Analysis on Time Article

In the Time Magazine article titled A Cinderella Story by Stephanie Kraus, TFK interviewed the director Kenneth Branagh of the new movie Cinderella. After reading this article, I realize more how much thought and effort is put into this movie, with careful character selection and costumes.

Branagh mentioned that Lily James (who plays Cinderella) originally auditioned for a part as the evil stepsister. However, they decided that she would actually be the “perfect choice” for Cinderella instead. According to Branagh, Lily James has traits such as causing people to feel “like she could be your best friend” and being “good at talking to animals”. These are great elements for the character Cinderella to have, so it sounds like Lily James is the right fit.

This article makes it clear of how much thought was put into making something as simple as costumes. It says, “The Fairy Godmother’s dress has LED lights, Cinderella’s dress has real diamonds, and the glass slippers are made of real crystal”. I can only imagine how much time and money was used for making these costumes. As Branagh said, it may add a “magical” effect to the movie.

After reading this article, I definitely think this movie is worth seeing. It may be hard to remake the original Cinderella movie, but based off of this article it seems that Branagh is taking this task very seriously.

 

 

Blog #4: Notes and Handouts Sheet for Theme Analysis in Fahrenheit 451

Theme 3: “In the wrong hands, technology can negatively impact our relationships and/or communities.”

Quote Part 1: “‘Mildred!!’..The small crystal bottle of sleeping tablets which earlier today had been filled with thirty capsules...now lay uncapped and empty” (Bradbury 9).

Quote Part 2: (Someone talking about their kids) “‘You heave them into the parlor and turn the switch. It’s like washing clothes; stuff laundry in and slam the lid.’” (Bradbury 93).

Quote Part 3: “The camera fell upon the victim, even as did the Hound. Both reached him simultaneously. The victim was seized by the Hound and camera in a great spidering, clenching grip. He screamed. He screamed. He screamed!” (Bradbury 149).                     

4. This theme is important to the understanding of story because it shows how technology limits our knowledge, and how with more technology, books become less important to society.

5. Our modern day society is becoming more and more reliable on technology, and this text shows what could happen if we use technology in the wrong hands.

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury-- Symbolism (Spoilers are in this)

I have recently finished the book Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. This text is about a fireman named Montag who lives in a very controlled society. In this society, "firemen" burn all books they find. With the help of a new girl, Clarise, Montag finds out that he is not happy in this society and recognizes the need for knowledge found in books. After being caught holding books in his home, Montag rebelled and ran away from the scene. By the end of the story, he made it to a new place which has people who think the same as him about books.

This novel has excellent writer's craft and holds many examples of symbolism. For example, fire first represented too much control and destruction, as it was being used to burn books the society was not allowed to have. Page 34 states, "The men above were hurling shovelfuls of magazines into the dusty air. They felt like slaughtered birds..." The way this quote describes the books as "slaughtered birds" made me think of the books being burned as desperate and useless. The fire caused the books to be destroyed like "slaughtered birds", which shows that fire can represent destruction. The destruction of books is happening because of the government having too much control over the people.

Although fire first represents bad things, later on it represents good things. This transition takes place right after Montag escaped where he used to be and went on to a new, more free place. Page 139 talks about a fire he saw. It says, "It was not burning, it was warming... He had never thought in his life that it could give as well as take". The fire in this quote can represent many things (like warmth, giving, life) but they are all good. The fire is giving people warmth, not taking knowledge.

The meaning of fire clearly altered throughout the story for Montag. It depends on how the characters use fire to determine if it's good or bad. The controlled society used it in a bad way, and the more free place Montag is currently in uses it in a good way. The setting can be determined in a way from the fire, because when it is used for good, the setting is more free and less controlled versus when it is used for bad things.