The Representation of Women in Detour

The female character's in the film Detour have very interesting roles in the film, yet I would say that none of them play the femme fatale character that is traditional in other film noir movies. The two main female characters in Detour are Sue Harvey, the woman Al Roberts loves and wants to join in Los Angeles, and Vera who discovers Al's true identity and hold it over his head to do her bidding and make her rich. As I mentioned above I do not believe either of these women represent the femme fatale character because Sue Harvey although she is traditionally beautiful, she does not make Al do her bidding (unless you count not marrying him in the beginning so he wouldn't have to travel to Los Angeles in the first place) and Vera is not because she represents a nontraditional beauty as Al says in the film there is a hatred between her and Al, not love. Throughout the film Al makes comments as the narrator saying things like the minutes spent with Vera felt like hours, and he couldn't wait for the time to pass and be through with her. These are not feelings the male character would have if Vera was a femme fatale character.

This being said I think this film shows women as being very strong characters, even dominate over Al Roberts the main male character. Sue Harvey at the beginning of the film decides to leave Al and postpone their wedding so she can try and make it as a singer in Los Angeles. This causes Al to be heartbroken and eventually start on his fateful journey west. This to me shows a position of power, that she does not submit to Al but rather puts her own career ambitions before her love life. Vera is also a dominate female character, she is given the power of Al when she is smart enough to discover that Al is not Mr. Haskell and blackmails him to do all her bidding to make money or else she will turn him in to the police. Once given this power she uses it in every scene until her death, telling Al in multiple scenes that all the plans they make are going to be done her way and Al will do exactly as she tells him, to which Al obediently agrees with throughout the film.

Detour shows women as dominate characters over men, represented by the two main female characters Vera and Sue Harvey. Although other minor female characters are being treated as inferior by men who say things like "doll, honey, and glamourous" the scene that comes to mind is the opening scene where the truck diver asks the waitress in the  diner "Hey glamourous, do you have change for a dime?" The two main characters do not fit into this stereotype, they dominate over the male character in this film and although they are not the femme fatale character like in other film noir movies, they both represent a position of power over Al Roberts.

Freaks: A Horror Film

Throughout the film Freaks, the audience is aware that Cleopatra and Hercules are playing with the emotions of Hans and plan to poison him and take his fortune. I found myself waiting for the other characters in the film to discover their plan and see how they would react. There are hints given throughout the film such as when Frances says Cleopatra will be in trouble if she does anything to "one of us" referring to Hans. I believe the entire film is building to the scene when the characters become wise to Cleopatra and Hercules plan and seek revenge on them. The building to this final scene as well as how the revenge scene is shot with creepy camera angles to me is what makes this film a horror film. When the little person throughs the knife to stab Hercules when he is fighting Phroso, and he walks toward the camera with another knife in his hand it reminded me of when Jason walks toward the camera with his long bloody sword in one hand with his hockey mask on his face in those horror films. Also seeing the other freaks crawl through the mud towards Hercules was extremely creepy and reminded me of more modern day horror films like The Grudge. This revenge scene and the building to it throughout the film is why I believe Freaks should be considered a horror film.

While watching this film I believed this film was trying to show the equality of people with deformities and not exploit them or show them as monsters, which is what I think most people thought of these kinds of people when the film was released. HOWEVER, the final scene when the get revenge on Hercules and Cleopatra I believe this exploits them and shows them as monsters. The way they crawl through the mud towards Hercules and the looks on their faces, or the way they chase Cleopatra through the woods after her and turn her into a freak. I was almost disappointed because it was like they were playing into the stereotype of being monsters and acted exactly the way people expected them to act. Don't get me wrong I believe Cleopatra and Hercules deserved the punishment they received, but showing the Freaks this way would not help people be more tolerant of them or treat them equally.  

Comedy of Sherlock Jr.

In the film Sherlock Jr. Buster Keaton plays a film projectionist who dreams his way into being a detective. This comedy displays physical humor throughout the film, Buster Keaton's character is constantly slipping, falling, or getting hit by something throughout the film. This film and the comedians of this time period I believe had to resort to this type of comedy because they were unable to speak to the audience other then through cue cards shown during scenes. The actor had to "show" their humor by falling or slipping rather then like most comedies today where the actor "shares" their humor in the form of dialogue or a funny line. When I think of popular comedy films of today, I find them hilarious not because of what the actor is doing but what they are saying and I am able to repeat the lines outside of watching the film and still laugh. This being said both styles of comedy can still have me rolling on the floor laughing.

Buster Keaton should be praised for his modernity in his films as well as his cinematography, both were extremely impressive for the 1920's. Throughout the film of Sherlock Jr. Buster Keaton is constantly interacting with modern technology or machines of the time. There were numerous scenes where he was interacting with a train, car, or motorcycle and using them to perform his physical comedy. The cinematography in the film is extremely well done for the time as well. The scene I was most impressed with was when he falls asleep next to the projector and his dream self steps out away from his sleeping self and there are two Buster Keatons on the screen. I actually said allowed to myself while watching the film "wow that is pretty high tech for 1924." There are numerous other examples throughout the film where Keaton pushes the limit of film making through cinematography and effects but I found the sleeping scene to be his most impressive.

The Basics of Graham Gilmer

Hello,

My name is Graham Gilmer, I am a fifth year Urban Planning student (in my final semester yay!) The reason I am taking this class is because I have always had a love for the movies either going to the theater or watching them at home I love being able to just sit down and be taken away to another place through film. I am not the kind of person who could tell you my favorite movie because I think that is an impossible question to answer, I would have to give you my top 20 and even then I would feel like I am leaving a few out. As far as cinematic knowledge I would consider myself a newbie I have great admiration for great screenplays, cinematography, and directing but have never attempted to do any of it myself. This is where I hope this class will help me grow the most and increase my knowledge of the skills needed to make a great film.