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I Has a Tumblr
1 min read
fangirlandproudofit.tumblr.com…
Hello my lovelies! I made a Tumblr a few months back, but now I figured out what to do with it! So if any of you like my analysis posts, you might like my new movie review blog! So if you guys would like, follow me!
Hello my lovelies! I made a Tumblr a few months back, but now I figured out what to do with it! So if any of you like my analysis posts, you might like my new movie review blog! So if you guys would like, follow me!
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My Top Five Movies/Trilogies
1 min read
Okay, I have finally figured out my top five favorite movies. This is based on quality of the film itself; writing, acting, directing, characterization, etc. Here goes!
1. The Christopher Nolan Batman Trilogy (what? They would have taken up three slots! Dark, thought-provoking, smart, character-driven. Love them all.)
2. The Amazing Spider-Man (just saw it and fell in love with it. Amazing film. Heh…amazing. I'm funny.)
3. The Avengers (funny, action-packed, and character driven.)
4. Star Trek 2009 (like you didn't see THAT one coming.)
5. Inception (Intelligent, well-plotted, creative, action-packed, character driven.)
So there we go! My top five favorite movies. As you can possibly guess, my favorite director is Christopher Nolan. What can I say? He has a knack for making me think intelligently about a film instead of insulting said intelligence.
I also have a thing for movies that are character based. I like seeing a person on screen; not a plot-device.
PS: I may or may not do a review of each of these.
1. The Christopher Nolan Batman Trilogy (what? They would have taken up three slots! Dark, thought-provoking, smart, character-driven. Love them all.)
2. The Amazing Spider-Man (just saw it and fell in love with it. Amazing film. Heh…amazing. I'm funny.)
3. The Avengers (funny, action-packed, and character driven.)
4. Star Trek 2009 (like you didn't see THAT one coming.)
5. Inception (Intelligent, well-plotted, creative, action-packed, character driven.)
So there we go! My top five favorite movies. As you can possibly guess, my favorite director is Christopher Nolan. What can I say? He has a knack for making me think intelligently about a film instead of insulting said intelligence.
I also have a thing for movies that are character based. I like seeing a person on screen; not a plot-device.
PS: I may or may not do a review of each of these.
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I've heard it. You've heard it. We've all heard it. The same dry arguments against this movie and book series. How it's desensitizing us to violence, giving kids nightmares, etc etc.
These arguments irritate me to no end. Not only do they talk down to the fans of the books, they also completely miss the point of the series! And if you're wondering what set me off THIS time, it was actually a number of things.
First it was a friend of mine who told me about this snooty lady telling her the books were not appropriate for "children" her age. She's fourteen, and one of the most mature and intelligent people I know. There is nothing that infuriates me more than someone who is so obviously NOT a child getting talked to like a six-year-old by someone who has no idea what she's talking about.
Sorry, sorry. Like I said, it infuriates me. Anyway, another thing that set me off was this article my mother read to me by a psychologist who went to see the movie. Oh great. Someone with a degree, she must know everything. (Can you sense the sarcasm?) She described the violence and told about how a kid said he would probably get nightmares from the movie. Fair enough, some people probably did. But I had two major problems with the review:
1. She said the targeted age group was middle school kids.
No, it is not. The targeted age group is high school to young adults. That might seem like a lot, but maturity wise it really is. This seems to be a common argument for protesters against the books and movie. Ten-year-olds are reading them and getting nightmares from them. Uh, duh! Ten-year-olds shouldn't be reading them, people! Where are their parents?! My mother would never have let me read those books when I was ten! Thirteen would be the minimum in my opinion, but really by then it would depend on the kid.
2. She described the violence, and ONLY the violence.
Once again, it seems to be a common trend here. All they talk about is the fact that it's a movie where kids slaughter each other, and yes, that is very true. But what they miss the the entire point of the story: THAT IT IS A BAD THING! Both the books and the movie repeatedly say how evil The Hunger Games are, and that the government uses them as a way to control the people living in the twelve districts! They are living in a post-apocalyptic totalitarian society that feeds on the near slave labor of the districts!
It's really sad to me that the psychologist of all people couldn't see past the violence. For me, the violence seemed to make one thing stand out more than anything else: the strength of our heroine, Katniss Everdeen. She took over her family when her father died, took care of her sister when her mother was practically in a coma, volunteered in her sister's place to save her from the titular Hunger Games, and did everything she could to survive while still showing the capital that she was not their plaything.
To me, that it the most important thing in the story. Isn't it a good thing that she's so strong? Why can't the people in our media see past the violence like we do? We don't see past it because we're desensitized to it; if anything, "The Hunger Games" makes us more aware of just how awful it is.
This series is not bad. In fact, it is a very unique and well-written story that should be held on the same level as George Orwell's "1984" as a warning to the world of what could happen to us if we let things go too far.
-FanGirlAndProudOfIt
These arguments irritate me to no end. Not only do they talk down to the fans of the books, they also completely miss the point of the series! And if you're wondering what set me off THIS time, it was actually a number of things.
First it was a friend of mine who told me about this snooty lady telling her the books were not appropriate for "children" her age. She's fourteen, and one of the most mature and intelligent people I know. There is nothing that infuriates me more than someone who is so obviously NOT a child getting talked to like a six-year-old by someone who has no idea what she's talking about.
Sorry, sorry. Like I said, it infuriates me. Anyway, another thing that set me off was this article my mother read to me by a psychologist who went to see the movie. Oh great. Someone with a degree, she must know everything. (Can you sense the sarcasm?) She described the violence and told about how a kid said he would probably get nightmares from the movie. Fair enough, some people probably did. But I had two major problems with the review:
1. She said the targeted age group was middle school kids.
No, it is not. The targeted age group is high school to young adults. That might seem like a lot, but maturity wise it really is. This seems to be a common argument for protesters against the books and movie. Ten-year-olds are reading them and getting nightmares from them. Uh, duh! Ten-year-olds shouldn't be reading them, people! Where are their parents?! My mother would never have let me read those books when I was ten! Thirteen would be the minimum in my opinion, but really by then it would depend on the kid.
2. She described the violence, and ONLY the violence.
Once again, it seems to be a common trend here. All they talk about is the fact that it's a movie where kids slaughter each other, and yes, that is very true. But what they miss the the entire point of the story: THAT IT IS A BAD THING! Both the books and the movie repeatedly say how evil The Hunger Games are, and that the government uses them as a way to control the people living in the twelve districts! They are living in a post-apocalyptic totalitarian society that feeds on the near slave labor of the districts!
It's really sad to me that the psychologist of all people couldn't see past the violence. For me, the violence seemed to make one thing stand out more than anything else: the strength of our heroine, Katniss Everdeen. She took over her family when her father died, took care of her sister when her mother was practically in a coma, volunteered in her sister's place to save her from the titular Hunger Games, and did everything she could to survive while still showing the capital that she was not their plaything.
To me, that it the most important thing in the story. Isn't it a good thing that she's so strong? Why can't the people in our media see past the violence like we do? We don't see past it because we're desensitized to it; if anything, "The Hunger Games" makes us more aware of just how awful it is.
This series is not bad. In fact, it is a very unique and well-written story that should be held on the same level as George Orwell's "1984" as a warning to the world of what could happen to us if we let things go too far.
-FanGirlAndProudOfIt
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Music Notes: 'Namaka Tachi' from FT
5 min read
You know what I love as much as movies and writing? Music. I LOVE music. It's a powerful thing, and you can convey so much through it. It's amazing on its own, and it can be used to enhance the good scenes in a film or TV show. So I've decided that as well as analyzing characters and stories, I'll use these journals to look at music which I will call "Music Notes". Pun intended.
I'll look at the instruments used, crescendos and decrescendos, but I'll also look at what the song really says about the show or film it's from, and how it enhances the mood of the scene it's in. If it's a character theme (and I will be doing a lot of those) I'll go over how it fits the character it is supposed to personify. I'll also put links to the song I'm doing so you can listen along.
Have I mentioned I love music? Yeah, you'll see how much very soon.
Today I'll be looking at a song from Fairy Tail, "Nakama Tachi". www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AYZXL…
Let's begin with the title. The English name for the song is literally "Friendship". I kid you not, this show has a friendship theme. At first I kind of laughed at that, but then I remembered what the most valuable thing is to the entitled guild: loyalty to each other. Everyone in the guild, even if they don't particularly get along, is always ready to take a bullet rather than see a fellow guild mate get hurt. In fact, most of their major victories are won by The Power of Friendship! That's the main theme of the show.
Now I will look at the instrumentation, and format of the song.
It starts out with a very Celtic instrument (I'm not sure what exactly it is, unfortunately) accompanied by an electric guitar. Interesting mix, but it works very well. They are soon joined by drums, a violin, an electric bass, and an acoustic guitar. I ADORE the use of both acoustic and electric this composer uses. The electric is picking while the acoustic strums, and it just works beautifully, especially with the violin.
Then the cymbal crescendos and decrescendos which leaves us with just a lone flute accompanied by the acoustic guitar. The flute lightly plays as the acoustic continues to strum along, giving a very simple but gorgeous sound.
The flute solo ends as the electric bass rejoins with its picking along with the drums. The bass and drums seem to be going hand-in-hand in this tune. Maybe they're Nakama. Heeheehee.
After these instruments play together awhile, they're joined by the return of the electric and then the violin begins playing again, and the flute and electric leave, giving us the sound we heard in the beginning of the song, minus the Celtic instrument. But then (to my utter joy) the flute returns as it plays a stream of steady long notes behind the violin!
The electric plays again for about half a measure, as it seems to be doing throughout this whole song, and the violin and flute play a unison duet. I don't know about you, but I ADORE the sound of string and wind together. It's like hearing two Sopranos, one with a lighter voice the other with a bigger voice, singing together!
The violin and flute play one last long note together and it seems to be bringing the song to a close, but then we are given the introduction once again, with the unknown Celtic wind instrument making a triumphant return! They repeat the introduction, and the song closes with a long note the decrescendos into silence.
"Nakama Tachi" may sound like another piece of music (albeit a very pretty piece of music) all by itself, but when you put it behind a scene, both compliment each other in a big way. When this song plays in Fairy Tail, it's usually to convey a sense of resolve, hope, happiness or just an overall love that the characters are showing at the moment. It represents the greatest value of the guild. But it's not just that.
Watch out guys, I'm about to get REALLY corny with symbolism here.
The violin and flute alone are each very pretty, but when they're brought together the two different Soprano voices compliment the beauty that the other creates. The other instruments together with these two voices makes the sound so much fuller and, let's face it, more beautiful.
Which brings me back to the title: "Nakama Tachi," or "Friendship" in English. This song uses all these different instruments to compliment the sounds of each other, just as we do with our friends.
"Nakama Tachi" doesn't just represent the most treasured value of Fairy Tail; it IS the most treasured value.
See why I love music? God, that was corny. I warned yah!
Next time I'll be doing another song from Fairy Tail: "Gray no Theme", or "Gray's Theme" in English.
Stay tuned!
-FanGirlAndProudOfIt
I'll look at the instruments used, crescendos and decrescendos, but I'll also look at what the song really says about the show or film it's from, and how it enhances the mood of the scene it's in. If it's a character theme (and I will be doing a lot of those) I'll go over how it fits the character it is supposed to personify. I'll also put links to the song I'm doing so you can listen along.
Have I mentioned I love music? Yeah, you'll see how much very soon.
Today I'll be looking at a song from Fairy Tail, "Nakama Tachi". www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AYZXL…
Let's begin with the title. The English name for the song is literally "Friendship". I kid you not, this show has a friendship theme. At first I kind of laughed at that, but then I remembered what the most valuable thing is to the entitled guild: loyalty to each other. Everyone in the guild, even if they don't particularly get along, is always ready to take a bullet rather than see a fellow guild mate get hurt. In fact, most of their major victories are won by The Power of Friendship! That's the main theme of the show.
Now I will look at the instrumentation, and format of the song.
It starts out with a very Celtic instrument (I'm not sure what exactly it is, unfortunately) accompanied by an electric guitar. Interesting mix, but it works very well. They are soon joined by drums, a violin, an electric bass, and an acoustic guitar. I ADORE the use of both acoustic and electric this composer uses. The electric is picking while the acoustic strums, and it just works beautifully, especially with the violin.
Then the cymbal crescendos and decrescendos which leaves us with just a lone flute accompanied by the acoustic guitar. The flute lightly plays as the acoustic continues to strum along, giving a very simple but gorgeous sound.
The flute solo ends as the electric bass rejoins with its picking along with the drums. The bass and drums seem to be going hand-in-hand in this tune. Maybe they're Nakama. Heeheehee.
After these instruments play together awhile, they're joined by the return of the electric and then the violin begins playing again, and the flute and electric leave, giving us the sound we heard in the beginning of the song, minus the Celtic instrument. But then (to my utter joy) the flute returns as it plays a stream of steady long notes behind the violin!
The electric plays again for about half a measure, as it seems to be doing throughout this whole song, and the violin and flute play a unison duet. I don't know about you, but I ADORE the sound of string and wind together. It's like hearing two Sopranos, one with a lighter voice the other with a bigger voice, singing together!
The violin and flute play one last long note together and it seems to be bringing the song to a close, but then we are given the introduction once again, with the unknown Celtic wind instrument making a triumphant return! They repeat the introduction, and the song closes with a long note the decrescendos into silence.
"Nakama Tachi" may sound like another piece of music (albeit a very pretty piece of music) all by itself, but when you put it behind a scene, both compliment each other in a big way. When this song plays in Fairy Tail, it's usually to convey a sense of resolve, hope, happiness or just an overall love that the characters are showing at the moment. It represents the greatest value of the guild. But it's not just that.
Watch out guys, I'm about to get REALLY corny with symbolism here.
The violin and flute alone are each very pretty, but when they're brought together the two different Soprano voices compliment the beauty that the other creates. The other instruments together with these two voices makes the sound so much fuller and, let's face it, more beautiful.
Which brings me back to the title: "Nakama Tachi," or "Friendship" in English. This song uses all these different instruments to compliment the sounds of each other, just as we do with our friends.
"Nakama Tachi" doesn't just represent the most treasured value of Fairy Tail; it IS the most treasured value.
See why I love music? God, that was corny. I warned yah!
Next time I'll be doing another song from Fairy Tail: "Gray no Theme", or "Gray's Theme" in English.
Stay tuned!
-FanGirlAndProudOfIt
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Fairy Tail: What They Did Right
3 min read
Okay, so the past couple months I've gotten really into the anime "Fairy Tail". I really didn't think I would at first. It sounded like your typical Shonen anime to me, you know? Fights, cheesy voice acting, etc etc. All I really had to go on were descriptions given to me by 
and as detailed as they were, didn't really do it justice.
So what made me fall in love with it? It's hard to say. I've gotta say, the animation really did a good job of drawing me in, and so did the hilarity of the first few episodes. The characters were fun as well, and also did a good job.
Then came the first official arc. Holy CRAP was it good. It went from comedy to action drama without missing a beat and did it RIGHT. I was shocked! The story was intense and really gave us a sense that the world they live in has a history. I loved it!
But that isn't exactly when I fell in love with it. No, that came with the next arc. The first character focal arc.
I know what you're thinking: "Oh great. Another character thing." Not really. This journal isn't as much about characters as it is about how to incorporate them into a story to make them both compelling.
The arc focused mainly on my favorite character, Gray Fullbuster. It told his story and showed us exactly how it has affected him as he is now. It wasn't exactly his backstory that was all that sad. it was pretty typical, and not nearly as tragic as some I've seen. The reason I loved it so much is because of the way it affected him as he thought back on it. He freaking cried! He was never the kind of person to cry the entire time you see him in the show!
Which brings me to the point of this journal. The placement of the arc.
What? What does that have to do with anything?
Everything. The placement was everything; story would not have had near the impact it did if it had been set up as Gray's introduction. Just saying "Hi, this is Gray and this is what happened to him when he was a kid!" doesn't have nearly the same weight as: "Hi, you've known Gray for awhile and guess what happened to him as a kid!"
The reason is that we got a chance to get to know him before they told us anything about him. We saw his clever quips, his fights with Natsu, and of course how hot he was.
We cared about him. We also saw the hilarity that was his fist fights he had with Natsu, and a small glimpse of their true friendship in the first story arc. But in Gray's arc, we get to see how much they really care. They both truly demonstrate that although they fight all the time, they really are close friends and would gladly take a bullet for the other.
The impact that all of this has is all because it took place after that characters were established. We care about the characters, so finding out about their pasts affect us more. Hiro Mashima knew this, and did it perfectly.
Take notes, Hollywood. That's how you write a story.
-FanGirlAndProudOfIt
and as detailed as they were, didn't really do it justice. So what made me fall in love with it? It's hard to say. I've gotta say, the animation really did a good job of drawing me in, and so did the hilarity of the first few episodes. The characters were fun as well, and also did a good job.
Then came the first official arc. Holy CRAP was it good. It went from comedy to action drama without missing a beat and did it RIGHT. I was shocked! The story was intense and really gave us a sense that the world they live in has a history. I loved it!
But that isn't exactly when I fell in love with it. No, that came with the next arc. The first character focal arc.
I know what you're thinking: "Oh great. Another character thing." Not really. This journal isn't as much about characters as it is about how to incorporate them into a story to make them both compelling.
The arc focused mainly on my favorite character, Gray Fullbuster. It told his story and showed us exactly how it has affected him as he is now. It wasn't exactly his backstory that was all that sad. it was pretty typical, and not nearly as tragic as some I've seen. The reason I loved it so much is because of the way it affected him as he thought back on it. He freaking cried! He was never the kind of person to cry the entire time you see him in the show!
Which brings me to the point of this journal. The placement of the arc.
What? What does that have to do with anything?
Everything. The placement was everything; story would not have had near the impact it did if it had been set up as Gray's introduction. Just saying "Hi, this is Gray and this is what happened to him when he was a kid!" doesn't have nearly the same weight as: "Hi, you've known Gray for awhile and guess what happened to him as a kid!"
The reason is that we got a chance to get to know him before they told us anything about him. We saw his clever quips, his fights with Natsu, and of course how hot he was.
We cared about him. We also saw the hilarity that was his fist fights he had with Natsu, and a small glimpse of their true friendship in the first story arc. But in Gray's arc, we get to see how much they really care. They both truly demonstrate that although they fight all the time, they really are close friends and would gladly take a bullet for the other.
The impact that all of this has is all because it took place after that characters were established. We care about the characters, so finding out about their pasts affect us more. Hiro Mashima knew this, and did it perfectly.
Take notes, Hollywood. That's how you write a story.
-FanGirlAndProudOfIt
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