Orchid Fever Film Analysis

Ben-Zvi, Linda. "'Murder, She Wrote': The Genesis of Susan Glaspell's Trifles." Theatre Journal, 44 (March 1992): 141-62.

In The Orchid Thief, John Laroche is known to be a strange individual who is unwilling to assimilate into society due to his inconceivable actions that are initially not understandable to the narrator. From wishing to “collect one of every single turtle species known to mankind” to suddenly becoming preoccupied with “collecting and resilvering old mirrors” to having nearly “sixty fish tanks in his house”, Laroche’s extreme peculiarity completely isolates him from everyone else who have integrated into the mainstream society. However, Laroche was more than just the epitome of eccentricity. His unfamiliar actions have also deeply affected the issues of modern society that others are wishing to resolve. For instance, Laroche decides to develop a false guide as to how to supposedly grow marijuana in order to prevent children from associating with marijuana which will cause detrimental harm to their body. Another time, in order to preserve the endangered wildlife in a nearby wild swamp, Laroche decided to collect each of the various types of plants in order to use scientific development to replicate

clever camera techniques which create tension and fear. The camera shots also pay close attention to detail. For example, when the man with the dog throws a stick for his dog to fetch into the sea, the camera

There is a large racial disparity with unjust arrests in America. African Americans are discriminated and racially profiled more than any other race within the criminal justice system (Slate, 2015). The main goals of the criminal justice system are to prevent and control crime and to achieve justice (Crime&Justice International, 1997). However, according to the ‘American Progress’, “people of color, particularly African Americans and Latinos are unfairly targeted by the police and face harsher prison sentences compared to other races, particularly white Americans (American Progress, 2015). Although the criminal justice is to provide equal justice to all of its citizens, African Americans tend to not receive the same justice. Specifically, African

The short film by Hitchcock is adapted from Susan Glaspell’s play. However, the short film brings

To live in a world of illusion is to live a life of lies.Sometimes people try to escape reality, whether to avoid truths or to avoid their past. A Streetcar named Desire by Tennessee Williams introduces Blanche Dubois as the main protagonist and potential victim of the story. In the story, Blanche leaves her home in “Belle Reve” because it has been destroyed and takes a streetcar to to get to her sister’s (Stella’s) residence. She believes that she will find a new life as well as comfort and acceptance at her sister’s side. Unfortunately she is very wrong about it, in fact, it is the complete opposite. Blanche’s past life was very shameful for her and so in order to forget the tormenting truth, she resorts to living a fantasy life of her own, which causes problems for her later on (self-destruction).

This aids in the naturalistic phenomenon that is easily consumable for the viewer. The long flowing lines in the waterfall give rise to the illusion of movement and as the viewer’s gaze drops, the movement appears to become stagnant and calm in the body of water. There is careful contouring and chiaroscuro on the mountains allowing for the viewer to become inundated with its immensity.

Louv uses strong imagery to describe how to connection that people have with the environment has changed over the years. He describes how “[they] used [their] fingers to draw pictures on fogged glass as [they] watched telephone poles tick by,” in a time where there was no technology and they had to entertain themselves. By painting a picture of this experience it shows how time has changed

Before taking this course, I always looked at films and read books just as the average person does; interesting plot and how long will it hold my interest, but this course gave me an entire different perspective when watching films and reading books. Now that I have taken this course and have watched the required films, the most important thing when watching other movies and reading books, is the meaning behind each scene and how they relate and affect our world. For this paper, I will discuss a book that I read a long time ago, which is She’s Come Undone by Wally Lamb and how this book relates to this course.

Little Vera presents itself as a serious in-depth film about the struggles as an average Soviet family. Little Vera (1988) was released during the perestroika period. The perestroika period was classified as the time period after Gorbachev’s induction and the new transparency policy, glasnost. This film however, was written during the period of Stagnation. The film displays the effects of culture and society due to the bottlenecking of the Soviet Union’s stagnant economy and infrastructure after years of restrainment. As a coming of age film, adolescents and young adults are developing new behaviors as their generation grow intolerant of Brezhnev's rule. The older generation of working class people living who grew up under early Brezhnev are dealt to handle this new era of citizens. Issues such as financial distress but a large strain on parents and their respective marriages. Little Vera crystallizes the feelings of frustration and despair felt by most of the USSR during the Stagnation period.

Susan Glaspell was a prolific author, playwright, journalist and novelist in the early 1900s. Early in her career as a reporter she wrote many articles including the newspaper coverage of a murder trial known as the Hossack Case when she worked for The Des Moines Daily News in Des Moines, Iowa. This murder trial was a much publicized event in which a woman, Margaret Hossack, was accused of murdering her prosperous husband on the couple’s farm in Des Moines. In these newspaper articles dated from December 1900 through April of 1901, Glaspell gave an account of the murder trial where Margaret was eventually convicted of murdering her husband, John Hossack. Shortly after covering the trial, Glaspell quit journalism and started writing novels, short stories and plays. Two of which were based on her coverage of the Hossack Case. One was a one-act play titled “Trifles” and the other was a short story entitled “A Jury of Her Peers”.

In addition to camera movements, he uses camera distances and framing to create images that make the audience feel cheerful. When he frames a shot, if it takes place outside, there is ample amount of bountiful nature within the frame. The most prominent example of this is toward the end of the film when the narrator is describing the after effects of the massive storm. It is a medium close up but the narrator is only in a small portion of the frame, the rest if a

In Parker’s film adaptation, his emphasis of the sub-plot between Dr. Chasuble and Miss Prism, while becoming more entertaining, further detracts from Wilde’s concerns and only serves to strengthen the film as a romantic comedy. In Wilde’s play, Chasuble and Prism’s

This close-up thus creates a collective protagonist which in turn becomes an embodiment of the Algerian people. In contrast, the two French paratroopers on the other side of the wall, are shot in side profile through a long lens with their backs turned to the audience, whilst the machine gun which holds connotations of the violence and brutality employed by the French army is incorporated into the left hand side of the frame. Pontecorvo's simplification of the nationalist struggle is further signified through the interplay of dark and light elements. Whilst Pontecorvo employs a chiaroscuro image of Ali La Pointe's hideout in order to highlight the faces of the FLN members against the dark background, the visual expressions of the French soldiers are obscured by shadows. The audience is consequently denied the same intimacy that they are permitted to experience with Ali La Pointe and his collaborators. It can be argued therefore that this opening sequence which begins with the fate of Ali conveys Pontecorvo's natural empathy with the Independent movement.

Like many people in the world, the characters in Tennessee William’s play, A Streetcar Named Desire, are troubled by anxiety and insecurities. Life in New Orleans during the 1940s was characterized by the incredible variety of music, lively and bright atmosphere, and diverse population, while in the midst of the ongoing World War II. Culture was rich and fruitful because the city developed into a “melting pot” of people from all over the world. Due to the wide-range in population, the people of New Orleans adopted an identity like no other. Instead of their identity being entirely pieced together, almost like a puzzle, the people took on one that was shared by the entire community. However, with this being said, people had the ability to use this to their advantage and mask their true selves. This idea translates well into the play A Streetcar Named Desire, and is exhibited through the character Blanche. In A Streetcar Named Desire, Tennessee Williams uses the theme of vanity to reveal the importance of appearance, and the insecurities of Blanche and how they influence her actions.