[Freya-dæg] Shocktober Pt.1: Some Screaming Skullduggery

{The movie poster from The Screaming Skull, found on Wikipedia.}

Introduction
Plot Summary
The Good
The Bad
Judgment
Closing

Introduction

Well, it's October proper now, and so there are a few movies that I've scared up for the month that hosts Halloween that I've just got to check out. First up in the four part Shock-tober film fest is the 1958 fright-fest, The The Screaming Skull.

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Plot Summary

Eric Whitlock (John Hudson), now happily married to his second wife Jenni (Peggy Webber), returns to his estate after some years away.

Everything within it is just as it was left, and the gardener has been keeping the grounds as if Eric - or his late first wife Marian who tragically died near the property's pond - never left. But as strange things begin to distract Jenni and she starts to see and hear things that Eric assures her are not there it seems that the estate is not yet finished with sorrow.

Bumps in the night become real reasons for terror, but is Jenni truly seeing and hearing things as they are? Or is Eric right and there's nothing at all the matter in their freshly minted marriage?

When it comes to matters of creepy gardeners, strange noises, and bizarre appearances of skulls everywhere, nothing can be certain - even the cry of a peacock could be the sound of The Screaming Skull!

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The Good

For better or worse, this movie has one thing going for it: A 1950s car with seagull doors!

Neat props aside, The Screaming Skull definitely has its moments of mild fright. But what the movie does best is create atmosphere. The colonial estate on which the film is set already lends itself well to this, but the tension is also ratcheted up through Jenny's constant edginess.

Much like another ill-thought of movie from the middle of the 20th century - a little picture called Manos: The Hands of Fate - the best character in the movie are those who are on the sides.

The Reverend Edward Snow (Russ Conway) and his wife (Tony Johnson), are interesting, if static figures, but just as in Manos, the greatest character in the movie is Mickey (Alex Nicol), the estate's gardener (and the film's director). Just like Torgo, Mickey's motivations and personality are the most developed and worked through, and so likewise, he is always a curious figure to watch.

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The Bad

However, the big problem with The Screaming Skull is that it fails to establish real relationships between its characters. The one between Mickey and the memory of Marian is the best in the film, but even it is terribly thin and shallow. We're basically given a Catelyn Tully/Petyr Baelish situation (if I may be so bold as to jump genres), but nothing as complex develops from it.

Worst of all, though, the one relationship that the movie really needs to make us care about, that between Eric and Jenni, gets no development whatsoever. Eric mentions once (once!) that she's moneyed, and she gives no real indication as to why she's interested in the man.

Despite the insistence of the script, this is not a good show of a madly in love married couple. That most of their scenes come across as reads rather than actual conversation between any truly in love couple does nothing to help their case.

{"We need someone outside of the confusions of our love for each other."}

What's more, the characters of Jenny and Eric, again, those whom we should be made to care about the most, are pitiably underdeveloped. All we know about Eric is that he's been away from the estate for 3 years, he's re-married, and he must have some kind of job (right?).

To be fair, we do learn quite a bit about Jenny's past, but we don't get enough early on to really relate to her. Eric's under-development is disappointing, but with Jenny's downright terrible.

But why are relatable characters so important to horror movies?

Well, horror movies require characters that their viewers can relate to, since when those characters are in danger, or in tense situations, or scared, then we can feel those same emotions.

Jenny, as the new wife who is being introduced into the way of life that Eric is planning for, is the perfect audience proxy character. She, just as those watching, is being brought into a brand new scenario. But, because we're not able to really make a connection with her due to the mysteries of her background and attraction to Eric.

As a result, what is supposed to be a largely sympathetic genre becomes instead a plodding tense fest that comes across as comical rather than scary not because of the era's effects, but because without a character to see ourselves as or to empathize with, we the audience become objective observers, coldly removed from a movie whose genre requires emotional investment on at least some level.

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Judgment

The Screaming Skull and Manos: The Hands of Fate are definitely of the same ilk.

Both movies are low-budget, poorly executed horror movies that are just plain bad.

Yet, the difference between them is that Manos is so bad that it's good - it can show people the absolute worst way to make a movie in all of its aspects.

The Screaming Skull on the other hand is badly done, but lacks the main thing that redeems Manos: Interesting characters that have dynamic relationships and that are fascinating in their own right.

Because The Screaming Skull is missing such characters the house in which much of it happens is a perfect self-reflexive metaphor. The estate house is frightening in its own right (it is a horror movie after all), but absolutely empty - and therefore entirely uninteresting. What's more, aside from two throwaway lines, we're never given any clear reason for Eric's actions - unless he is, in fact, bound for the loony bin.

So, Freya, leave this one below as you fly over the field of fallen films. Oh, and don't get too close, you might fall into its bubble of boredom and tumble to the ground.

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Closing

Coming up tomorrow - Annotated Links #19. So be sure to watch for more wacky news and information!

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[Wōdnes-dæg] A Well Placed Documentary Makes Science Fiction Science Fact

Introduction
The Article Summed Up
Not New, But Great
Publishing's Next Stage and Mainstream Acknowledgement
Closing

{Screenshot from the documentary "Mermaids: The Body Found," posted with the original article.}

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Introduction

This past Sunday, the Discovery Channel aired a documentary that has stirred up controversy. The program in question is called "Mermaids: The Body Found," a work of science fiction in the form of a documentary.

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The Article Summed Up

The article (from The Christian Post) gives an overview of the controversy and sums it up by stating that the documentary's description and creators said that it is "based on some real life events." Whether or not this is a case of misdirection is not made clear.

Making things even more provocative, the article ends with some statements from the Discovery Channel that present logical arguments for the possibility of mermaids existing.

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Not New, But Great

The controversy here isn't so much about whether or not mermaids are real, but about media literacy. And, much more specifically, about the power of the claim that things are "based on some real life events" (or "based on a true story" or "based on real events," whichever variation you might encounter).

This intertitle has become so overused that it's almost meaningless. Anything can be "based on a true story." In fact, any story that is in any way metaphorical (such as science fiction and fantasy stories) is "based on" reality, otherwise its metaphor is useless. The same can be said for comic book stories like Batman - society is faltering because good people do nothing, and then those good people stand up (only in an extreme way that goes beyond what most people would do).

Moreover, it's human nature to relate things to what we know, and most of us know some sort of "real life."

This connection might not seem like a strong argument against specifying that certain things are 'based on reality,' but just as people are apt to read things into various stories, so too are stories apt to feed these readings. Stories that don't have some relation to "real life" often don't make sense and often don't become very popular.

To take a risk and go out on a limb, stories that are successful speak to people's basic desires. Many stories that are coming out now are complicating these desires and the road to their fulfilment.

Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy, or Geroge R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series are good examples of these desires being complicated. Yet, even they still come down to basic desires like wanting to be the hero, personal growth, or safety.

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Publishing's Next Stage and Mainstream Acknowledgement

In terms of the documentary form itself, especially regarding the "Mermaids: The Body Found" documentary featured in today's article, it is an especially powerful tool for science fiction and fantasy.

These genres are so continuously popular because people are always looking for more than what they have.

As humans we're always trying to reach beyond our grasp. Putting this desire for more into a form that purports to give straight facts says to people, "hey, you know that thing that you really want to be real? Well, it is, and here are the facts."

That we're so willing to believe is also a great sign of our open-mindedness. Some might say that this willingness to believe is something that people need to guard against when it comes to the stuff of fantasy like mermaids and supernatural cures, but open minds are as necessary for advancement as they are for distraction.

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Closing

Don't miss my look at 2011's Trespass for part three of Nicolas Cage month, and be sure to catch tomorrow's Annotated Links!

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Annotated Links #1: Ladies and Medievalism

Why is this here?

"Annotated Links" is a new feature here on the blog. It's being started in part to share links that readers might find interesting, and to get more stuff posted here while also helping me to keep some time free for other projects.

Expect 2-3 links every Tuesday and Thursday, complete with annotation. And, in the interest of cohesion, these links will share at least some small thing in common.

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The Links

1. Debnath, Neela. "Interview with ‘Game of Thrones’ star Natalia Tena." The Independent (Blog) 13 June 2012. Web. 22 June 2012

An article about an interview that the author held with Natalia Tena at Collectormania 2012. Tena argues for more male nudity in a Game of Thrones for the sake of equality in the series. Debnath also asks about Tena's other current projects. The author approaches a Game of Thrones from a second hand perspective.

2. "Catholic nuns: Taking on Rome and Republicans." Al-Jazeera 21 June 2012. Web. 22 June 2012

A quick summary of why Catholic nuns are opposing the Republican budget. It gives the perspective of Congressman Paul Ryan extensively, while giving a sense of the opposition to the budget that extends beyond the nuns alone. Written in a direct style, this article provides an overview of several perspectives on the issue of the poor in America and what Catholic nuns should be doing, but does not go in depth with any of them. It also includes a 25 minute long video clip.

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Closing

Check back here tomorrow to read through my hunt for the good in The Last Airbender!

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[Wōdnes-dæg] Internet Superpower Google Alarmed by Growing Number of Removal Requests

Introduction
The Article Summed Up
A Brief Reminiscence, and how Things are Now
The Words of House Google
Search Engines: Naturally Democratic?
Closing

{Just like Nintendo with its Hanafuda cards, before they made it big Google had its postcards. Image from the Jo-Joe Politico blog.}

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Introduction

In the Globe and Mail of 20 June 2012, tucked into the right-hand side of page A3 was an article about Google. Specifically, about how Google has released its transparency report for the first half of 2012 and found an "alarming" trend.

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The Article Summed Up

According to the transparency report the number of requests from governments has increased by a quarter from last year (when Google began to notice censorship struggles). According to the 2012 report, 12,000 items were requested to be removed. These items ranged from videos to blog posts, most of which were political in nature.

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A Brief Reminiscence, and how Things are Now

This article indirectly presents an interesting state of affairs.

I can still remember when "Google" was a new thing, and how I was the one who turned a few of my friends onto it. Yet now the company has so much control over the internet. Such power might make some people nervous, but of all the internet-based properties search engines might make the most benign internet overlords.

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Search Engines: Naturally Democratic?

Search engines exist to help people find content. Content mills are in full swing despite many objections from writers, readers, and almost everyone else. People are always creating more and more blogs. Videos, photos, and music are all being constantly uploaded to said blogs, or to countless other websites.

It's in a search engine's best interest to help make sure that people can create a wide variety of content, and to help keep freedom of speech in tact as much as possible.

If content was completely curtailed and all political, or contentious, or controversial things were blocked from search engines they would lose a lot of their current influence. People would find ways to access content that didn't involve search engines, either going back to sharing content exclusively via direct links, or coming across some other means of spreading around what they had to say. And with these other ways of sharing and finding content, the heart of search engines' power, their search algorithms, would lose more and more importance.

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The Words of House Google

At the same time, it's hard to dispute Google's dominance among search engines (although it's quite a bit behind almost everyone else on the social network front - it seems Google+ is still a mystery to many).

Monopolies are never good, and there are alternatives (e.g.: Microsoft's Bing, GoodSearch, and Yahoo!), but a company with "Don't be evil," as its unofficial motto is bound to live by those words, right?

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Closing

Check back here on Friday for a hunt for the good in The Last Airbender.

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Game of Thrones Inauthentic?

In the Arts section of Saturday's Globe and Mail there's an article that I find rather curious.

The article is an opinion piece by John Doyle, wherein the excellent columnist explains his utter dislike of Game of Thrones. He dismisses it as being aimed at teenage boys, as pompous, and as being based on "books, which are written in the most lividly purple prose."

The major thrust of Doyle's argument, or what it all comes down to, is that Game of Thrones doesn't come from "a bona fide cultural impulse," that it is slick and inauthentic. He uses the Arthurian Legends as an example of something coming from a more authentic cultural place, but this makes me wonder what he considers to be "a bona fide cultural impulse."

It's true that people no longer go around in suits of armor waving sharpened beams of steel at each other, nor do we (in North America) live under any kind of monarchy that holds as much power as that depicted in Game of Thrones.

But the stories of knights and quests and damsels and dragons in the Arthurian legends aren't necessarily perfectly in step with the reality of their times either. Stories are always an idealization of their source material. TV series set in the modern (or near modern) day, resonate because their characters or situations can be related to, but that doesn't mean that their characters are any more "realistic" than those on Game of Thrones.

Tales of chivalry and knights were told and retold in the medieval period because of their great symbolic and allegorical potential. After all, these stories were supposed to instruct as much as entertain. These dual purposes of storytelling might not apply as much to the original Arthurian tales, but by the time the stories were committed to vellum/parchment/paper these purposes were of chief importance.

Moreover, after Christianity took hold over medieval Western Europe there was also the sense that things needed to be written solely for the propagation of doctrine. Anything that seemed subversive was suspect, though some writers (like Chaucer) tried to escape suspicion by including written retractions of anything that they thought might seem "sinful" with their work.

But the medieval period is a time from which we really only have written cultural records from a single group - that made up of the nobility, the clergy, and those that both of these classes educated.

In a society like ours where there are multiple major cultures co-existing (and plenty of vibrant subcultures), who can say what comes from "a bona fide cultural impulse" and what doesn't?

It may ring just as inauthentic to John Doyle, but perhaps the columnist should look into the Society for Creative Anachronism. The fact that its ranks aren't swollen with carnage-hungry, hormone-driven teenage boys might just make clear that modern cultural impulses are not so easily nailed down.

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