Jess Bennett BA (Hons) Computer Animation Arts, UCA Rochester: December 2016

Monday 19 December 2016

Film Review Black Narcissus

The Black Narcissus was a strange film. Its set on a mountain top and is a school for all the female children. the main characters are the nuns that run the school and another character called Mr Dean who is one of the local handymen that they can go to if they need help or have any questions.
"A curiously fascinating psychological study of the physical and spiritual tribulations that overwhelm five Protestant missionary nuns in the remote fastness of the Himalayas is unfolded with considerable dramatic emphasis in Black Narcissus."(pryor,1947) its a film that is better to read up upon before watching so that you get a better understanding of the way the film come across as it can be strange and hard to understand. "Five Anglo-Catholic nuns open a school and a hospital . It prospers until a series of mishaps turn the villagers against the nuns. Finally Sister Ruth becomes mad and attacks the mother superior only to bring about her own death."(Priya,2001)

Figure 1

the way the characters are dressed is very generic as the women and nuns are fully dressed and the male character i.e. Mr Dean has hardly any clothing we see him wearing small shorts and hardly or nothing on his back. its like its a message that he is the alpha with his hairy chest as he was a gorilla with his stance and showing his chest to say obey me. the nuns are always dressed the same and never show anything besides their faces until right at the end when sister Ruth becomes crazy.

Illustration
Figure 1 Pamela Geller, (2016), Black Narcissus [ONLINE]. Available at: http://pamelageller.com/2016/10/saturday-night-cinema-black-narcissus-1947.html/

bibliography
Thomas M Pryor The New York Times (1947)
http://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=EE05E7DF173CE261BC4C52DFBE66838C659EDE

Jaikumar, Priya, ‘“Place” and the Modernist Redemption of Empire in Black Narcissus’, Cinema Journal, 40 (2), Winter 2001.

Sunday 18 December 2016

Reflective Statement

This unit of work has been hard at times and have struggled. I did get to the point starting this unit of wanting to leave. but with the help of the people at the university I stuck around. my work through the course changed completely. with starting with different thumbnails to what I had now. I know when I get stuck I need to ask for help and not keep it to myself. I got more active at the end and need to do that all the way through. I know for next time when times get hard that I should stop and ask, so I could be lead in the right direction. I did feel more comfortable with this unit as I was there from start o finish and new what had to be done and what times the ogrs had to be handed in. I got much support and also got help with the tutors in the library to help me with my essay. many thanks to the people that help me get through this course and I hope to get better in the future. I have learnt many things and I still have many things to learn for the future.