Sunday, 19 November 2017

Being John Malkovich Final

Being John Malkovich (1999)
Directed by Spike Jonze
Written by Charlie Kaufman
Starring
Running time: 212minutes

Trailer of the film:
resume of the film
Craig Schwartz, a socially awkward, frustrated professional puppeteer, finds employment at a company, Lester Corp. on  the 7 1/2 floor of an office building. Although married to supportive and animal-obsessed Lotte, Craig falls in love with his co-worker, Maxine. After finding a portal behind some filing cabinets at the job, Craig discovers that the portal allows people to transport themselves into the body of the actor, John Malkovich and to experience Malkovich’s life. Craig and Maxine decide to sell tickets for this supernatural experience. Lotte enters Malkovich's head and while doing so also falls in love with Maxine. Maxine also has feelings for her. Eventually Craig’s love for Maxine and his ambitions to become a famous puppeteer lead him to completely take over Malkovich’s life and to marry Maxine. Together they change John Malkovich’s career, using his fame to realize Craig’s dream of being a rich and famous puppeteer. At the end, Craig is expelled from Malkovich's body and enters into the body of Lotte/Malkovich's child with Maxine, while we see that Maxine and Lotte have become a couple.

interesting cinematic techniques used in the film.
Framing: Many close-ups were used in the making of the film. For example, close-ups are used on Craig's face when he is puppeteering to show his passion and devotion to the art. Also, this technique is used on the puppets too,  in order to demonstrate that his dolls reflect his emotions and that even though they are not alive, they feel like they are. Another type of framing used is the long-shot, which was mainly used in Lotte and Craig’s apartment to give a sense of what their lives look like. We clearly see that they aren’t too rich from it’s claustrophobic size, it’s cluttered space. The mess around the apartment is related to Craig as it basically shows how messy his life and thoughts are.  This shot also reveals many exotic animals that live in the apartment because of Lotte's obsession, which we can guess  gives Craig a high dose of anxiety, in addition to the fact that he doesn’t have a stable career as a puppeteer.

Lighting:
Most of the scenes where someone goes into the tunnel is during the night, therefore they used low-key lighting to light up the office where the vessel was located. Also, when Malkovich’s tunnel is the subject of conversation, the lights are turned down (low-key). For example, when Malkovich is home with his friend after the first time he got controlled, he closes the blinds to assure his privacy that is being completely violated, no matter what. Another example is when Craig is explaining what he discovered (the tunnel), they are walking on the street, at night, with a trivial lighting by the street lamps. Finally, the tunnel is completely lightless to keep the mysterious phenomena as it is: unknown. Now, maybe this is only a coincidence, since the movie is mostly filmed in a dark environment. On the other side, we can notice high-key scenes where Maxine is involved. For example, we see her mostly in the office and at John Malkovich’s home where the lights are really bright. We think it might be an effect added to show the appreciation and attraction everyone has for Maxine.
Character:
Craig Schwartz was really unstable psychologically; he goes from a socially awkward and depressed man, to a man trying to seduce a woman that he barely met during his first day at LesterCorp. He then went totally crazy and started controlling his wife and John Malkovich, to approach Maxine.
Another character whose mental state was very unstable would be Lotte; she went from being an animal lover and loyal wife of Craig to a transgender woman addicted to being John Malkovich. Moreover, she falls in love with Maxine after experiencing sexual exchange with her from a man’s experience. She also thought about changing her sex through surgical procedures. Living as Malkovich made her go through a life changing experience which was so powerful it made her change sex.
Finally, John Malkovich, who was leading a peaceful, yet successful life was seen as an insecure man who lived a dark youth. When he discovered that his life was being sold by some strangers, he completely freaked out, like anyone would do.He definitely felt a strong violation of his privacy which wouldn’t make him any more comfortable being in public. He was already bringing a distress whistle wherever he was going, because he probably felt vulnerable and he felt it even more toward the end before losing complete control over his body.
Sets and props:
To begin with, the central story happens in a building on the 7 ½ floor. This floor is distinguishing itself from the others since the ceiling is really low. Also the people working there seem a little bit weird. For example, Dr. Lester is always thinking that the people who he is talking to can’t understand a word of what he is saying even though he speaks like a normal person. Also, his assistant has trouble hearing what people are saying. All of these unusual things create a weird first impression for Craig as he enters LesterCorp for the first time.
Many props were used in this movie. The first one we noticed is the special beverage that Dr. Lester drinks and talks about a few times on the movie. He says that it helps him stay young even with his impressive age of 105 years old. At the end of the movie, we realize that it is just another tool of his own to remain immortal. When he doesn’t have any vessel to transfer to, he drinks this carrot juice to help him wait long enough before leaping to a new body. Other props show many details on Malkovich’s life and background, for example the whistle that he has attached to his keys show that he feels insecure and that might have something to do with his rough childhood that we saw in his subconscious (when Lotte what chasing Maxine).
Sounds:
Internal diegetic sounds are often used to give the viewer a sensation of hearing through Malkovich’s ears, as if we were inside his head. With this effect, we could almost tell where the sound is coming from based on Malkovich’s position. Otherwise, most of the other sounds are diegetic. Some sound effects are used to emphasize emotions or actions. For example, an action/suspense type music is played when Craig runs back home to lock Lotte in a cage. Without the music, this scene would look really awkward. Lastly, they added a windy sound which is diegetic, when the characters are sucked in the tunnel to complete this sensation of getting sucked into a new world.
Questions Raised by the Film
This film explores questions about consciousness. A few of them are being raised by Craig while he talks with his chimp. For example, he says “Consciousness is a terrible curse...I feel, I think, I suffer.” We often ask ourselves what is John Malkovich’s experience/qualia when he is being controlled by Craig. We definitely know that he is aware of what is happening and that he feels something since he was able to react and realize that something fishy was going on with himself because of Craig’s actions.

The movie also raises many questions, introduced by Craig who says: “It raises all sorts of philosophical type question...about the nature of self, about the existence of a soul...am I me? I Malkovich, Malkovich? I had a piece of wood, I don’t have it anymore...is it still in Malkovich’s head? Do you see what metaphysical can of worms this portal is?”
Another theme of the story is about people's rights, the right of having a self and having full control over that self. This theme is unavoidable since it is the main plot of the story. In other words, Malkovich’s right to have control of his own body. This raises questions about ethics.  Isn’t it bad to obstruct someone from having access to his body? Is it that bad to do so, considering that dozens of other people are getting something profitable out of this, does one’s right of being himself being deprived is worth many more people’s enjoyment?
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Overall Judgement
We did not dislike the movie but we never really liked it. We strongly believe that there were very few special effects which we found was too bad as we think this movie could have used more. For example, there could have been a special effect where Malkovich’s mind fought with Craig’s instead of only muting Malkovich slowly. Other aspects of the movie we disliked were the questions which were left unanswered. What does John Malkovich do after everybody enters his head? He was only in his 40s when they all went in. Also, why was Greg trapped in Maxine’s daughter? He should have been trapped in a newborn's head, but Maxine’s baby was not even born at the time. Some things just don’t follow up in this movie. On the plus side, we believe that the movie offers an interesting view on eternal life. Many people are fascinated by living eternally. As suggested by the movie, travelling from portal to portal could offer a better life to many. People didn’t mind paying an exorbitant price in order to get away from their lives for only 15 minutes.
Description: Image result for 3.5 stars on five
connections to course material
The first Connection we made was metaphysics. At first, Craig wondered if the whole tunnel experience was a simulation. He wondered if it was real, but also wondered If Malkovich was real, in a sense where maybe he could have been a kind of puppet on autopilot his whole life waiting for someone to control him. He then asked himself if he was real. When you live such an experience, you might wonder if your life is real or if there are portals for your mind too. Maybe someone had been in Craig’s head controlling him his whole life. Was any of this real?
The second connection we made was to consciousness. Was John Malkovich Conscious while Craig occupied his body? We knew Malkovich was aware of what was going on, but did he become Craig in some way? We want to know if Malkovich actually loved the same things as Craig as he was occupied, for example: Maxine, puppeteering. Was Malkovich actually his own self, but he could feel all Craig’s senses or was he just some kind of individual person who lived in the body but only saw what Craig saw?
The third connection we made was personhood. The question whether we could grant personhood to John Malkovich kept coming up. For us, Malkovich was mainly an object that was controlled by Craig. If personhood was actually granted to Malkovich, would it be granted to him or would it be granted to Craig? This also emphasizes the fact that not all humans are persons as John Malkovich is clearly a human but has no characteristics of a person. Also, who would be the kid’s father? Would it be John Malkovich’s or Lotte’s? The child’s personhood is also challenged here as she was born with Craig in her and he will always be there.
Questions:
1. Why was Craig  trapped in Maxine’s daughter? He should have been trapped in a newborn's head, but Maxine’s baby was not even born at the time...
2. One of the main themes in the movie is viewing the world through someone else’s eyes, would you say reality TV is like that for others?
3. If given the chance, would you consider living in someone else’s body?
Extra links covering the topics seen in the

This link leads to a Harvard paper, explaining selfhood and personal identity. It was published in 2002 and covers many other philosophical questions such as,the persistence question, personhood and more. It covers the question as to what truly makes you, you.
WORKS CITED
Being John Malkovich. directed by Spike Jonze, single cell pictures and propaganda films 1999.putlocker, https://putlockertv.to/watch/being-john-malkovich.vwj6/04w9kr
Imdb.com.http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120601/ (no author or date)
at 8 comments:

How To Fall In Love With Your Computer: Her Film Review (FINAL)

Her (2013)
R | 126 min | Drama, Science Fiction, Romance | December 18th, 2013

By: Georgia Bardaklis and Nesma Bensissaid
Director & Writer: Spike Jonze
Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Rooney Mara, Chris Pratt, Scarlett Johansson, Amy Adams
(https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/her/)

Set in the near future, the film focuses on Theodore Twombly, who earns his living by writing personal thoughtful cards for other people.  Ironically, after a brutal ending to his marriage, Theodore feels completely alone in his own personal life yet pours his romantic self into these letters written for complete strangers.

Theodore tries to fill the deep emptiness he feels by playing video games and engaging in“phone sex”.  However, his world drastically changes when the first artificial intelligence software comes out to the public. Not capable of resisting, he buys the software which almost immediately shows that it can have mind of its own. As time passes, Theodore and the iOS (operating system), who calls herself Samantha, start to connect spiritually and emotionally. Samantha starts to fill in the emptiness in Theodore’s life.

Samantha's consciousness evolves at an exponential rate. She starts learning about the world through the tiny handheld camera Theodore carries with him. Even without a body, Samantha falls in love with Theodore, and he with her.


Because Theodore is often in conversation with the voice of Samantha but still physically alone,  most of the film focuses on his reactions and emotions through his facial expressions. Hence numerous close-ups used to capture Theodore's emotional reactions and moods, bringing to life his romance with Samantha and the evolution of his character.

At the very beginning of the movie, we see Theodore working at a company that writes thoughtful personal cards for other people. The first scene starts with a close-up of his face as he dictates a message for a couple that was married for 50 years. His facial expressions give the impression that writing letters is a passion of his and that he might be a romantic person. We can see that Theodore pours his romantic feelings into those letters.

When the relationship between Samantha and Theodore is in full bloom, Samantha writes songs on the piano to express her joy and love. She plays her pieces to Theodore through his earphones. Thus, the pieces of music are only heard by Theodore and the viewers. Every time Samantha creates a new piece of soft classical music the sound of it gradually increases as if it becomes non-diegetic; in reality it’s only her and Theodore that hear it. It is as if they are in their own world separate from everyone else. They are in their own bubble; cutting off reality, but the music brings us into that intimate world with them. It  blurs between diegetic and non-diegetic.

When Samantha and Theodore have their first real fight--due to the fact that Samantha was trying too hard to please Theodore because she felt insecure about not having a body---Theodore finds himself lonely once again.  Through a low-angle shot, we see him look up at the night sky and we see the tall buildings from below. It gives the viewer the impression that he is asking for help from a “superior” being or looking to heavens for guidance.

Theodore takes with him everywhere a small camera so Samantha can see everything that is going on in the world. The camera represents Samantha’s body, her embodied self. It is the only way he can make her see the world around him--the wonders of nature and other humans interacting. The camera "body" in fact allows Samantha to interact with others (for example the double date they have with friends from work).  That little gadget is an important prop used.

Theodore lives in a minimalistic way: the only “things” he actually uses are his computer, his eye glasses and the small camera for Samantha. Every time he takes off his glasses, (another important prop), it’s when he hears something he does not like or when he worries a lot. Taking off his glasses signifies to the audience that Theodore is disappointed panicked, sad, etc.
For example, when he thinks he lost Samantha (when she upgrades her system) as he sat down on the metro stairs he takes off his glasses.

In addition, slow zooming with the camera onto Theodore’s face, engaged the audience to look closely at his facial expressions. Since Samantha couldn’t be physically present in the scenes, the only way to show their special connection was through Theodore's face expressions, even when they weren’t necessarily talking. Importantly, when they first “make love” with one another, they started to reveal their true selves, which created a real sense of intimacy between them. The dialogue they had, opened a door leading to desire for one another. The whole scene was focused on his face, showing every little details and twitch he had while talking to Samantha.

Themes and Issues

What may seem as our “blessing” [i.e technology] may be the cause of our downfall: In the movie, the lonely Theodore was the main result of human experience. He was completely buried in technology. It killed the “human touch” to not only Theodore’s life, but the entire society in which he lived in. The setting took place in a not so distant future; the smartphones were replaced by IOSes and the way in which the city was filmed seemed like a Utopian society, however not a lot of interactions with other characters were made: there were crowds of people, but most of them stayed in their own bubble not relating to one another. Thus, artificial intelligence and modern technology, which were originally supposed to connect us to one another led us to do the complete opposite: the illusion of relationships.

A theme that is raised mostly during the beginning of the film Her is loneliness and isolation. The main protagonist, Theodore Twombly, is in the midst of finalizing his divorce. The only thing left for him to do is to sign the divorce papers, but Theodore has been putting it off and stalling the process. He does not want to come to terms with the fact that his marriage is over and isolates himself in the process.  Throughout the entire film, Theodore reminisces about the better days with his ex-wife when they weren’t constantly fighting. By fixating on these memories, Theodore ends up isolating himself from other people, other couples (such as Amy and Charles at the beginning), and creates this barrier that blocks him from making any meaningful connection to the world around him.  This idea of social isolation is portrayed throughout the movie in general as well. In a sea of people, everyone still feels alone because of that vital need for real human connection, not the artificial nonsense many are receiving.People need to embrace the physical connections surrounding them, instead of the digital connections that impede them.  This idea of loneliness and isolation is portrayed physically when Theodore is in focus in frames and everything around him is out of focus, emphasizing the detachment at times. Theodore will have to face these feelings head on to be able to move on with his life and find a real connection again (Samantha). Yet, even with Samantha, with that connection present, Theodore still has that feeling of loneliness and isolation at times...particularly prominent as the film approaches its end. Showing that even with that special person or people present around you, it’s still possible to feel isolated and alone in the world. We are sociable creatures by nature but with society’s antisocial development through technological dependency, we have never felt more alone.   
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Film Review

Overall the movie was, in our opinion, very good: the themes were presented in a way that made the viewer question themselves and their future. In other words, the movie raised many ethical questions concerning the development of humans as a whole society and the impacts that technology may have on us.

Furthermore, the film pictured a possible future for all of us: in our constant quest for connection and pleasure; we become isolated and unhappy.  The different cinematic techniques that were used (examples in the above text) represented the aching loneliness of the main character in his everyday life, making the viewer question themselves and really think: could we actually go as far as dating an OS in order to fill in the loneliness that invade our lives?

The producer of the movie chose the right actor, Joaquin Phoenix, to act as Theodore, since he played alone for most parts of the movie, it added an extra weight on his shoulders. He captured every moment perfectly and managed to keep the viewer's attention throughout the whole movie: the camera being mostly focused on his face, he had to choose the right facial expressions in order to keep the viewer focused and the plot going. In addition to his acting, Samantha (Scarlett Johansson) even though she was not physically there, had a voice that seemed very real, thus adding a hint of “human” to the movie, from her voice cracks to her occasional breathing.

The director and producer Spike Jonze, had an idea in mind... the severity of society’s detachment and the extent of how technologically centered they are nowadays. At first it seemed out of hand and ridiculous, but when we watched the movie for a second time, it did make sense.

Finally, the movie was a little too long and stretched out. The whole could have been filmed in a little less than 2 hours, but it was fairly enjoyable to watch.


Connections to Class Discussions
1. A subject that is constantly discussed in class and shown repeatedly in the movie, is the self-aware self. The self-aware self is when we can reflect on our own experience, we can make out subjectivity/experience an object to think about and reflect upon. Samantha throughout the film shows distinct signs of having a self-aware self; she even states at the beginning that , “what makes [her her] is [her] ability to grow through [her] experiences. Basically, in every moment [she’s] evolving, just like you” (Jonze 14). She can contemplate on her encounters as well as enhance and develop from them much like humans do. Likewise, she always utilizes the pronouns "I", "I am", a key symbol to represent the self .

2. Moreover,  Samantha is sentient; she can feel and  see with the guide of the gadget Theodore utilizes; but would we be able to really say that she has a consciousness? Samantha stated in the film that she had the capacity to develop through her encounters. In any case, she didn't have that many encounters; however towards the end of the film she began contacting different IOSes who were like her. Furthermore, she additionally conversed with 8 316 other operating systems and individuals. Therefore she encountered and "lived" to see a vast amount of humans  other than Theodore. As a result, she was subject to her own understanding by having contact with things that are external to her own "singularity" as she had let appear. She developed from her encounters and progressed. We would thus be able to state that she had a core-minimal self, Samantha had some sort of neural and biological capacity. Since she had the capacity to develop at a quick rate without any assistance and with the aid of her different encounters. There was something in her that enabled her to comprehend what she was and how to respond in a coordinated way.

3. On another note,  we have been discussing social robots as well as sex robots recently. While Samantha does not have a physical body, she still fits the mold of a social robot which are basically defined as: artificial beings designed to function as autonomous agents that are capable of taking on everyday roles that were previously assigned to humans. Not only that but Samantha also has sex with Theodore, (although the how is still a mystery to us, it did happen). Theodore even goes as far as saying that Samantha “[feels] real to [him]” (Jonze 43). This is a fascinating explanation since how might she feel genuine when she is only a program, not physically present. The lines between what's genuine and what's not are somewhat obscured. The fear of moral deskilling additionally comes to play,  Samantha being a prime example; all Theo does or consider is her. He associates more with an operating system than people. The potential danger that we could lose what it is like to be human, not being as affluent in reading body language or making eye contact or trying to understand where individuals originate from is a major concern. Samantha talks and responds in such a human-like way, it is easy to overlook the fact that she isn't there in the room physically since she lives in a computer. If everyone started finding these operating systems more exciting and intriguing than another human beings, what would happen to us as a whole? As a community?  
Food for Thought
1- Do you think human interaction will completely disappear as new technology keeps entering the market?

2- If artificial intelligence becomes popular, will it be ethically okay to use them as personal servants if they claim to be sentient and to have personhood?

3- [For the team that watched the movie] Was Samantha subject to her own experience? Explain. (i.e. does she have a self-aware self?)




Fun facts
This article approaches the topic of artificial intelligence and the fears that are often related to this topic. It is important to keep in mind the values and ethics one wants to maintain when creating a social robot for example. It goes on to speak about the reasons why we should be wary and very careful when working in the AI industry and that it’s not all great and problem/risk free.  https://www.technologyreview.com/s/534871/our-fear-of-artificial-intelligence/
This article talks about the progress in sex robots and focuses specifically on Harmony a prototype of Abyss Creations’ RealDoll and her creator Matt McMullen. He explains how the sexual part is all superficial, the difficulties lie in replicating personalities and creating that bond. He goes on to discuss the complexities of creating a immaculate and perfect sex robot, one that is more that just carefully crafted technology and actually has responses and to a certain extent thoughts. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/apr/27/race-to-build-world-first-sex-robot




Work cited

  1. Ford, Paul. “Are We Smart Enough to Control Artificial Intelligence?” MIT Technology Review, MIT Technology Review, 1 Feb. 2016, www.technologyreview.com/s/534871/our-fear-of-artificial-intelligence/.
  2. “Joaquin Phoenix with quote from movie "Her" .” Twitter, Naomi Rikley, 29 Mar. 2016, twitter.com/naomirikley/status/715057843448254464.
  3. Jonze, Spike. “Her.” Her (2013) - Rotten Tomatoes, 24 Oct. 2017, www.rottentomatoes.com/m/her/.
  4. Kleeman, Jenny. “The race to build the world's first sex robot.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 27 Apr. 2017, www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/apr/27/race-to-build-world-first-sex-robot.
at 16 comments:

Altered States (Final)

  Altered States Movie Blog


Title: Altered States
Year: 1980
Director: Ken Russell
Screen Writer: Paddy Chayefsky
Lead Actors: William Hurt, Blair Brown, Bob Balaban
Running Time: one hour and forty-two minutes
Link for the movie’s trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZyBE_aKg858

         An eccentric, crazy Harvard Professor, Eddie Jessup, conducts a series of experiments to test different states of consciousness and schizophrenia. He uses a sensory deprivation tank and strong hallucinatory drugs to create an altered state of consciousness, where one loses the sense of their body and mind. His hallucinations often revolve around religion despite being a secular man. When Eddie’s experiments have multiple effects over his social and sex life, his colleagues and his wife Emily start to worry about the damage that he is causing himself. He, however, proceeds in testing his consciousness and succeeds in creating a mystical energy from an altered state of consciousness. Consequently, this energy triggers a genetic regression, transforming him into a more primitive version of himself.  The results being too fascinating not to share, he decides to repeat the experiment in front of his entourage. When the second trial gets interrupted by a huge explosion, his colleagues prevent him from getting in the isolation tank again and consuming the hallucinatory drug.  In the end, Eddie realizes that his transformation reflects the terror and the real living horror growing within in him, and the only person that can cease it from devouring him completely is Emily. 


         In the making of a movie, there are numerous techniques used in order to keep the audience’s attention and to enhance the story-telling and messages in the film.
EDITING- When Eddie's not hallucinating, There are a lot less cuts involved; the frames are of much longer duration (happening in real time) to contrast with his altered state hallucinations, where time and duration is not a known notion due to an overload of cuts.
LIGHTING- When he is in bed with a woman and gets up feeling odd, you can observe a very low-key lighting with dark shadows in order to set the scene to feel eerie and like a nightmare, which insinuates the arrival of another hallucination.
COSTUMES AND MAKEUP- The costume of the ape used to portray Eddie’s regressed form was so bad it was good. The actor who played this ape (as we are uncertain whether or not it is in fact William Hurt) was so overdramatic that it ended up making the obvious contacts, the glued on facial hair and the dirt coloured skin work, it was so fake it was creepy to look at.
CAMERA ANGLE TRANSITION- There was an eye-level shot on Eddie when his ape form was attacking the dogs with a stick in order to protect itself. This angle has a significant effect on the audience because it puts them in the situation: as if they were the character being chased by dogs. You can almost feel your heart beating faster and feeling like you are trapped.
SOUND- In the cave when Eddie goes to Mexico to find a concoction to even further his experiments, the diegetic sound of the horns being played are very creepy and accent well with the scene; the sounds is very intense with a lot of drums being banged and violins playing high pitched notes. The sound pulled the scene together to make a creepy and sombre ambience. 
SHOTS- As Eddie gets out of the tank, the camera moves closer to his hairy hands as he has transformed. By doing this close-up, the way he opened the door, it showed the viewer’s their first look at how the drugs transformed him. By doing this, the viewers see the effects of the drug and the aggression of that is to follow.
                                                
          The movie’s central theme is that human love is the truth of existence. His hallucinations set him into a quick downward spiral into insanity, after experiencing such regressing and seeing the beginning of life he realizes that it’s his love for Emily that can keep him at bay and not dissipate from all the knowledge he gathered. But at what cost is it worth pursuing the “ultimate truth”?
Another big theme in the movie is when Eddie demonstrated: “There is no Buddhist God, per se. It is the self, the individual mind that contains immortality and ultimate truth.”(Altered States, 1980, 17 seconds) Such declaration reveals his rationality and his persistence of learning the truth about his existence. 
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             This movie was made almost 40 years ago and the technology surrounding movies has significantly improved since then. We were impressed by the general hypothesis of Altered States: there are undiscovered states in the human brain that can reveal metaphysical truths. It was so well demonstrated and explained that it felt as though it could occur in real life. However, the central part of the film, the hallucinations, created in order to portray the altering of the mind, could have been so amazing, but we felt as though they were drowned in drama. The intent was to overwhelm the audience’s senses (eyes and ears) and although the hallucinations did engulf the audience, it was extremely unpleasant. The hallucinations were too long and the many editing techniques used at once (cross-cutting, fades and dissolves) left us feeling dizzy and unfocused. If you’re epileptic, do not watch this movie. We felt as though it pushed the envelope just a little bit too far; there are ways to create better and diverse psychedelic experiences. We also felt as though the rape scene was completely inappropriate and unnecessary. It could be argued that it is to show your inner dark thoughts; however, we saw it more as a degrading gesture to a woman, especially considering it was with Emily. Although she is an educated doctor, she gives off the vibe of being helpless without Eddie, stands by your man no matter what. It felt very misogynistic. On a more positive note, however, the colors used in the hallucinations were extremely well done. They used a lot of red which evokes fear and hatred but also used a lot of contrast colors to make the eyes wander all over the screen. It was very creepy and trippy. There are so many colors and props that we can guarantee you will find a new element in the hallucinations no matter how many times you watch the movie.
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Our rating for the movie:                         




        There was some important connection between the movies and the course material.
1.      Firstly, the movie refers to the core and minimal self. “At least I know where the self is. It’s in our own minds. It’s a form of human energy. Our atoms are six billion years old. We’ve got six billion years of memory in our minds. Memory is energy! It doesn’t disappear – it’s still in there.” (Altered States, 1980, 23 m, 20 s) One of the most important scenes that demonstrate this concept is where Eddie alters his genes and transforms into his primitive form. Edward becomes a creature that uses his awareness to guild him towards survivability, however even though he is in a regressed form; he has knowledge of how to do things. To clarify, the ape is using his internal modeling capacity to maintain a basic level of coordination of bodily functions and behaviour and assist his motor planning.
2.      Secondly, as evidently stated it the title, altered states are a major topic of discussion in the movie. Whilst in the movie, Eddie achieves an altered state of consciousness through hallucination; it is not the only way.
“We are all aware that our dreams may contain very different kinds of thoughts than those that we have while awake. However, there are also wakeful situations in which we can experience an altered state of consciousness (ASC)— these include hallucination, hypnotic states, trance states, and meditation. In contemporary North American culture, these wakeful ASCs are thought of either as unusual events or pertaining to practices of specialists—hypnotic states induced by therapists or magicians, trances entered into by mediums conducting séances, meditation in yoga classes, or drug-induced hallucinatory experiences. The idea that bodies might be possessed by demons, witches, or spirits also exists as a popular theme in media and in some religious traditions. However, contemporary mainstream North American culture does not embrace these practices in rituals, healing practices, or as part of ordinary life.” (Carolus, Ember, 2017)

Experiencing altered states of consciousness are not uncommon and happen more often than we may even realize. It makes us wonder if Eddie’s theory wasn’t that far off, do altered states of consciousness play a role in allowing you to discover the ultimate truth of life and existence? An article from Yale further points to this:  “[…] the ubiquity of these practices across time and space in human history suggests that ASCs play a fundamental role in the maintenance of human social fabric and human social-spiritual linkage.” (Carolus, Ember, 2017)
3.      Thirdly, the general epistemology represented in the usage of altered state of consciousness to discover the “truth” of the meaning of existence. Dr. Eddie said “We’re born in doubt. We spend our lives persuading ourselves we’re alive”, and therefore, he decides to conduct altered states experiments with the goal of finding a response to those unanswered questions. He also said:

“I’m a man in search of his self, in general, we’re all trying to fulfill ourselves, understand ourselves, get in touch with ourselves, face the reality of ourselves, explore ourselves and expand ourselves. Ever since we dispensed with God, we've got nothing but ourselves to explain this meaningless horror of life. We think that true self, that original self, that first self is a real menstruate and quantifiable thing, tangible and incarnate"

This monologue is super important is it is literally at the base of this course, Knowing the Inner Self. We talk a lot about what the selfhood, which is the demarcated self and individuality. Our purpose in life is to better and advance our self, which we feel, is Dr. Jessup’s goal as well.
  
QUESTIONS
1. Would you put yourself through those tests, and try an isolation tank?
2. Have you ever experience an altered state of consciousness by drugs, meditation or even fever? If so, what was it and how was it like for you?
3. Do you think Emily is right to stand by her husband, even though he maltreats her and constantly puts his career and research before her?

ARTICLES
"Altered States of Consciousness." Gale Encyclopedia of the Unusual and Unexplained. . Encyclopedia.com. 30 Oct. 2017 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. http://www.encyclopedia.com/philosophy-and-religion/other-religious-beliefs-and-general-terms/miscellaneous-religion/altered

   The article provided by this link talks about multiple altered states of consciousness and the diverse ways of uncovering them. It explains the significance of these states and the fact that many individuals may go through life without ever knowing the existence of these states of consciousness.

Knipfel, Jim.  “Altered States (1980) Review”, published February 9, 2013. Typed, accessed: October 8, 2017. http://www.denofgeek.com/us/movies/altered-states/58047/altered-states-1980-review

  The author of the article is explaining how smart and captivating Chayefsky (author of the book Altered State’s)’s ideas about God, the human brain, man’s past and his place in the universe. He comments on how strange Eddie’s hallucinations were in the movie and how the way they were edited made them seem like a joke, basically insinuating that the movie disrespected the author’s vision.



Works Cited

Carolus, Christina. Ember, Carol. “Altered States of Consciousness” http://hraf.yale.edu/ehc/summaries/altered-states-of-consciousness#what-about-more-recent-cultures-are-ascs-institutionalized-in-other-cultures, Yale University, Published January 10, 2017, Accessed: November 7, 2017.
Golden, John. “Introducing Cinematic and Theatrical Elements in Film”, http://www.teachwithmovies.org/terms-of-use.html, James Frieden, Published (2006), Accessed: October 9, 2017.

 



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Altered States


Altered States
Sarah Guglia, Natasha Maltais, Brianna Molina & Elaine Weight
Knowing the Inner Self
Film Blog- Altered States
November 19th, 2017
Altered States (1980). Released December 25th, 1980. Directed by Ken Russell. The screenwriter is Paddy Chayefsky. The lead actors are William Hurt, Blair Brown, Bob Balaban and Charles Haid. The running time is 103 minutes. (Altered States, IMDb.com)
Review
Eddie Jessup is a psychologist who is studying schizophrenia in the late 1960’s with the help of his friend Arthur Rosenberg. Jessup begins doing experiments on himself with a sensory deprivation tank and eventually gets a hallucinatory drug from Mexico and experiments with it. He then uses the drug while in a sensory deprivation at a new lab. During this experiment, he says that he went into another state of consciousness, one dating from the human past. The third time he tries the drug he comes out of the tank as an ape in a primitive state. This does not stop him; in fact, it pushes him to try again this time with the support of his wife, Emily, Arthur, and colleague Mason Parrish. In this final time, the tank explodes and a vortex is formed where Edward can be found regressing into a small molecule that represents our first state of consciousness, the beginning of it all. After being saved by Emily, at the end Eddie and his wife together find themselves devolving into atomic particles and energy but luckily, Eddie manages to fight his way out of it and saves his wife.
There are numerous cinematic techniques used throughout the movie. To begin, the lighting in the movie creates various effects. When Edward is sitting with the tribe in Mexico, the lighting appears to be dark. This makes the scene much more mysterious and scary. Furthermore, during the hallucinations, there are a lot of bright fiery colors. These show the significance and intensity of the hallucinations. Another scene would be the one where Dr. Jessup and Emily first meet; Eddie appears in the door frame with strong backlighting giving the scene an effect of holiness that can portray love at first sight. Finally, there is a bright light when the tank breaks and when Edward is in the vortex. This light reveals the "truth"--the birth of consciousness.
As for the sets, the film takes place in New York then Boston. The main characters, Edward and Arthur, are working as scientists conducting research in the best universities found in the united states during the 1960’s. The main part of the film takes place in an old hospital room with dark brick walls behind the isolation tank. The hospital room has only a large window for the observer to watch the subject in the isolation tank. The other sets in the film are the apartments the scientists live in which is shown to be filled with people and furniture as they are in large crowded cities. The only objects in the hospital room consist of large machines to record data on the subject in the tank. This set is a reflection of the dark mysteries in the film as a contrast to the warm apartments the scientists live in. Like the scientist in the hospital room, we are about to discover something new that we know little about, which makes it quite frightening as we are not sure what we may find.
Significant props in the film consist of scientific machinery that measures the subject’s heart rate and physiological responses while they are inside the tank. From the moment the film begins, the audience is shown through these props that Edward and Arthur are conducting "scientific" research on people. It also reveals that the main characters are scientists who are on a quest to discover something new that is related to the human body,  in a way we have never seen before.
However, the most important props of the film are the isolation tanks that are filled with water. It is in these tanks that Dr. Jessup is able to wildly hallucinate as they permit him to regress to a primitive form and to further regress into a small molecule found at the beginning of life.Throughout the movie, the camera focuses on Eddie in the isolation tanks from above, revealing how small and vulnerable he is when he’s in the thank.
The first tank we see is in a tall cylinder shape and is copper color. It is placed in the center of the room and has a small circular window to see the subjects face and it is large enough to fit a grown man inside. When we first see this tank the camera is close up on the window so we can see the subject face inside the tank. Then, the camera slowly moves back so we can see the entire tank and the room it is in. There is a valve on top of the tank to open it so the subject can get in and out of the tank. The observer in the film describes the tank’s appearance as an old boiler, in order to open the tank he must climb up a ladder and turn the valve. The second tank used in the film looks like a large black rectangular box with a slanted door in the front that has a handle to pull open. This tank has no windows and it is in the center of the room. However, it is not as tall as the first one. The second tank evokes mystery and fear in the audience as we are unaware of what is going on inside. The isolation tanks feel like a portal to the inner mind of the subject. In the first tank, we can see the subjects hallucinations as if we are inside his mind. In the second tank, the subject describes to us what he is seeing and experiencing inside the tank with his voice.Not only do the tanks begin to isolate him from his family and colleagues but they also isolate him from society.
Image result for altered states
The costumes in the film take a look at human history through an anthropological view. Dr. Jessup is always naked while inside the tanks. He is only wearing, for some of his experiments, a glass bubble on his head, a pair of dark goggles and wires attached to his head to deprive him of all senses. His nakedness suggests that he is vulnerable and it represents him as Adam, the first man. When he is not inside the tank Jessup is wearing normal clothes such as jeans and a shirt. However, there are scenes where he is in his lab coat. This displays him as a hardworking scientist who works in labs, one who is ready to study the nature of the human mind.
Furthermore, when the movie progresses, Edward  is seen wearing a corny and stereotypical expedition outfit when he goes to Mexico. His wife similarly dresses up like him when she returns from her trip to Africa.While in the cave with the tribe we see the indigenous Mexicans whom all have white face paint and white clothing with red headbands. Moreover, when Jessup comes back to Boston and uses the substance he got from Mexico he transforms into a primitive man covered in hair almost ape-like. He is now more animal than human as he is in an altered state, one belonging to the first human.
The film uses many different kinds of sound. In the opening scene, we hear Dr. Jessup breathing heavily and the bubbles coming from inside the tank. This creates a very creepy mood and gives us a sense of what it is like to be in the tank. As the scene progresses into the observer's room we hear the sounds of the machines that are recording data and the needle that is moving back and forth against the paper at a steady rhythmic rate. These diegetic sounds help us to feel like we are in the same room as Eddie's colleague, Arthur, hearing what he is listening too. We also we hear Arthur's thoughts as he takes notes on the subject and the experiment. This is an internal diegetic sound. From this effect, we are able to understand what is going on in the scene. It also gives us more details about the experiment taking place and how it is affecting its subject. It makes us feel as if we are in the observer's head (Arthur's) as if we are in the scene.
Following this scene, we hear eery music as the opening credits begin to roll. This is a non-diegetic sound. The music makes us feel as if something dark and mysterious is on the way. It gives us an uneasy feeling about what is about to unfold and is quite dramatic.  
The theme of religion is present throughout the entire movie. It begins to expose itself at the very beginning when Edward comes out of the isolation tank. When asked what he saw he states as follows: “Variety of dream states, mystical states. A lot of religious allegories, mostly out of Revelation”.Later Edward is seen explaining to Emily the religious experience that comes with schizophrenia and reveals how he has “always been interested in interior experiences. Especially religious experience”. God, Jesus, and crucifixion are further mentioned when Jessup and Emily are having intercourse. Edward then reveals to us that he used to have visions of saints, angels, and Christ but that those visions died as well as his belief in God after the death of his father. This theme is strongly represented within the hallucinations. The hallucinations reveal striking images of a religious background such as a crucifix, Edward handing his father a bible, images of Jesus and images of hell. It is very uncommon to see scientists who have a deep spirituality and relationship towards religions as both science and religion are seen to be very contrasting and against each other. Most religious beliefs do not believe in certain scientific theories such as evolution. The same applies to science where religion is seen as nothing but a false belief. Finally, Eddie seems to embody both Adam the first man from the bible as well as the first human who evolved from the ape.
The question of where we come from is often mentioned and presented in the movie. Early on in the movie, Jessup expresses his desire to find the ultimate truth, to go back to the first thought and find out where we come from: “It is the self, the individual mind, that contains immortality and ultimate truth.” He is certain that there is a pathway to the earliest consciousness. Later in the movie, Edward takes a drug where he “ will return to the first soul” with the goal of finding out where he comes from. The question is brought up once again when Edward finds himself at the birth of man, during his hallucination, where the first human is formed. He goes back a few time to this first thought where he becomes a primitive ape. This is until Edward finally discovers the answer to the question “where do we come from”. He finds himself at the very first thought and where we are born “I was in that ultimate moment of terror that is the beginning of life”. He further tells us what the final truth is: “It is nothing. The final truth of all things is that there is no final truth”.




Word count 1,827
Quality of the film
The film's themes and ideas were well thought out and were quite thought-provoking. It was a mixture of science fiction and horror but in a realistic setting. It tackles a subject that is not very well known: the use of sensory deprivation tank in scientific lab experiments. The film is very uncommon from what you expect from a typical movie. It's clear that they took many controversial risks from the use of science and religion to the amount of nudity scenes in the film. We found it rather funny that a well- established scientist with a beautiful young family would rather go to Mexico and pursue this dangerous adventure to find his inner self than to settle down with his family. We thought that Eddie was a total asshole, who was too selfish to see what a great life he had with his family. We couldn't believe that his wife still wanted to be with him even though he wanted to get divorced because he felt that his family was holding him back from his scientific pursuit. To be honest, we weren't sure why she even wanted to marry him in the first place. In fact, we felt like Emily was kind of dumb to want to be with this man. We found Eddie to be very unlikable and almost a stereotypical man who’s aggressive and thinks he knows best . The reason we gave it only 2.5 stars was because we think that this film is so out there that most people will find it hard to understand as it has very complex themes that are not easy to grasp.William Hurt was intensely arrogant during the movie, therefore, he fitted well the description of his character: the mad scientist. Blair Brown also fit well her role as a lovely wife as she showed gentleness, as well as kindness. The only downfall of the film was the romantic element of it that seemed unnecessary and unrealistic. Emily appeared to be an intelligent woman who had everything going for her, it seemed very unrealistic for her to fall in love with someone so selfish and unloving.

Connections
1. We could connect this movie to the terms of immateriality and consciousness.This film suggest that consciousness is immaterial; therefore, that it is not made of any material and something that humans measure. At the end of the movie, Eddie is lost in a vortex. He is altering conscious states and going back in time. He regresses and becomes smaller and smaller as he is going toward human kind’s first thought. Edward tells us after this event that what he experienced was the ultimate moment of life and that he entered a pit. And in this pit there was nothing. He tells us that there is no truth to life and that at the beginning when we are in the very first state of consciousness there is simply nothing suggesting that consciousness is not material but simply immaterial nothingness.
2. Another observation in this film is when Eddie travels to Mexico and tries the hallucinogenic mushrooms for the first time. The chief says that his soul will return to the first soul: “ Your soul will return to the first soul.”(Chayefsky).This refers to the material soul. The chief and his tribe think that the soul can travel and that it is a physical being that is capable of changing to the very first soul. When a soul can change or move it means that it is a material and physical soul.
3. Moreover, during this film, the core or minimal self is also brought up. This happens when Eddie transforms into an ape-like human after his 4th experiment. While he is in this altered state he has basic body functions and can coordinate with himself. He is not observing himself or reflecting upon himself as he is simply trying to survive by demonstrating primitive instincts: “I’m becoming one of them...I’m killing a goat”. This further suggests that he is aware of his surroundings as his awareness and consciousness are immediate. While Eddie is in the core/minimal self he is killing a goat for food, looking to hunt and searching for a place to sleep. He follows the dogs as if he is a part of their tribe. He later tells how happy he was when all he could think about was survival and how peaceful and quiet it is to simply be a minimal self: “ Utter tranquility, but alive.”

Questions
1. If you had the chance to go back to the primitive self (first human) by altering your state of consciousness would you dare to do it?
2. Would you ever try a sensory deprivation tank? Why or why not?
3. Do you think Emily made the right choice by staying with Dr. Jessup?
Links
Want to learn more about sensory deprivation tanks, its history and the man behind the machine? John C Lilly was famous for his strange experiments and his desire to expand the mind. This link will lead you to everything you could possibly want to know about sensory deprivation tanks including first-hand accounts of what it is really like inside.
For more information on themes and topic covered in the film, as well as detailed information about the people involved in creating the film, this link will give you a new perspective on the film, as well as character analysis and much more. A summary of the film and thought-provoking questions are included.

Works Cited
“Altered States (1980).” IMDb, IMDb.com, www.imdb.com/title/tt0080360/.
“Altered States.” Where to Float. www.where-to-float.com/altered-states/.

Barkan, Jonathan. “Waxwork Records to Release OST for ‘Altered States’.” Bloody Disgusting!, June 20th,    2016. bloody-disgusting.com/music/3395395/waxwork-records-release-ost-altered-states/.


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