Final Farewell

So... this is the final blog. The last one to write for this class. Huh. Time really does fly as you get older. This semester has felt like only a month. Then again finals are next week, so THAT should make me feel the slowness of time for what it really is!

Anyway, I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed this class and all of the people in it! I made some great new friends who actually laugh at my jokes (either that or it's pity...), I learned a lot of new things about the art of filmmaking, and actually saw some non-mainstream videos that I loved! I'm not normally one to watch independent films or anything like that since I've had bad experiences in the past (The Room... ugh), but I have to say that I loved a lot of the ones that I saw in this class! My favorite one of the bunch was "Hedgehog in the Fog". The art style was simply breathtaking and I was in awe the entire time as soon as I learned that it was a stop motion! I'm getting chills about it just writing this blog!

Professor Leeper is pretty awesome, too! He's quite a funny guy who knows what he's talking about. Thank you, Professor, for being one of the most entertaining teachers I've ever met! Everyday you found a new way to make me laugh and I can't thank you enough for that!

And a huge thank you to everyone in that class! I'm sure that some of you may find me obnoxious or loud, but you've been kind enough to keep those thoughts to yourself. That's not easy and I apologize for that! You guys have made me feel like I'm a part of something special and like I actually belong somewhere. I've never felt that way before. I only hope that you continue being the kind people that you are and go on to make others like me feel the same way: wanted.

Thanks for a great semester, guys! Have a great Christmas and may God bless you all!

The Corruption of Advertising

Alright, last post about Star Wars, I promise!

Have any of you noticed all of the Star Wars commercials flooding the internet? And I'm not just talking about the trailers and fan theory videos! I'm talking about almost EVERY company slapping the name "Star Wars" on their product and shoving it in our faces!

Think about it: HG did a commercial, Verizon did a commercial, Build-a-Bear did a commercial for their Star Wars bears, Duracell did a commercial, even freakin' Covergirl has a new line of makeup dedicated to Star Wars! COVERGIRL! What is going on?!

The last Star Wars movie (Revenge of the Sith) came out 10 years ago. That wasn't as long as the hiatus between Return of the Jedi and the Phantom Menace! That took 16 years! I guess technology has improved so much in the past decade that the hype can really build over a movie. I don't know. The advertising is getting to me, too. I already bought a Build-a-Bear Stormtrooper!

Anyway, it seems to me, watching all of these commercials, that these companies are sort of riding the coattail of Star Wars' success. Not that I can blame them. It's a pretty clever idea for raising your profits. But it's starting to drive me crazy! Eventually we'll start getting elderly people commercials (like the ones that say "I've fallen and I can't get up") to reference Star Wars in some manner. Or even Geico! In fact, I'm surprised that Geico hasn't fallen into this flow yet...

"I find your lack of car insurance... disturbing."

Why do People HATE Jar Jar Binks?

I was just asked the other day why so many people despised the character Jar Jar Binks from "Star Wars: The Phantom Menace". The individual had obviously never seen the film or the Gungan before and had been hearing many rumors like Jar Jar is the new Sith lord in the new movie coming out. So, I sat her down, looked her straight in the eye and said: there are three reasons...

1. Many people believe Jar Jar to be a racist character. While George Lucas denies that Jar Jar is in anyway racist, there is still no hiding the fact that he sounds Jamaican, he is somewhat reminiscent of the archetypes portrayed by blackface minstrels, or he could be coined as a lazy Caribbean person. All of these accusations went straight to Lucas even by American scholars and theorists.

2. He's annoying. Plain and simple. His voice, the way he acts, and how he carries himself are almost as distracting as young Anakin Skywalker saying "Now THIS is pod racing!"

3. In the previous films, the comedy derived from character's interactions with each other. Luke with Han, Han with Chewie, Chewie with C3-PO, etc. They loved playing off each other and truly making us laugh. With Jar Jar, his comedy was mostly based off of slapstick. There wasn't much hilarity with the main characters, so Jar Jar took it upon himself to try and make us laugh... it didn't work. From stepping in poop to getting 'numb tongue', his hi jinx failed to evoke laughter from the audience unless you were three years old.

All in all, he was just an unpleasant character though, unfortunately, rather memorable. I have no disrespect towards the actor that played him, but he was just a poorly written part of the Star Wars universe who many fans want to see die. J.J. Abrams himself stated that he thought about killing off Jar Jar and putting his bones in the middle of a desert scene for all of the fans to cheer at!

Star Wars + Star Trek

The title of this blog says enough! How awesome would it be if Star Wars and Star Trek teamed up to create either a movie or a TV show together? You would have Captain Kirk riding a Bantha, Spock communicating with Ewoks, Luke Skywalker meeting Captain Picard, and even C3-PO partnering up with Data! I mean, is it just me?!

First of all, the fan bases of both of these successful franchises have been at war with each other over which one is better. Since J.J. Abrams has directed 2 new Star Trek movies and will now be directing the new Star Wars, the tension is at an all time high. Can someone who directed Star TREK movies be able to make a Star WARS movie? The answer will come... soon.

Then again, if the new Star Wars movie sucks (which I highly doubt), that will only increase the hatred between the two fan groups and the war will continue to ravage the nation of Sci-Fi nerds like myself. However, there can be common ground. I myself am a Trekkie, but I am also a huge fan of Star Wars! I believe that peace is at hand and it all starts with a single man: J.J. Abrams. If he pulls it off, the world will be a better place and maybe we'll see the teaming up of the two franchises!

The WORST Christmas Special

I finally found it...

I found something worse than "The Christmas Tree"...

Something worse than "Jingle All the Way"...

Something worse than... *gulp*... FOOD FIGHT!

Ladies and gentlemen, I give to you: "Rapsittie Street Kids: Believe in Santa".

I mean, just wow. I have no words to express to you guys just how terrible this movie truly is. It tops my list as not only the worst animated film ever, but probably the worst Christmas movie ever. The characters look like possessed lego pieces, the dialogue is atrocious, the story is terrible, and don't even get me started on the voice acting!

I was peacefully watching an episode of the Nostalgia Critic on YouTube, minding my own business, when I had to be an idiot and look down in the comment section. There I found someone who was unfortunate enough to see this monstrosity and recommend it to the Critic. Then I was stupid enough to look it up for myself and... let's just say... a part of me died the second the opening credits started appearing.

If you have any intelligence whatsoever you will NOT look this up! This is a warning to everyone out there who hasn't seen it! DON'T! DO NOT!

But here's the link anyway. Enjoy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4e-wuyjgDPQ

Beware! Nightmares are guaranteed!

Viral Video Anomalies

Looking back at many of the viral videos that I have seen in my lifetime, I've realized something: most of them have been either stupid, silly, or stupidly silly. I have yet to see a viral video with a heart-warming, serious message (if you know of one, please tell me!). In fact, I just went back to revisit a video that I'm sure most of you have seen called "The Fox" or "What Does the Fox Say?" That video now has over 550 million views with almost 4 million likes. My only question is why?

Why are the stupidly silly videos like this the ones that get the most attention? The same goes with "Gangam Style" and "Sitting on the Toilet" which have almost 2 1/2 BILLION views and 4 million views respectively. Is it just the fact that this videos are so ridiculous that we just have to share them with others? Don't get me wrong, I love showing videos like this to my friends! It is so much fun to just watch their faces drop and get that look of "What the heck am I watching?" Then when the video's over there's that long moment of silence where they take everything in and try to figure out how to respond.

...

I think I just answered my own question. We like to watch people suffer through stupid videos like we did. Huh. Viral videos like this are GENIUS!

How to FAIL with a Christmas Movie

WARNING: The following blog is an OPINIONATED post. I understand that some people may not think that the films I am about to mention are good or bad. This is my personal opinion, not to be taken as fact... except for the case of "Jingle All the Way". That film... ugh.

I'm sure that many of you know the extremely popular films that are emphasized at one particular time of the year. That's right! Christmas movies! You've most likely seen such classics as "It's a Wonderful Life", "Rudolph", "Frosty the Snowman", and "Elf", but I'm sure that not many of you have heard of the Christmas movies that tried a little TOO hard.

I'm talking about the films that used the name of Christmas to basically say "Hey, audience! We're Christmas related and we've come out at Christmas time! Come see us and spend your money!" It's actually insulting to believe that some of these movies used the best holiday ever to grab our money and then wave it in our faces after we're done watching it taunting us. Lots of you guys probably have one of these films in mind like "Jingle All the Way", "Jack Frost" (the murdering snowman... yeah, that's a movie folks), "Santa Claus Conquers the Martians", and even "Christmas Story 2". In fact, just mentioning those titles probably has a few of you groaning on the floor wondering how the media fooled you into watching them. The answer: they slapped a Christmas themed poster in our faces and let us do the rest.

Thank heavens for the other aspects of the media like film critics who helped to pull the people who haven't seen these films out of the movie line! Rotten Tomatoes, I thank the day you were created because if you hadn't been, I would've seen these films and they would've scarred me for life.

Also, a special thank you to the Nostalgia Critic who reviewed some of these films making it possible for me to know and laugh at the films without actually watching them.

A Child's Attempt at Music Videos

So... I have a confession to make. I used to have a YouTube account where I would make children's videos using my stuffed animal Webkinz. Webkinz were this special brand of toy that a lot of kids were into at the time. I used the stuffed animals as puppets and made evangelical films, TV series, stop motions, and... yes... even music videos. I wasn't the only kid on YouTube to do stuff like this, though. There are HUNDREDS of Webkinz Music Videos out there and all of them have a unique spin that the original music videos never had! And that is... it's acted out by stuffed animals.

Every couple of weeks a new Webkinz music video would be posted online. Sometimes they were good and sometimes they were horrendously edited with terrible video quality. But what do you expect? These were young kids with a cell phone. My most popular Webkinz music video is entitled "When I Go" and it earned 18,000 views (so far) with 250 "likes". It's not my best work since I made it 3 years ago when I only had Windows Movie Maker and a crappy camcorder, but nevertheless it spoke to a lot of people. It just goes to show that even the simplest things can make a difference in someone's life.

Now I just have to warn everyone who is reading this post: if you find my old YouTube page and say to yourself, "Hey, I might as well watch some of these!" BEWARE! Some of the videos, for lack of a better word, suck. The editing is awful, every bit of dialogue is improvised (and not in a good or funny way... in a boring way), the story is bad and the characters are bland. If you really want to watch any of my old, old, OLD videos, I suggest just watching the music videos, newer stop motions, and movie trailer re-enactments. Those are always entertaining and fun to watch.

A Protestant to Protect

As I read today's document, I couldn't help but feel extremely connected to what was being said. I am a protestant (though I prefer the term 'evangelist') and I do find many Hollywood movies disturbing and immoral like "Eyes Wide Shut" or "The Hangover".

Now before someone jumps at my throat screaming, "How DARE you hate those movies! They got excellent scores on Rotten Tomatoes and I love them, too!" hear me out. When I was growing up, I was a very sheltered person. I didn't have many friends since they grew out of toys faster than I did and started ignoring me whenever I came over to play. Because of this, I watched many Disney films or comedy films (none of them ever going above the PG-13 rating). The first R movie that I ever saw was John Carpenter's "Halloween" and I almost instantly fell in love with the horror genre! The only problems that I had with the film were all of the sex scenes. I mean, do we really have to see that? Is sex just SO important that we HAVE to have it in a horror film about a homicidal maniac?! It makes no sense to me. If any of you can explain this, then please comment below and help me out!

But the thing is, knowing all of the bad things that happen in Hollywood only wants to make me go more. Again, hear me out! A lot of Christians/Protestants that I know don't want me to go to Hollywood because of all the sinful things that happen there. And some people have tried discouraging me by telling me that I'd never make it out there with my morals. But that's the thing: Hollywood needs more people with good morals! It needs people who have Jesus in their hearts! It needs that ray of sunshine! The entire reason why I want to go to Hollywood is to witness to the people there about the love that I have in my heart for Jesus! I won't be one of those people who says, "Love Jesus or burn in hell!", but I will instead try to befriend the people there and try to show them through my actions what an amazing person Jesus is!

Will I succeed? Maybe. That's all in the hands of the Lord. But gosh darn it, I'm going to try! And nothing is going to stand in my way!

Essay Quiz #2

As I was watching Yuri Norstein's "Hedgehog in the Fog" and comparing it to the weekly reading, I realized all of the aspects that Yuri incorporated into the film. For example: Yuri was a good painter as well as animator which explains the amazingly detailed backgrounds that you see in "Hedgehog in the Fog" and the character's good facial expressions. Since he has a close relationship with his children, he studied their facial reactions and used those to create his characters. I could also tell this in the story mainly in the hedgehog because he always looks around in child-like wonder to everything around him.

To me, the most significant part of the "Hedgehog in the Fog" was when he actually stepped into the fog, deterring himself from his original path. His longing for knowledge persuaded him to go on a journey despite the possible dangers. This not only filled me with confidence to pursue my own dreams, but it also inspired me in something that I'd like to create in the future. But more on that later. I like the fact that during his journey he faced many different things like the owl, the dog, the tree, the horse, and even the river which almost kills him. But he was just so accepting of everything. It's like he wasn't afraid to die. That's how I relate to this character; I'm not afraid to die either. Sure I don't want to die now, but I don't fear death because I know exactly where I'm going.

The... Evolution of Female Superheroes?

As I've become more accustomed to the superhero movies in my lifetime (since Marvel and D.C. are just cranking them out now), I've noticed something rather strange about the female characters in every movie. No matter who they are or what their personalities are like, the costume designer always finds a way to turn them into a sexual symbol. It's like the superhero industry is trying to say to females: "Oh, you can't be a kick-butt hero unless you wear outfits like this! After all, you gotta be eye candy for the male superheroes, too!"

I really can't complain TOO much, though. The outfits have improved over the past couple of decades. I mean, I remember the comic books from the 70s that showed as much cleavage and breast as they could allow. Sometimes it came down to merely covering up the nipples and then presto, female superhero! Granted comic books were mainly meant for men and the authors had to find some way to make the female characters interesting to them... so I guess that means almost turning the comics into a porn story? But what does that do to the self esteem of the women reading the comics? What does it say to them? 

Even in all of the movies that came out or are coming like "The Avengers: Age of Ultron", "The Dark Knight Rises", and "Batman vs. Superman", they are still making the female superheroes wear ridiculous outfits that almost no woman would wear into combat. Think about it: Scarlet Witch wearing a dress and high-heeled boots as she fights Ultron's army, Wonder Woman practically wearing a swimsuit as she assists Superman and Batman, and Black Widow... well... her outfit's not bad. Sure it's tight and shows quite a bit of cleavage, but all in all it's the most useable female superhero outfit in the business. 

It is quite hard for women superheroes to become popular without also showing off their body, though. The industry itself is centered around boys and men who mostly want to see action and things blowing up (thanks Michael Bay). And if you ask anyone who their favorite superhero is, almost everyone will respond with a male character (personally, my favorite is the Vision). But that's because you have a certain respect for that character or an admiration for that character. It's kind of hard to admire the female superheroes in movies when they most of the time serve as merely a hot piece of... well, you know. 

The industry is getting better, though. Much better. I did cheer for Scarlet Witch as she fought off Ultron's men. I applauded when Black Widow tricked Loki into revealing his plan and when she fought off three Russian thugs with only her bare hands and a chair. Hopefully this trend will continue and the outfits will become more realistic. Maybe with Captain Marvel coming out in a few years we'll be able to see that happen. 

Where's the Serpent?

As we watched the 11 minute animation of the story of Adam and Eve, I noticed that a key character was missing when they started to turn away from God. The animation depicted that Adam and Eve became unsatisfied with everything that God gave them and they wanted more. So much so that Adam "killed" God and they started destroying all that God had made beautiful. While I don't deny that Adam and Eve grew unsatisfied with all that they had, since they both ate from the one tree God said not to eat from, it wasn't just them that brought sin into the world.

An argument can be made that it was Eve who sinned and caused Adam to sin as well, so it's all the human's fault that paradise was lost. But that wouldn't have happened without the little push caused by the devil himself. If the serpent hadn't been there to tempt them, I don't think that they would've eaten from the tree. The animation that we watched didn't even hint at the devil playing a role in the loss of Eden. That frustrated me. In my opinion, it made it look like God created something imperfect in the beginning. "God saw that it was good". If He saw that it was good, then why or how could that creation turn against Him without provocation? I know that human beings are imperfect to begin with, but Adam and Eve once lived in a sinless world where everything WAS perfect. There was no murder, no hatred, no despair.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that if you want to tell the story of humanity's initial downfall, you can't leave out one of the main reasons for that downfall: Satan. He provided the nudge that sent us over the cliff and without the love and sacrifice of Jesus, we would hit the bottom of the ground, never to get back up.

Prince of Peace

During class on Tuesday, it was brought up a couple of times that no one knows what Jesus Christ actually looks like. Sure, we have a few paintings, drawings, sketches, or sculptures that make a decent guess, but we don't actually know.

I'd like to point out, however, that I believe we do.

If anyone has ever read the novel "Heaven is for Real", you'd know that in that book there is a painting. A painting done by a girl who had died, gone to heaven, and come back to this world. And it just so happened that this girl was a phenomenal artist, so she brought a piece of heaven back with her. And she called it "Prince of Peace".

In the story, a young boy had the same experience of going to heaven but then coming back. He was a young boy, so young that he couldn't possibly have known the things he came back with like knowing about his mother's miscarriage, or about the "markers" on Jesus's palms. But he did and that's where the novel came from.

His father tried day after day showing his son pictures of Jesus, all of them to no avail. That is until his eyes fell on the painting entitled "Prince of Peace". When he showed this painting to his son, the boy fell silent until he finally said, "Dad, this one's right."

So, I offer to all of you readers out there, this painting. Now we have a little glimpse of the face of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Fairy Tales were my Teachers

As I read G.K. Chesterton's article title, "What I Learned in the Nursery", I realized how much truth his words held in my heart. After all, movies are perhaps my greatest passion as I spend my free time (whenever that is) watching movies of all genres for hours on end. And each movie that I saw as a child was a fairy tale.

Throughout my life, everyone who was older than I was told me that movies rot your brain and don't teach you anything! Well, I can certainly say that they were wrong! In fact, I learned a lot of the Spanish language by watching movies like "The Legend of Zorro"! I impressed my beginning Spanish teacher when she asked what the word 'jabon' meant and I answered 'soap'! Thanks Antonio Banderas!

Fairy tales have also taught me how to react or respond in certain situations. For example: if there's someone who locks me away in a tower and forces me to clean the house... all I have to do is wait for Prince Charming to come and rescue me!

...

OK. That's a bit of a stretch. But as I saw more and more fairy tales coming to life on screen, they helped me not only in real life, but in my imagination as well. They've even shown me my all time favorite thing to happen in movies: when the hero sacrifices his/her life to save his/her friends or loved ones! I didn't realize until a few years ago that my faith in Jesus had something to do with that. And ever since then, moments like where Flynn Rider sacrifices his life to save Rapunzel, or when Emmett Brown draws the terrorist's gunfire away from Marty McFly are my favorite things to happen in films!

Kissing the Stars

I'm sure that everyone reading this was once a little kid. One who would go outside during the late hours, lay back, and look at the stars overhead. Maybe trying to count all of them until they reached 15 and just gave up. But no matter how we looked at life and our surroundings, we always tried turning them into something magical.

For example: I was a very imaginative little kid as I was growing up. My friends and I would get together with some stuffed animals and create a new story every time we got together. Sometimes it would involve being spies, sometimes being in a normal family (like playing house), or even stories of a dystopian society where only a few characters were brave enough to stand up against the tyranny of the evil ruler. Granted, we had no idea what the words "dystopian" or "tyranny" meant back then, yet we still knew about them. And that's the point I'm trying to get at with this blog. No matter what way you slice it, without the darkness or the evil, there's not much of a point to telling a fairytale.

I mean, think about it! How do you think "Jack and the Beanstalk" would have been if Jack had just gone up the vine, found the magical harp, and climbed back down without any conflict whatsoever? Uh... hoorah? Good for Jack? Or what about if Cinderella went with her loving stepmother and stepsisters to the ball, met the prince, got married, and everything was la-dee-da lovely after that? I don't know about you, but I'd be snoring.

And without this evil and this darkness in the story, would we really care about what happens to our characters? In "Titanic", Rose loses Jack after he freezes to death in the icy water. Now that part really hit me and made me feel terrible. That darkness grabbed everyone in the audience as if they had just lost one of their loved ones. But when she is reunited with him in the afterlife, it made the audience cry again! Not out of sadness or despair, but out of joy. "...the world where this Joy happens is as full of darkness as our own world, and that is why when it happens it is as poignant as grief and can bring tears to our eyes."

Like Me Reading Poetry...

There comes a point whenever you watch a movie where you ask yourself: was there a secret message embedded into the script? I mean, think about it! Lots of films involve secrets intertwined in the plot like the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. The ring was meant to symbolize the cross, Aragorn was the returning king (or Jesus returning to earth), Frodo was the cross bearer, and the dark lord Sauron was Satan.

Many people analyzed the symbolism and got most of it correct, but when it comes to "It's a Wonderful Life" and Geoffrey Hill... I've got to tell you... I think he's overanalyzing it just a little bit.

There doesn't always have to be a symbol in every scene. For example: when the character of Mary is compared to the virgin Mary because of one scene involving the moon... that's overthinking it. It's just like me whenever I attempt to read poetry. Many of my teachers have told me to try and understand poetry and all of the symbolism, but whenever I do, I end up overanalyzing it and ending up with something entirely wrong!

Not everything has to have a meaning. Sometimes a character is created to advance the plot. I am currently working on a book series where only three of the characters are biblical illusions while everyone else just furthers the story creatively. If someone reviewing those books compares one of the non-biblical characters to someone from the bible, then I guess it's just coincidence.

The Bright Side of Death

Throughout my life, I've found that it is much easier to think up a tragedy than a comedy. When I remember all of the short films and screenplays that I've created, I suddenly realize that most of them are centered around a sad subject like loss and death. In fact, even now I'm writing a screenplay that focuses on a man and his struggle to find happiness even though he is surrounded by death. I don't know why, but tragedy has always come easier to me than comedy.

Now, most people who know me would probably find themselves shocked at what I just said. I'm a decently funny person who loves making other people laugh at any given time. But when I sit down and say, "Today, I'm writing a comedy!"... no words come onto the page. I might slip in a not-so-funny pun here and there, but other than that I draw blanks. I guess it's because my funny personality is more of an improv moment that occurs in everyday life rather than just sitting in front of a bright laptop screen.

Alas! I don't believe that I'll ever make a good comedian. But then again, I don't think I want to be one. I've always loved movies with deep emotional conflicts that leave an impact on you (like "Forrest Gump" and "Shadowlands"). I guess I'm just a sucker for the movies that leave you crying at the end and you try to hide it by coughing or referring to something funny that happened to you earlier that day... yeah, I TOTALLY didn't do that after "Inside Out" was finished playing. I totally didn't do that...

My Own Selfish Garden

After hearing the story about the selfish giant and his truly spectacular garden, I started contemplating the story more deeply. I realized that many of us attempt to conceal ourselves within our own private sanctuary and it is extremely difficult to allow others to enter in.

In order to explain what I mean, I'll just use me as an example. My garden is comprised of my many unfinished screenplays that hold a vast number of potentials. It also contains all of the possessions that I hold dear to my heart like my movie collection and rare collectibles. The only problem is that I don't trust anyone, really, to hear or handle them. I have been hurt many times by people I thought were close to me. I allowed them into my garden to play, but they end up either accusing me of my love for childish things or all in all betraying me by simply leaving my garden and never returning. Because of this, I've started to close off my garden. Not many people can get in anymore.

It's hard to trust in a world like this. Lots of people who know me tend to think that I'm depressed or lonely because I don't have many friends. Don't get me wrong, though! I do have a few close friends still whom I love dearly, but whenever I meet someone new, it takes a while for me to open up my garden's gates. My faith in Jesus helps, but unfortunately my garden sees many winters and little springs. In the future I plan to grow in my maturity and confidence, eventually reaching out towards everyone.

For now, I'll trust the people reading this blog with a special little treat. The picture below is an image of two of my original characters who are a part of my "Guardian Animal" animated television series (which I have yet to find an animator for). Their names are Mose and Magdella. Both play key roles in the show. I hope you enjoy!

Tragedy is at the Heart

A few years ago, whenever someone would mention the word tragedy to me, I always thought about the famous Shakespearean play "Romeo and Juliet". You know, the one where there is a forbidden love between two people and they both end up committing suicide. How lovely.

Now, I have to be honest with everyone reading this blog: I do not like Shakespeare's work. I know! It's quite shocking that someone so in love with theater is not so in love with William Shakespeare, but I've just never been that big a fan of his. In fact, until about a year ago, I didn't like tragedies at all. They always made me feel horrible and I tried burying myself in movies that couldn't possibly make me sad. Like Disney movies! Oh... wait... hmm... Simba's dad dying, Flynn Rider "dying", Wreck-it Ralph destroying Vanellope's kart... maybe there's more to tragedy than I thought.

And that, my friends, is when I realized something: tragedy is at the heart of every film I've ever loved. Without feeling that emotion, the movie would be tasteless and not leave an impact on anyone. For instance: lots of people that I know adore Batman. He's totally epic in... almost every movie that portrays him (if you even mention "Batman & Robin"... I'll go ballistic). But Batman wouldn't have even come to be if on one fateful day both of his parents hadn't been shot. Without that horrible event, he would just grow up to be a rich kid who continues his family's legacy. Sure, that sounds like an OK film, but it makes it more awesome when he dresses up like a bat and fights with Liam Neeson or Heath Ledger!

Without that sad and serious part in a film, the audience wouldn't truly be able to connect with the characters being shown. How do you think "Silence of the Lambs" would have turned out if Agent Starling DIDN'T tell Hannibal Lecter about the screaming lambs on her cousin's ranch? Or if Jenny hadn't died in "Forrest Gump"? Those scenes in the films, in my opinion, shaped the movies into something spectacular (and since both films won a plethora of Academy Awards, apparently many people around the world agree with me).

(The picture below is a piece of fan art that I created for the "Five Nights at Freddy's" video game franchise. It depicts two of the central characters, Foxy and Chica, as Foxy shields Chica from the horrors coming towards them with tears forming in his eyes.)

Olivia Ranz: Obsessed with the Mystery

Hello universe! ... or really anyone who is being forced to read this blog. My name is Olivia Ranz and I am a freshman at Huntington University with a major in Film Production and a minor in Theater.

A few things to know about me before I delve into more detail are that... well... in all honesty there's really only ONE thing that you should know about me: I am a nerd. Plain and simple. Anything nerdy, I love it. Lord of the Rings, Star Trek, Star Wars, Sherlock (BBC), Doctor Who, any Marvel movie, any Disney movie (except "The Black Cauldron"), and anything else you could possibly think of as being "nerdy", I can't get enough of it. So much so, that sometimes whenever I have free time, I can spend hours on end watching every episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation or even every Star Wars movie. 

And before anyone asks me what my favorite movie is, I'm just going to stop you right there! You can't ask me that! If you want to know what my favorite movie is, then you'll have to pick a category. For example: what's your favorite Disney movie (The Hunchback of Notre Dame), what's your favorite Disney/Pixar movie (Toy Story), what's your favorite Dreamworks animated movie (How to Train Your Dragon 1 and 2), favorite Dreamworks live action movie (Eagle Eye), or even what's your favorite Steven Spielberg movie (Jaws)? 

Anyway, apart from me being an ultra nerd, here's a look into where I've come from. I was born and raised in Fishers, Indiana. For 18 years I've lived in the same house and have never once had to move.  I've noticed that that's very uncommon among teenagers my age since many of them have moved a countless amount of times. 

I have two older brothers, David and Tommy. David is studying to be a veterinarian and has a job as a firefighter while Tommy is a senior in college studying to become a lawyer. Yeah... I'm not really smart enough for any of those things. It's sad, but true.

And one more thing that you should know about me...? I absolutely ADORE Sherlock Holmes. And not just the BBC series starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman (even though that show is EPIC), but also the actual stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I even have a leather, hard-back book containing every Sherlock Holmes story written! (It was $20 at Barnes and Noble. I totally recommend getting it!) 

So, yeah, that's me. Total. Unquestionable. Undeniable. NERD.