Rush 7: Revisiting Devdas!

To drape means to place casually and loosely; to hang.  Though where Devdas is concerned, a drape is a piece of fabric that can be adjusted into graceful folds, and attractive lines.  While drapes are physically placed in reoccuring places throughout the film, the second meaning contains more potential for expanded meaning here.  In Indian culture, a womans duty is to appear leisurely and perfectly beautiful. In comparison, they must be graceful and attractive.  And in comparison, it is the men who are placed to appear casual and loose.

Rush 6...

Meet Me In St. Louis - 
     My gram this week was Tootie's doll at the start of the film that she talked about having to bury soon because she is very sick.  Although this is the only time we actually see the doll in her hands, throughout the film Tootie mentions multiple times of the many dolls that she has previously buried in the backyard.  Tootie seems pleased with this, and her life thus far is a rather positive one and with each dolls burial, she seems to be planting her roots in St. Louis.  As the story line progresses and Tootie learns that her family will be moving to New York, she is immediately distressed saying that she will have to dig up her dolls to take with her.  Though, at the end of the film when her father says that they will not move to New York, Tootie's attitude immediately looks up, as she is happy that she can stay in St Louis and continue to plant her roots into the ground with the burial of a new doll.  I believe that the question proposed is if Tootie will in fact dig up her dolls and how she will plant her new roots in such a small place like New York; but at the end when it is revealed that she will stay in St Louis, we realize that her roots could never be moved and that she will continue to discover herself and grow in St Louis.

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

     The gram I chose in this movie, was the giant wheel on which Dorothy leans upon when she sings Somewhere Over the Rainbow. It appears relatively early on in the film, and the song she sings seems to spark the fire for Dorothy's quest in the show. In this number, Dorothy is revealed as a character who is not happy where she is and dreams of a better place to call home.  This spurs her running away a few scenes later. However, shortly after talking to a 'fortune teller' who tells her that her Aunt Em has a broken heart, she decides to return home, and spends the rest of the movie trying to go home.
     I feel like Dorothy's quest is well represented in this wheel, because a wheel is circular and, when moving, continues to rotate around and around - continuous.  The other similar wheels I saw throughout the film were on a carriage in Munchkin Land, and on the multi-colored horses' carriage in the Emerald City.  Each time these wheels were shown, they were all in motion.  However, the wheel Dorothy leaned upon was much completely stationary; not to mention shown in black and white while the others were in color.  This could be translated to the idea that Dorothy's personal wheel is stationary because she feels stuck and is dreaming of a better place somewhere over the rainbow, and the other wheels are in motion in the land of Oz because they are in a foreign place, quite over the rainbow indeed.
     In relation to the mobius strip, I feel like my gram ties in quite nicely as well as the main characters quest to return home.  The mobius strip has a constant, forward motion that never lets you stop propelling on its path.  This is much like a wheel; the very wheels seen in the land of Oz.  These wheels gave the story a constant feeling of forward motion and confusion from Dorothy's perspective concerning how she would ever return home, which gave the viewer the same sense.  And even when Dorothy does return to Kansas at the end of the film, she awakens with a personal satisfaction and longing to be right where she is, and her personal wheel has been set in motion with enthusiasm and content to stay right where she is.

Rush 4

In the Smiling Lieutenant, my gram was the pearl necklace around Franzi's neck when she sat on her lieutenant's lap, upset over his trouble with 'smiling at the princess'.  My gram in Footlight Parade was the map on the wall of Kent's office.  The two are similar, because both of the like Franzi, Nan also wore a necklace in a few scenes. Also, the map in his office showed the USA and this could relate to the other film, because it takes place in a foreign country. The map also had markers of performance halls, which could also relate to the Smiling Lieutenant because Franzi's music group traveled and performed as well. They are different because while the pearl necklace extenuates Franzi's feminine features, the map's purpose is strictly business related and provides no feminine aid to Nan in the scene.

Rush 3: Devdas Again!

      For my previous gram, I selected light green, translucent drapes that hung in the home of Devdas as the family awaited his return.  I then went on to expand this gram to other drapes that hung in different scenes; like scenes where Pero and Devdas flirted with one another.  If I were to write in my own scene into Devdas using my previous gram, I would add another scene onto the ending.  When the movie ends, Devdas has died, leaving Pero to mourn his death from the other side of the gates.  Instead of fading to black here, I would have Pero die from a broken heart, right there, next to the gates.  Then the camera would fade into a bright white space, where light purple translucent drapes are hung from beams on an invisible ceiling.  This place seems to be Heaven, and Pero and Devdas appear on opposing ends of the large, white room.  They recognize one another and reunite as lovers for all of eternity.

Rush 2: Devdas

   
     In the film Devdas, the camera encompasses around a beautiful mansion as a family rejoices with the news of the character Devdas return from London. Around five minutes into the film a scene takes place in, what I would call, the living room of the mansion, where the family speaks of their joy and excitement. Hanging behind at the back of the room are arches with green translucent drapes.  Translucent drapes like this reappear all throughout the film.  A few minutes later, Pero almost dances with a white one as she tries to swat away a fly.  Moments after, she then releases black drapes around her bed when she dismisses Devdas without letting him see her.

     Many different color translucent type of fabrics are used hanging throughout the film.  However, the only other green fabric I spotted was in the dressing room of the brothel, and on Chandramukhi herself.  Here, green fabric was again draped from arches, but this fabric was embellished with gold and silver circled gems.  I found it interesting that the green was shown again in such a drastic different environment from the mansion. However, I noticed that they both showed themselves in scenes where the setting was entirely new to the audience.  Additionally, green is a color that signifies money, which could illuminate the money of Devdas' family as well as the constant flow of money that men pay for the girls in a brothel.  This idea makes each environment seem more desirable to the audience and the characters in the story line.

Rush 1: Bio

1.  At Cornish, I am a sophomore in the musical theatre department. I have a high interest and passion for classical texts, especially Shakespeare, as well as musicals that involve heavy singing and dancing, such as Hello Dolly!.
2.  Outside of Cornish? I don't have too much going on! I put a lot of work into school and when I'm not in class I'm most likely preparing for the next one. But when I'm not studying or organizing, I am more than likely spending time with my boyfriend, re-watching episodes of SMASH on Hulu.com, or listening to one of my favorite musicals.
3.  I don't really have any background in film and that is why I wanted to take this class. My acting interests have all mostly been towards stage work and being an actor, I would love to learn more about film; especially if there's music involved!
4.  Right now, I don't really have any set expectations. I just hope that I gain knowledge about a subject that can directly be applied to my future profession through the theatre.
5.  In the Madonna video, I chose her crucifix earrings. This gram recurred in the Buffy episode in the graveyard on some tombstones, and in Giles' work space on some books and in small places.