facts about his recent life. The next house shows that Neddy may not have as much money as he used to because the husband at this house wants to give Ned money which shows that he is in fact having money problems. Ned’s stops grow worse. The audience is shown a different side of Ned when we find out he has a mistress which shows family problems. The last stop was the public pool. Ned becomes more delusional and confused at this part of his quest and he runs into two families from the lower class. The audience finds out that Neddy’s two daughters no longer respect him and he owes both of these families money. His life had gone from being filled with love and wealth to anguish and failure.
In conclusion, the movie at first may have seemed weird and not something we were used to seeing. But I think the writer was trying to show how wealth and power can affect a man. The swimming pools were just a way to show the different stages of Ned Merrill’s life. This was an interesting and daring way for a writer to tell a story. Readers may be left confused but I do think the movie helped to explain.
Who is Ned Merril?
At the beginnng of the movie it was easy to laugh at Neds demeanor. Although he was eccentric and weird, Ned is a character who was thought to be a popular normal guy at the beginning of the film. People seemed to like him and he knew everyone in the neighborhood.We got the feeling something was wrong with him when he started swimming in pools to get home.
Ned seemed to go to a countless number of pool parties all going on at the same time in the film and reaquainted with Julie Hooper who was much younger than him. I thought that Ned Merril was'nt much better than Arnold Friend for trying to put the moves on a girl younger than half his age. I started to see after he stopped by a few houses that Ned was a womanizer and an alcolholic. Julie Hooper was just the first girl he hit on and afterwards he went to Shirleys pool and tried making moves on her against her will. If Ned thought he had a wife and was naming his swim for his wife I thought it was wrong of him to try to put moves on any girl. Not only was it wrong of Ned to make a move on a girl but one was very young and not willing and the other was not willing.
Ned's life began to seem very complicated when his neighbors mentioned him not having any money, they mentioned his daughters laughed at him and he needed a job. At the end of the movie there was an expectation that things would be answered about Ned and his family but it ended with him trying to get into his empty house. After doing some background research I discovered that the reason for Ned's confusion is that he has blocked out the past 2 years or so of his life out. Ned truly believed the front he was putting up and some neighbors were willing to put up with Ned while others were sick of him. Ned had been in his old neighborhood trying to swim his way to his old house. He had deceived himself into thinking that he was stopping by his neighbors to swim the way home but we start to see he doesn't live in the neighborhood when he just learned his neighbor had a pool put in awhile ago. We also see he blocked out his life and something was wrong when his hot dog wagon is at another neighbors and he has no knowledge of this. Ned had been lost for the past 2 years since he lost everything he had and maybe finally figured out what his life was when he made it back to his old home.
Ned seemed to go to a countless number of pool parties all going on at the same time in the film and reaquainted with Julie Hooper who was much younger than him. I thought that Ned Merril was'nt much better than Arnold Friend for trying to put the moves on a girl younger than half his age. I started to see after he stopped by a few houses that Ned was a womanizer and an alcolholic. Julie Hooper was just the first girl he hit on and afterwards he went to Shirleys pool and tried making moves on her against her will. If Ned thought he had a wife and was naming his swim for his wife I thought it was wrong of him to try to put moves on any girl. Not only was it wrong of Ned to make a move on a girl but one was very young and not willing and the other was not willing.
Ned's life began to seem very complicated when his neighbors mentioned him not having any money, they mentioned his daughters laughed at him and he needed a job. At the end of the movie there was an expectation that things would be answered about Ned and his family but it ended with him trying to get into his empty house. After doing some background research I discovered that the reason for Ned's confusion is that he has blocked out the past 2 years or so of his life out. Ned truly believed the front he was putting up and some neighbors were willing to put up with Ned while others were sick of him. Ned had been in his old neighborhood trying to swim his way to his old house. He had deceived himself into thinking that he was stopping by his neighbors to swim the way home but we start to see he doesn't live in the neighborhood when he just learned his neighbor had a pool put in awhile ago. We also see he blocked out his life and something was wrong when his hot dog wagon is at another neighbors and he has no knowledge of this. Ned had been lost for the past 2 years since he lost everything he had and maybe finally figured out what his life was when he made it back to his old home.
Making The Swimmer Understandable
What makes John Cheever’s “The Swimmer” a story worth noting is the strange progression of time that is not as it is perceived by the main character or even the reader. While this strange phenomena is a strength of the story it is a weakness of the filmed adaption. The film adds several additional scenes in some cases trying to reconcile the book’s ambiguous plot and others seem added just to add length.
In the short story, we are privy to many details that would either be difficult to transpose to film or were neglected by the director. In the story, the fact that time is progress in a manner different than Neddy observes is stressed by the changed colors of the trees leaves, the cooling of pools, the loss of weight, and at the end of the story the realization that the constellations in the sky are not those of midsummer. The movie makes attempts at this by having Neddy make observations about ash trees, by having partiers be surprised that he is willing to swim at the pool, and later by wrapping his arms around his chest and shivering (despite the fact that none of the other characters, swimming or not, felt the need to). Both the film and the story also show Neddy’s cluelessness in his confusion about recent events involving his family, his friends, his neighbors, and his borrowing of money.
The film does, however, make a genuine attempt at explaining some points that were left unclear in the book, not unlike how Smooth Talk gives a definitive conclusion despite the book’s open-endedness. In the book, Neddy’s madness is left unexplained and none of the characters treat his cross-county swim as anything but original despite the fact that it seems Neddy may have spent years doing it (after all, he doesn’t realize his friend had major surgery three years prior). In a not too subtle way of explaining what Neddy is going through, the director injected the scene where Neddy meets the boy who is selling lemonade outside his house. Neddy explains to the boy something along the lines of “if he imagines something hard enough, it is true.” Even to a watcher unfamiliar with the short story, this is an obvious suggestion that Neddy’s confusion is caused by him imagining a different reality and rejecting the one which seems to have a family tragedy involved.
The public pool scene is also changed and Neddy encounters two couples of a lower standing who reveal that not only do his daughters not respect him and wreck cars whilst drunk but that he is in debt to both of them and they don’t expect him ever to be able to cough up the cash. The addition of this scene may have been used to give a more concrete idea as to what could’ve pushed Neddy over the edge as well as to show his fall from the wealthy upper class.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
The Pied Piper of Tucson
Charles Schmid was the real life Arnold Friend. Charles was a five foot four resident of Tucson Arizona known for his uncanny ability to attract the ladies. Self conscious about his height he would stuff his boots with rags and flattened pop cans. He wore his dyed black hair slicked back and he wore makeup on his face along with thick chap stick. The ladies were not hard to come by if he was around.
Charles didn’t have a lot going for him. He was a high school dropout due to being suspended for stealing and he never had the desire to go back. But still the girls were constantly being lured into his arms. His tactics were to tell them many compliments along with a sad story that he was either dying or had once been crippled. Playing this pity card obviously made the girls feel bad and made them eventually fall into his trap. Three girls however never recovered from this fall.
Alleen Rowe was fifteen and a sophomore in high school. She had befriended one of Charles’ lady lovers named Mary French. Charles was known to talk crazy sometimes and apparently this night his talk was about murder. Earlier on Alleen had rejected a date with Charles’ friend John Saunders, but Charles decided that he wouldn’t be refused. Eventually Mary, John, and Charles talked Alleen into going out with them late that night after her mom had left for work. They picked her up and drove her to the desert. There they killed her by bashing her head with a rock and then they buried her. Her mother called the police but they weren’t much help, they didn’t have enough evidence or clues to pursue the missing teenager. Instead they just assumed it was just another runaway teen.
Gretchen and Wendy Fritz were Charles’ next victims. The Fritz sisters were sixteen and thirteen, Gretchen being the eldest. Gretchen was a skinny blonde trouble maker and knowing that only made Charles more interested in her. Gretchen was raised in a wealthy family but didn’t feel like anyone really cared about her. She became furious when she learned that Charles had many other girlfriends and fiancés even. Charles shortly after received news that both Mary French and Gretchen thought they were pregnant with his baby. The evening of August 16th 1965 the sisters went out to see the latest Elvis movie and that night they never came home. Their father, Dr. Fritz, hired a private detective named William Helig. Helig never found any substantial evidence for the girls’ case.
Richie Bruns was a close friend to Charles. Charles confided in him and asked if he would help bury the two bodies. Bruns not taking Schmid serious went along. When they arrived on the scene Bruns quickly figured out that Charles was for real. He helped bury what was left of the girls and they left. Bruns’ conscious wouldn’t leave him alone. He left town for awhile but shortly returned and let the Tucson police in on everything he knew about Charles’ murders. They later found skeletal remains of the sister’s bodies.
Charles was shortly after arrested and put on trial. The murders of the Fritz sisters gave him the death penalty. The trials didn’t stop there. When Alleen Rowe’s trial began Charles told one of the cops he wanted to take the them to the grave site. After several attempts they found her remains and dug up her skull along with the rock that he had used to kill her. The cases of Gretchen and Wendy Fritz along with Alleen Rowe finally came to a close.
Charles was sent to the penitentiary to await his death for the murders of the girls and after several attempted escapes was beat to death by a couple fellow prisoners. Charles, the smooth talker, Schmid was pronounced dead on March 30th 1975 and buried at the prison’s cemetery.
-Hannah H
Charles didn’t have a lot going for him. He was a high school dropout due to being suspended for stealing and he never had the desire to go back. But still the girls were constantly being lured into his arms. His tactics were to tell them many compliments along with a sad story that he was either dying or had once been crippled. Playing this pity card obviously made the girls feel bad and made them eventually fall into his trap. Three girls however never recovered from this fall.
Alleen Rowe was fifteen and a sophomore in high school. She had befriended one of Charles’ lady lovers named Mary French. Charles was known to talk crazy sometimes and apparently this night his talk was about murder. Earlier on Alleen had rejected a date with Charles’ friend John Saunders, but Charles decided that he wouldn’t be refused. Eventually Mary, John, and Charles talked Alleen into going out with them late that night after her mom had left for work. They picked her up and drove her to the desert. There they killed her by bashing her head with a rock and then they buried her. Her mother called the police but they weren’t much help, they didn’t have enough evidence or clues to pursue the missing teenager. Instead they just assumed it was just another runaway teen.
Gretchen and Wendy Fritz were Charles’ next victims. The Fritz sisters were sixteen and thirteen, Gretchen being the eldest. Gretchen was a skinny blonde trouble maker and knowing that only made Charles more interested in her. Gretchen was raised in a wealthy family but didn’t feel like anyone really cared about her. She became furious when she learned that Charles had many other girlfriends and fiancés even. Charles shortly after received news that both Mary French and Gretchen thought they were pregnant with his baby. The evening of August 16th 1965 the sisters went out to see the latest Elvis movie and that night they never came home. Their father, Dr. Fritz, hired a private detective named William Helig. Helig never found any substantial evidence for the girls’ case.
Richie Bruns was a close friend to Charles. Charles confided in him and asked if he would help bury the two bodies. Bruns not taking Schmid serious went along. When they arrived on the scene Bruns quickly figured out that Charles was for real. He helped bury what was left of the girls and they left. Bruns’ conscious wouldn’t leave him alone. He left town for awhile but shortly returned and let the Tucson police in on everything he knew about Charles’ murders. They later found skeletal remains of the sister’s bodies.
Charles was shortly after arrested and put on trial. The murders of the Fritz sisters gave him the death penalty. The trials didn’t stop there. When Alleen Rowe’s trial began Charles told one of the cops he wanted to take the them to the grave site. After several attempts they found her remains and dug up her skull along with the rock that he had used to kill her. The cases of Gretchen and Wendy Fritz along with Alleen Rowe finally came to a close.
Charles was sent to the penitentiary to await his death for the murders of the girls and after several attempted escapes was beat to death by a couple fellow prisoners. Charles, the smooth talker, Schmid was pronounced dead on March 30th 1975 and buried at the prison’s cemetery.
-Hannah H
Smooth Moves
Smooth Moves
The story Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? By Joyce Carol Oates is not usually taken for being a funny story. Yet Smooth Talk the movie based off it received many chuckles during our in class viewing of it on Tuesday. The movie is not supposed to be funny but some of the acting and dialogue led to awkward and comedic scenes. Even one of the most serious scenes, Arnold and Connie’s confrontation, was one of the funniest scenes of the entire movie. The story does a good job making Arnold and Connie’s confrontation believable. Arnold’s character in the story is a rather persistent and persuasive creeper. Arnold’s character in the movie is poorly acted and manages to help ruin the most important scene of the movie. His dialogue is very similar to the story which proves that some things are just better left on paper. It is easy to argue the dialogue should have been revised for the movie with lines like “I’m Arnold Friend and that is what I’d like to be to you.” This line ended up being possibly the funniest lines of the movie. His character was more awkward then it was creepy.
Ellie’s character is also much less believable in the movie. In the story he is just described as Arnold’s shy friend. In the movie the camera stayed on Ellie for decent amount of time and he was completely motionless. He seemed dead or like an actual puppet until he finally moved and pulled the antenna out of his radio. Ellie does not come off as Arnold’s shy friend he just seems like a funny mocking of an unnecessary character.
The best actor in this whole movie was Laura Dern, who played Connie. For the most part Connie seems like a believable young girl. Her downfall was in the scene with Arnold Friend. Her acting in the scene was fine until Arnold tried to come in the house. Connie ran from the door to behind the stairs similar to how a six year old plays hide and go seek. She takes one of the more serious scenes of the movie and turns it into a laughing matter.
Unfortunately Smooth Talk did not live up to the short story it was based off of. A poor dialogue and even worse acting led to a serious story being made into a cheesy and unrealistic movie. I doubt that even with good acting and dialogue this movie would be worth watching unless more background information was known about Arnold’s character.
Bobby Pleines
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Smooth Talk: A Sense of Reality or Just Plain Creepy?
From the pages of Where are you going, Where have you been? to the big screen of Smooth Talk, the public is exposed to a hot topic of young girls involving themselves in dangerous environments. Young girls, like Connie, are curious at the age of 15 and want to be considered as an adult. As an adult, they feel as though they are entitled to privacy, a sense of sex appeal, and the freedom to come and go as they please. . Curiosity about the adult life is flashing in Connie’s mind and she feels the need to pursue what it’s all about. Connie certainly possesses teen angst, like most 15 year olds do, and puts up a wall towards her family. Closed off from her family, Connie feels the need to go on the ride of sexy clothes, thick makeup, and flirting at the mall with her friends. It seems innocent, most girls do it.
Once some makeup is applied, the hair is tossed up, and a fair amount of cleavage is showing, then we are in business. This is the mindset of Connie and her girlfriends. Now with some sex appeal, they walk as if they own the mall. It may seem perfectly innocent, young girls just playing dress-up, but really they are walking on a thin line. Just as they wanted, guys are looking in their direction. The serious issue is that they don’t know that guys of all age look, not just the ones their age. Older men are attracted to young females and will try to take advantage of the situation.
In Connie’s case, an older man was attracted to her and decided to pursue her. A strange man followed Connie and learned more about her than she did of herself. Stalking her until he knew it was safe to approach her at her home when she was alone. Introducing himself as a polite and interesting man, Arnold Friend grabs Connie’s attention with his smooth talk. Connie is naïve and does not realize the dangerous situation that she is getting herself into. Taking the bait, Connie goes into deep and falls into Arnold Friend’s trap. At this point, she can’t escape and has reached to the point that she must go for a ride. At this point it is uncertain whether or not Connie was raped.
Mouths of the audience drop and the look on their faces are filled with shock. On the edge of their seats, the audience becomes scared for Connie. Then the thought scrolls across their minds, “I’m glad that’s not me” or “I don’t know what I would do in that situation.” This type of situation happens more often than most would think. “Teens 16 to 19 were three and one-half times more likely than the general population to be victims of rape, attempted rape or sexual assault” (National Crime Victimization Survey. Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice, 1996). This statistic provides realistic outlook on Connie’s situation.
After reading the short story written by Joyce Carol Oats, it can be seen as baffling and a tad on the creepy side. Many thoughts are to brush the short story off and that it couldn’t happen. Smooth talk brings the whole story to life. It made it more believable that a scenario like Connie’s could exist. Young girls tend to tip-toe the line of getting themselves in dangerous situations like Connie’s and not even realize it. In the end it’s up to each person to decide; does the movie bring a sense of reality about the issue of how rapes and murders can exist, or is this just a creepy story to teach young girls to act their age?
Once some makeup is applied, the hair is tossed up, and a fair amount of cleavage is showing, then we are in business. This is the mindset of Connie and her girlfriends. Now with some sex appeal, they walk as if they own the mall. It may seem perfectly innocent, young girls just playing dress-up, but really they are walking on a thin line. Just as they wanted, guys are looking in their direction. The serious issue is that they don’t know that guys of all age look, not just the ones their age. Older men are attracted to young females and will try to take advantage of the situation.
In Connie’s case, an older man was attracted to her and decided to pursue her. A strange man followed Connie and learned more about her than she did of herself. Stalking her until he knew it was safe to approach her at her home when she was alone. Introducing himself as a polite and interesting man, Arnold Friend grabs Connie’s attention with his smooth talk. Connie is naïve and does not realize the dangerous situation that she is getting herself into. Taking the bait, Connie goes into deep and falls into Arnold Friend’s trap. At this point, she can’t escape and has reached to the point that she must go for a ride. At this point it is uncertain whether or not Connie was raped.
Mouths of the audience drop and the look on their faces are filled with shock. On the edge of their seats, the audience becomes scared for Connie. Then the thought scrolls across their minds, “I’m glad that’s not me” or “I don’t know what I would do in that situation.” This type of situation happens more often than most would think. “Teens 16 to 19 were three and one-half times more likely than the general population to be victims of rape, attempted rape or sexual assault” (National Crime Victimization Survey. Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice, 1996). This statistic provides realistic outlook on Connie’s situation.
After reading the short story written by Joyce Carol Oats, it can be seen as baffling and a tad on the creepy side. Many thoughts are to brush the short story off and that it couldn’t happen. Smooth talk brings the whole story to life. It made it more believable that a scenario like Connie’s could exist. Young girls tend to tip-toe the line of getting themselves in dangerous situations like Connie’s and not even realize it. In the end it’s up to each person to decide; does the movie bring a sense of reality about the issue of how rapes and murders can exist, or is this just a creepy story to teach young girls to act their age?
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