Fat Girl

Fat Girl is a film that questions and attempts to convey the issue of female victimization and objectification through shock value, rather than real introspection. We are presented with two different characters, the younger overweight girl, Anaïs, and her older, more physically attractive sister, Elena. These two characters are presented as a juxtaposition of each other, not only physically, but mentally and emotionally as well. One common string between the two seems to be the constant concentration on sex. Anaïs views sex as meaningless, an act of pleasure and entertainment. She expresses her desire to lose her virginity to somebody she doesn’t care about, in order to reinforce its meaninglessness. Elena, on the other hand, is fully willing to publicly display her sexuality, but is reluctant regarding the actual act, seeing it as something special to save for one she loves. Nonetheless, both of these girls have sex on their mind constantly.

We see Anaïs swimming in the pool, pretending that two inanimate objects are her lovers, and she must choose between the two. Elena, on the other hand immediately meets Fernando, whose intentions are made very clear due to his one-dimensional character. Fernando immediately describes his intentions to sleep with Elena, and is willing to say anything or do anything to accomplish this task. The audience is forced to hear to all of his arrogant and self-centered lies, as Elena absorbs every word of it as truth. We don’t see the events of the film from a male gaze, as nearly every scene is told from Anaïs’ point of view, yet the perspective is no more redeeming towards men then woman in a male-focused film. Fernando is a lust-filled, lying manipulator who seeks to objectify Elena in order to accomplish his goal. In a 25 minute real-time sex scene, we see him convince Elena to perform anal sex. We are forced to confront not only the domination of Elena’s character, but the suffering of Anaïs as well. Once the actual act begins, the film transitions to a shot from her point of view, and we see how her sister’s objectification leads to her own victimization, as she is exposed to a scene that many would claim to be inappropriate for a girl of her age.

The film receives its message in its penultimate act, where Elena learns what the audience knew all along, that she lost her virginity to somebody who had no respect or love for her. This is revealed to the mother, a strict, addled, aging woman who lashes out at both her daughters due to the event. The film presents a tense 15 minute scene of the mother driving home, speeding ahead with a cigarette constantly in her mouth, and barely avoiding large semi trucks as the audience anticipates their certain doom. The film ends in a rest stop, late at night, as a trucker with an axe breaks the front window of the family’s car, instantly killing Elena. After strangling the life out of the mother, Anaïs exits the car and runs towards the woods, where the axe murder hunts her down and rapes her. The entire act plays as a long-running joke to a short punch line. If the definition of comedy is a story with an unexpected result, then Fat Girl’s third act is purely that, a tense anticipation of the family’s certain doom in a car wreck, only to result in death by a brutal axe murderer. We have our final scene as the police arrive and escort Anaïs out of the woods. When asked if she was sexually assaulted, she firmly denies it and implies that it was consensual.

Fat Girl’s dedication to addressing the issue of female victimization and objectification is both the film’s strong point and downfall. The message is clear, as the film ends in Elena’s dedication to treasure sex being punished, and Anaïs’ lack of caring for the issue being reinforced as she accomplishes her goal of losing her virginity to a complete stranger. Instead of being presented with a character that represents the antithesis of objectification, we instead are presented with two characters that wholly embrace it, and capture every essence of female sexual stereotypes. Of course, this act pays off in the shock value of these character’s fates, but the film also tends to lose sight of its core themes by relishing in the film’s final objectification. Earlier scenes play with this message much clearer, as we see the crushed soul of Anaïs while she is made to witness the moans, grunts, and screams of her sister’s sexual encounters. Yet the end result simply shows a constant joyless existence for women. Every female, nay, every character in this film is reinforced by stereotypes. Men are the dominating, lying, horrible people who are single-minded and uncaring. Women are bound to their men, subservient and constantly punished through rape and death. In the end, it almost seems as if the director, Catherine Breillat, is glorifying and promoting rape as Anaïs comes out “stronger” after her sexual assault.

The film becomes engrained in the viewer via its shock value, instead of careful handling of feminist themes. This isn’t to say that the practice of shock value carries no merit, but it is a fine line to tread. Both Fat Girl and Sucker Punch essentially deal with the same issues, but why does one get perceived as a successful inclusion of a shock-induced message, while the other is conveyed as an anti-feminist horrifying piece of blockbuster garbage? That’s not to say Sucker Punch was remotely successful at conveying its message and themes, but the inclusion of such a brutal execution of Fat Girl’s message can result in mixed messages to the audience.

Overall, Fat Girl succeeds due to this shock value. The ending scene is a punch line strong enough that we are all taken aback and forced to confront the issues of sexual victimization, both in consensual and non-consensual environments. But its possible contradictions could potentially carry an opposite message to the viewer, that women are not free-thinking equal humans, but primitive, naïve, sex-obsessed individuals. It’s a fine line to tread in filmmaking, and Fat Girl comes very close to overstepping that boundary.

Sucker Punched

Sucker Punch lives up to its title. Any individual expecting to enter to see a bad-ass action-filled chick-fest will be sorely disappointed. I should insert here now, that SPOILERS LIE AHEAD. I only mention this because I do believe there is some worthiness to see this film without knowing its real premise, but it’s not a perspective that is required. Now back to my initial statement. At it’s very core, Sucker Punch is a lesson of how wrong it is to present women as sexual objects. A movie who’s trailer promised two hours of over-the-top hot chicks kicking ass has demonstrated how uncomfortable that premise truly is. We are in a culture who is obsessed with the “empowered” female, from Angelina Jolie in Tomb Raider to Kate Beckinsale  in Underworld, putting a woman in revealing clothing and giving her guns seems to be our solution to making helpless women strong again. But that was never a solution, it simply accentuates the problem. We still perceive these women as objects, forcing them to hover a mystical line between innocence and deviance to satisfy our culture’s obsession.

Last year’s film Kick Ass dealt with these themes as well. It took the tropes of a gun-wielding badass woman, and gave those qualities to a young 10-year-old girl. And that’s exactly what our culture asks for, we lust for that look of innocence, combined with a perversion for slaughter. Portions of Kick Ass were entirely uncomfortable to watch, as we witnessed a young child decapitate and lobotomize her opponents, because our minds finally realized how horrifying that combination is. Sucker Punch takes that uncomfortable feeling and runs with it into a whole new direction. I’ve read several reviews of the film instantly criticizing it  as a man’s masturbatory fantasy, but after witnessing the film myself, I can’t imagine there is a sane man on Earth who indulges in this film’s fantasy.

The film begins with our hero, who is only given the moniker Baby Doll, attempting to murder her stepfather as he attempts to rape her younger sister (Keep in mind, this is a PG-13 film, folks). When she fails, the stepfather is able to convince the police that Baby Doll is insane due to her mother’s death, and has murdered her sister. She is drugged and taken to a mental institution, where the stepfather has bribed the chief doctor to perform a lobotomy on Baby Doll, in order to hide the fact that her mother’s inheritance was meant to go to her and her sister. We are presented with some quick shots of life in the facility, up until the day of her lobotomy where right before the procedure is performed, we flash into a burlesque hall.

The burlesque club is Baby Doll’s nightmare, a hallucinogenic-induced world that exists for the most brief of moments before her lobotomy. She recollects her actions in the facility for the past few days as a world where she is forced to use her sexuality as a weapon, and defeat representations of male dominance, characters generated by individuals she encountered while in the real world facility. Each of these horrific, disgusting males possess something that the Baby Doll requires to escape the club, therefore she recruits 4 other girls to assist her on her journey. These girls are again based off individuals she sees in the actual mental institution.

The girls of Sucker Punch are never given names for a good purpose, we aren’t supposed to see them as characters. As the entire movie is a dark satire on the sexy action genre, these characters are only known by either sexualized terms for women, such as “Baby Doll” and “Sweet Pea,” or objectified names which only refer to woman by their hair, such as “Blondie” or “Amber.” Baby Doll is a victim of sexual assault, and her drug-induced hallucination reflects that, portraying men as evil, disgusting beings, and her only asset being her body. It’s clearly shown that besides her feminine assets, Baby Doll feels completely useless It isn’t until she dances that her body truly becomes a weapon, as her mind takes her into her own fantasy, a world where she can truly use her “weapons” and portrays those assets as swords and guns, and can use that strength to obliterate her foes. It is through this that she finds confidence to escape her own nightmare.

It is here where the audience is asked to question what these heavy-stylized sequences reflect, as  it is hard for me as a viewer to forget that all of these visually-stunning sequences are only there to show a girl’s troubled mind attempting to cope with sexual abuse. In Baby Doll’s fantasies, the erotic clothing the girls are forced to wear in her nightmare becomes their armor, and each girl takes on a personality, and becomes a character. We are meant to think that this is some sort of female empowerment, while simultaneously recognizing how wrong it is to portray sexuality, and more specifically sexual objectification, through violent action sequences.  The issue is that these action-packed sequences overpower the message of the film, and unless the viewer continues to take notice of the fact that these sequences are meant to reflect a fantastical protection from a nightmare, they become meaningless, and the message is lost.

And what of Baby Doll’s failure? The action sequences are meant to reflect a fantasy escape from the troubled mind of a medically-dosed nightmare, yet the story ends as Baby Doll’s lobotomy ends. We learn that the actions that she took in her hallucination actually occurred, and the character receives redemption in the corrupt doctor’s arrest, but it’s too late for Baby Doll to realize it. She’s experienced such a pain, such a nightmare over the past few weeks, that the true redemption is the lobotomy, an actual escape from the pains of her drug-induced reality. The audience’s happy ending comes from character who apparently Baby Doll helped escape, but except for the fake personality concocted for her in Baby Doll’s nightmare, we have no idea who this character is.

This is the downfall of Sucker Punch. People who come expecting action are left disappointed, and those who enter expecting a message leave confused and upset. Zack Snyder has something to say in the film, but I’m not even entirely sure he knows what it is. Part of his story is about female empowerment, as his action sequences and fantasy scenarios are specifically designed to make the viewer feel uncomfortable at ogling the scantily clad women on the screen, but the message is undermined by Snyder’s own reliance on action, CG, and stylization. Another message wishes to show us the horrors of sexual abuse and the disgusting results of greed and lust, and how the human mind will go through great lengths to protect us from trauma. Perhaps by layering these two different messages on top of each other, it’s possible that he was trying to say something greater, but that is entirely beyond me.

Other films convey Sucker Punch‘s messages much better. The aforementioned Kick Ass gives a much clearer statement on the issues of hyper-sexualization in action films, and Shutter Island provides a much more interesting story surrounding trauma and the human mind. But if anything, Sucker Punch is an interesting mess. There is something to be gleaned from here, and it’s not the total loss that some critics would have you believe, but it is by no means a success either.

It’s clear the Zack Snyder has a mind beyond hyper-stylized violence and unique cinematography, but it’s evident that whatever stories and messages he wants to address in his films still need a deal of work. I stand by Snyder as I did before. His successful adaptations of properties such as Watchmen and Dawn of the Dead have shown me that he knows what he’s doing as a director. But Sucker Punch has shown me exactly what I wanted it to, that Snyder knows more than adaptations, but he has a far way to go as a storyteller. I will probably never see Sucker Punch again, but I certainly don’t regret doing so.

It’s Alive!

This started out as a site for a small development crew. That dream is gone, and the 4 people that were OneDecentGuy have dwindled down to just me. But that’s okay, because I’ve decided that this is a perfect launching point for creating my portfolio. OneDecentGuy won’t change in content, it will still contain my ravings, progress, and Film a Day stuff, but it will also be a site for my work. Currently, the portfolio section is simply schoolwork, but will later evolve to contain more personal projects as well. It’s my chunk of the internet now, my networking portal. Someday it may be even more, but for now, welcome to OneDecentGuy.net.

Film A Day Experiences: B-Fest

Friday. 2:30 PM. My alarm goes off, after one of the longest nights of sleep in my life. I made sure of it, because I knew the day ahead wouldn’t end until Sunday night. I pack my bag  as if I have a mission of great importance. Video camera, check. Phone, check. Energy drinks, check. Snacks, check. I put on two sweatshirts. Sure, it looks bulky and ridiculous now, but they’ll come in handy as blankets later. I have a long journey ahead of me. One and a half hours by train, heading as far north as the CTA will take me. My destination? B-Fest.

B-Fest was one of the greatest challenges that I’ve endured throughout my year at the movies. I was contacted a while ago by my friend Jim, who informed me of a film festival which took place every year in Evanston, IL. It was a celebration of everything bad in film. A culmination of the worst and most ridiculous in science fiction, horror, and exploitation. For the past 30 years, students at Northwestern University, along with a dedicated base of die-hard fans have gathered in the McCormick Auditorium to enjoy a 24 hour marathon of the worst cinema has to offer. I approached it with fear and excitement. I’d done movie marathons before, I’ve gone through all 6 Star Wars films, a Star Trek marathon, Lord of the Rings, and countless others. For the past two years, I’ve attended AMC’s Academy Awards marathon. But this was something different. I was going to in a place where the laws of the theater didn’t exist. Shouting and talking was encouraged, walking and running around the theater was standard, and there were countless traditions practiced by the audience for different films. It was like being invited to a party where you didn’t know anybody.

Fortunately, my fears were quelled as I was immediately welcomed into the group. I arrived at the theater around 4, securing seats for me, Jim, and the crew of friends that he brought along. In total, there were around 10 of us in our group, but the theater itself was completely packed. You could tell that this was such an honored tradition for many of these people. There was a group sitting in front of me before the event started that had been attending for over 21 years. This was hallowed ground, where friendships began, traditions were made, and ideas created. Some even claim that B-Fest was the birthplace of Mystery Science Theater 3000, a claim that I wouldn’t be surprised to find true, due to the startling similarities.

Around 6, the events began, and immediately I knew that this was something different from any festival I’ve ever attended. The room was filled with laughter, shouts, jeers, and jokes. I could barely hear the movie. Needless to say, this wasn’t really important, as B-Fest wasn’t really about the movies, it was about the people watching them. There so many hilarious and fascinating people. There was a guy who dressed up in a full tuxedo, and went on stage to sponsor two movies, both of which ended up being some of the worst, but most entertaining of the night. There was Telstar Man, a mysterious individual who had been making mix CD’s for the entire audience since 2002 (I would like to thank him very much for giving me a set of the complete collection, I’ve had great fun listening to them.) There was Slide Whistle Man, a person, who after researching B-Fest on the internet for posters last night, I found out had been attending B-Fest, with his whistle, for over 10 years. This was truly a special place.

The films included:

Crippled Masters- We began with Crippled Masters, a 1979 film about two men who are betrayed by their master, and and are left crippled. In the beginning, one man has his arms cut off, and after suffering in a life of humiliation and weakness, he learns to adapt, until he encounters the man who was ordered to cripple him. His master had burned his legs with acid for failing him. They encounter a wise man, who teaches them to use their disabilities to their advantage, as the two team up together to fight their former master. This leads to some completely ridiculous kung-fu scenes, as every single punch and kick that these two disabled kung-fu fighters hit uses the exact same sound effect, leading to a small inside joke, where every action in the theater was responded with a “Whpssh!”

Heartbeeps- Oh god, Heartbeeps. I’m a huge Andy Kaufman fan. I loved his appearances on SNL, I loved his comedy, and I really enjoyed Jim Carrey’s biopic, Man in the Moon. But I had never heard of Heartbeeps. How is it that Andy Kaufman’s only film went completely unmentioned and unnoticed? Well, after watching it at B-Fest, I can easily answer that question. Heartbeeps is forgotten, because every single person has completely blocked this movie out of their minds. I used to be one of them, somebody who remained blissfully unaware of this film’s existence. I cannot exist as that person any longer, because the horror, the sheer loathing, the complete… badness of this movie cannot be ignored. It’s the story of a defective robot. He’s defective because… well… I’m not sure. He has feelings or something. And there’s another girl robot, and she has feelings too. And there’s a Rodney Dangerfield robot that sits on a crate and tells crappy jokes. And there’s a baby robot that looks like an aborted Wall-E. And they all leave the repair warehouse, and start walking around, while being chased around by the love child of a Dalek and the Bluesmobile. Randy Quaid’s in there too. He’s a GM employee. And that’s about the only thing that makes sense about this movie. If I had my name in this thing, I’d want to go bankrupt too. There’s no plot, that I could tell. They just… walk. They walk around, stare at each other, question things, listen to crappy jokes, love raccoons, and then go home. Why does it exist? I don’t know. But I sure as hell understand why Kaufman was never in another film.

Gymkata- It took me a while. The man who plays the king of the fictional country, the name of which I don’t remember, looked mighty familiar. Near the end though, I turned to my friend Jim and asked, “Isn’t that Grandpa Joe?” And it was. And let me tell you, Charlie’s grandpa kicks ASS. This whole movie is great. The main character practices the martial art of Gymkata, which is apparently the combination of karate and gymnastics. It’s fun to watch, but the main crutch is that a large amount of the combat has to take place on gymnastics equipment. Therefore, the entire plot takes place in a fictional European country, which I’ll call Gymnastistan. The first scene starts with basic floor mat skills, progressing onto combat with high bars, then ropes, and finally, on a randomly placed horse in the middle of a town. It’s stupid and ridiculous. But it’s hilarious and fantastic.

The Wizard of Speed and Time- I had seen the first few seconds of this short before when I attempted to watch a Youtube clip of it on a bus ride home. Other than that, I had only heard of it from Jim and a few select friends, all of which critically acclaimed it. The show began with a very large group of people running on to stage and lying on their back. Then it started. The first time, I wasn’t really sure what was going on. The crowd on stage were stomping their feet as a man dressed in a green cloak ran around the country. Then he fell into the castle at Disneyland, and began to sing while film equipment began spinning around him. It was weird, and then it was played backwards. It hurt my brain, but I loved every second. (The song was on one of Telstar Man’s CD’s. I play it every night.)

Plan 9 From Outer Space- This was one of the 3 movies that I had already seen before, and I had seen it in a very similar capacity as B-Fest as well. But god, this was when the traditions of these people really set in. For the whole night, I had seen people write quotes and draw pictures on paper plates, but I thought nothing much of it. Then the spaceships appeared. Whenever one of Ed Wood’s infamous flying saucers came on screen, the sky was filled with paper plates. They flew everywhere, hundreds of them. I couldn’t believe the kind of effort some people went through with these things. I got a few with stencils of famous actors who had passed away recently, that appeared in some of the films we watched that night. It was amazing. I spent most of the time reading the plates that were thrown at me, instead of watching the movie. It wasn’t just the plates though. Every appearance of Tor Johnson was accompanied with shouts of “TOR!” Whenever the vampire appeared on screen, the audience would shout if it was Bella Legosi or his post-mortem replacement. The quick cuts between day and night were announced with yells. It was like being randomly cast in a scripted play where everybody but you already knew the lines. I caught on pretty quick, but still, it was such a crazy experience to be involved in. It was the highlight event of the night.

The Room- I had seen The Room before B-Fest. After hearing of the horrors of this film, I checked out a screening at The Music Box Theater, featuring a Q&A with Tommy Wiseau. It was sick, it was horrible, it was like watching a soap opera. No, it was like watching a serious soap opera that somebody had written after they had seen a parody of a soap opera they had taken seriously. The B-Fest crowd seemed to agree, as people had begun to turn against the movie about 30 minutes in. It started simply enough, a sex scene began, and everybody began singing along with the dreadfully terrible song. Then the next one started, and the next, and the next. And there was Tommy Wiseau’s acting as Johnny, featuring the most stilted and terrible performance since Peter Boyle’s Frankenstein.  Soon, participants were on stage, recreating the infamous Denny’s decision to play football whenever a conflict arose. It was scary to be in a room with so many people who were Room virgins, but I’m pretty sure a large amount of them are on board.

Hard Ticket to Hawaii- My first crash of the night. I wasn’t sleeping, but I was so in and out of this film, that I didn’t really understand what was going on. Though I’m not sure that was my fault. The film was about a group of Charlie’s Angels wannabes, who worked for the government running a cargo service as a cover. They are put in charge of delivering a snake, which had apparently eating cancer-infected radioactive rodents. That didn’t have much to do with the plot though, it just showed up and ate people every once in a while. The rest of the movie was people being killed by Frisbees, blown up with rocket launchers, trying to find diamonds. Oh, and boobs. Boobs boobs boobs boobs boobs. Boobs? Boobs boobs. That’s about the main point of the movie.

Black Shampoo- The surprise film of the evening. While it was originally on the B-Fest schedule, it was pulled for unknown reasons, but reintroduced in lieu of Earth vs. the Spider. It was a very traditional Blaxploitation film, but it seemed to concentrate more on the sex than the violence. The story told about Mr. Jonathan, a hair stylist who… I’m not sure what he did. He got caught up in something. He banged his clients a lot too. His girlfriend was kidnapped. I think. I don’t know, but it was really cool when he shoved a pool cue through a guy’s chest.

The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension- I’m surprised this movie ever got made. It’s got quite a starring cast, and I loved it so much. The movie stars Peter Weller as Buckaroo Banzai, a science/inventor/band leader who discovered a way to travel into the 8th dimension. This allowed a race of aliens to enter the world, which only Buckaroo could identify, unless the rest of the band/scientists war rather ridiculous glasses. This was my favorite discovery of the evening. It’s so far out there, so ridiculous, but it’s so wonderfully funny and quirky, I couldn’t help but fall in love. Even the soundtrack, the main suite is utterly brilliant. I even like the ending scene, showing the group come together in a team walk that I’m pretty sure was copied by Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy.

Troll 2- Troll 2 has been a classic for me. I’ve seen it so many times, that quotes from this movie have become commonplace in my speech. It’s just so wonderfully bad, that you can’t help but fall in love. The plot, the dialog, the scenes, it’s just all so terrible, but it’s done with the kind of badness that you can watch over and over again. Seeing the first kid turn into a tree, watching the townsfolk try to force feed ice cream to the kid, watching the most ridiculous sex scene of all time, where things get “so hot” that the corn begins popping, it’s just stupid. But I love it. So did the audience. The man who plays the man child in the movie, Michael Stephenson, has a new documentary out, Best Worst Movie, and while it hasn’t come to Chicago yet, I can’t wait to have an opportunity to see it, hopefully with a Troll 2-loving crowd.

Live it Up!- My second crash. I didn’t really watch much of this movie. It involved a group of British kids,  who played instruments, well pretended to, and were trying to get popular. It seemed that every chance they had to make it though was fucked up somehow. They had so many opportunities, yet they never seemed to get them right. Not to mention they never really did play their instruments. The music overall in this movie was atrocious. Not in one scene did they ever actually Live it Up. They just… did.

Fiend Without a Face- I was kind of surprised with Fiend Without a Face. It was a Criterion Collection DVD first of all, something that usually bears a mark of quality. And in the end, the movie wasn’t all that bad. It was your standard 1950′s science fiction fare. Radioactivity, the commonplace “foe” of the 50′s, had caused a bunch of brains to become sentient and started attacking civilians, sucking their brains dry. Sure, it’s a stupid plot, but somehow everything seemed to work okay. There was a budget, a sign of some effort, and while it was silly enough to be part of the B-Fest lineup, it wasn’t actually too bad.

Sextette- AHHHHHHHHHHH. I didn’t know Mae West made this before she died, but it’s tragic that she did. It stars an 85 year old West, who recently marries husband number 6, played by Timothy Dalton. There’s quite a lineup of stars in this film, including Ringo Starr and Dom DeLouis. But Mae West clearly is far too old for any of this, because there simply is no sex appeal about an 85 year old woman. Any mention of sexuality from her was responded with screams of fear and hatred at the screen. The songs are terrible, the plot is simply ludicrous, as every is out seeking a tape that contains the history of fornication with various political members around the world. I don’t even want to think about it any more. One of the worst I’ve seen, and something I never want to see again. Thank goodness it was at B-Fest.

War of the Robots- Uh. There was a guy that looked like Prince Valium from Spaceballs. They were robots, I guess. There was a bunch of space things, and “gunfights.” But there wasn’t any real special effects, so the “robots” just kind of fell down a lot. Uh, they had to save somebody, I think? I don’t really know. All I know is the the film ends with a 30 minute “battle” scene, where the enemy is represented by circles, and the heroes by triangles. And they fly around on the screen. It was like watching somebody play Asteroids, but instead, it sucked. Me and Jim went up on stage and played Frisbee for a while, just to kill time. It was that bad. 2 hours. I swear. 2 hours of my life I’ll never get back.

The Giant Claw- Our night ended with The Giant Claw. It was a perfect way to cap off the day, because this has to be one of the most ludicrous science fiction films that I have ever seen. The film revolves around a gigantic bird who is taking down planes and attacking towns. Unfortunately for our heroes, the bird has an “anti-matter” shield so no conventional weaponry can ever take it down. Trust me. There’s a scene in here where they nuke the bird. You thought Indiana Jones was bad… Anyways, it’s so cheaply made, and so damn stupid, that it was perfect for riffing and jeering from the crowd.

And that was B-Fest. Surely the culmination of some of the worst films ever seen by man. It was 24 hours of brutal film-making, and something that no man should experience alone. That’s what made B-Fest so wonderful. It was the perfect location to see these movies. The crowd made the event so hilarious, and so fantastic, I don’t know how I ever lived without it. I want to see this every year, and I’m counting the days until B-Fest 2011. There’s something so damn great about watching these movies with this type of crowd, and meeting all these people, that it’s a challenge every person should at least try once. It’s a grueling and exhausting ordeal, but something so entertaining that it has no competitor.

Film A Day Experiences: B-Fest Live!

A full write-up will come later, but if you wish to follow my B-Fest adventures, check out my twitter located on the sidebar. It’s one hell of a trip. 12 movies. One day. It’s like watching somebody go insane, live from the comfort of your home!

Best of ’09: Addendum

There were two movies that I left out of my initial Best of 2009 list that I feel should be addressed.

First, I finally got to the theater to see Up in the Air. Now, I had expected to save a spot on my Top 10  list for this film, as I am a die-hard fan of Jason Reitman’s work, and this movie certainly lived up to my expectations. It’s slick, it’s quirky, it’s hilarious, and it’s touching. George Clooney delivers the quality acting that we have begun to expect from him, but the work of Vera Farmiga and Anna  Kendrick in their respective performances as Alex Goran and Natalie Keener who truly stand out. Both actresses are perfectly suited to their roles, and it’s constantly proven throughout the film with their expression and delivery. If I went back and slid this movie into my Best of 2009, it would probably come in right behind Moon. I said that I would go back and update that list accordingly, but I don’t believe I will anymore. When 2009 ended, those were the films that had gotten me into the theater on time, and I stand by my choices on that list.

Second, I would like to make a quick special mention to Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. I had honestly forgotten about this film, which doesn’t sound like much of an endorsement, but when I heard some folks on Twitter mentioning it following the film’s DVD release, I would like to give it a shout out as well. It’s no Fantastic Mr. Fox, and it’s no Up, but it’s easily the best film Sony Pictures Animation has ever done. Their previous films, Open Season and Surfs Up, left quite a bit to be desired and their next film, The Smurfs, leaves me with little hope. Yet, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs is filled with hilarious, geeky, slapstick comedy combined with some thrilling action sequences and beautiful visuals that really do make this movie stand out. To describe it in the stupidest way possible, it’s the hypothetical offspring of 30 Rock and Chuck. It won’t change your life, heck, it won’t change your week, but if you need a lighthearted comedy to relax and watch after a stressful day, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs is a perfect choice.

Best of ’09: The Movies

Well, I think that I can sufficiently say this year is over. We’ve seen the last big releases, and with 2 days left in 2009, I think it’s safe to say that it’s been an… interesting year for film. 2008 was fantastic. The list of quality movies from last year was unbearable, I didn’t know how I would ever get a chance to see them all (and several I still haven’t). 2009? Not as much. Sure, we saw some great films, but I expect things to become very interesting come Oscar season, to see what the Academy does to fill out those 10 spots for Best Picture. That said, there still was some great stuff, and I’ll list off my top films, plus a few honorable mentions.

Honorable Mentions-

Star Trek- Best summer release this year. Re-invigorates a dying franchise for a new generation, and captures the feel of the old series, combined with the style of the present to create a movie that should appease new fans and old die-hard Trekkies (or Trekkers, if you’re one of “those” people) alike.

Watchmen- It was very hard not to put this on my top list, especially after seeing the easily superior Director’s Cut, but in the end, I simply didn’t have the heart. It’s a fantastic film, sure, and one of the most faithful recreations of an existing property in the history of film. It’s also the best Superhero movie this year, and captures the story of the graphic novel perfectly. The style, the shots, the costumes, the dialogue, it all seems to be painstakingly crafted to appease the fans. And while that is this film’s triumph, it is ultimately it’s downfall as well. The lack of a coherent plot line and story arc make it difficult, near inaccessible to new audiences. It’s a must-watch if you’ve read Watchmen, but if you haven’t, read the book first then see the film.

Ponyo- The best non-Pixar children’s movie this year goes to Ponyo. It’s cute, it’s fantastical, and it is easily enjoyed by adults and children alike. In a world full of PG-13 action films, fart jokes, and grinning anthropomorphic animals, it’s nice to see a G-rated film that is so pure and perfect to all ages.

Coraline- It’s such a shame that I couldn’t include this on the list. I kept thinking to myself that I’ll find a way to squeeze it in, but in the end, there just wasn’t room. I feel bad though, because Coraline proved a few things to me. First, I adore stop-motion animation, and more studios need to do stuff like this. Then again, Coraline would probably be on the top 10 list had The Fantastic Mr. Fox not been made… But either way, Coraline is a thrilling, frightening, and wonderful journey into a world that can’t be seen any other way.

Top 10 (For now.)

10. Big Fan

When I went to see Big Fan at the Music Box Theatre earlier this year, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I love Patton Oswalt, but I simply wasn’t sure how his performance would be in such a dark, dramatic comedy. Turns out any reservations I had were instantly shattered, as his portrayal of a broken down, die-hard Giants fan was one of the best performances I saw all year. This movie is miserable, it’s depressing, yet it’s somehow hilarious. The characters are engaging, the story goes places I wouldn’t have ever guessed, and seeing Oswalt’s character deal with the struggle between a love for his team, and the pain of being physically assaulted by one of his icons is absolutely heartbreaking. This is a must watch for the year, it doesn’t just deal with sports fandom, it’s a message to die-hard fans of anything, anywhere.

9. Up

Up was an interesting little film for me. I walked into it completely blind about where the adventure would take me. Usually, there is a matter of predictability with Pixar, but Up went in a direction that I didn’t expect. Not to say it wasn’t bad, if it was, it certainly wouldn’t be making my top 10 list. Anything Pixar makes is guaranteed quality, and I’m pretty sure that a year hasn’t gone by where one of their films hasn’t made it to my top 10. But the heartwarming story of the relationship between Russell and Carl Fredrickson was the star of the show. The set pieces were interesting, and the action with the villain was exciting, but this movie truly shined when it simply focused on the backstory and friendship of these two characters.

8. District 9

I was very afraid for Avatar when I saw this movie. I was pretty sure that Neil Blomkamp’s original sci-fi release had beat Cameron to the punch. This didn’t turn out to be the case, but that doesn’t make District 9 anything less than a triumph. It was a year for original science fiction films, and I think that District 9 has proven how desperately audiences want to see more. The gritty, documentary-style realism of the camerawork, coupled with a exciting story and set pieces made District 9 one of the best action films of the year. The ending sequence was heart-pounding, but it’s the small emotional moments that the main character goes through that truly this film work. It’s a great story about dealing with issues of race and government control, and the way that this movie conveys those messages without forcing them down the viewers throat makes District 9 a worthy entry on any top 10 list.

7. The Fantastic Mr. Fox

I love Wes Anderson with a passion. The man has created some of my favorite films of this decade, and I can’t help but keep a copy of The Life Aquatic or Darjeeling Limited by my side, just in case I need something to relax and watch. The Fantastic Mr. Fox takes Anderson off the R rated realm he is so well-known for, and places him in control of a stop-motion animated children’s movie. Or so, that’s how it’s advertised. The Fantastic Mr. Fox is no children’s movie. It’s not just the language, where each swear word is replaced with the term “cuss,” it’s clever way the story is presented, the sharp script that makes quick-sarcastic comments, and the quiet, speedy pace that the film plays out. It’s the best animated film this year, easily.

6. Anvil: The Story of Anvil

I saw this movie with my good friend Jim, and it was one of the coolest movie-going experiences of my life. I have never seen a crowd give a standing ovation to a film before it was even over. We saw this movie, plus a Q&A with the band afterwards, and I was nothing short of impressed. This is the best documentary this year. Anvil: The Story of Anvil is absolutely heartbreaking at times. I felt such pain and sadness as everything this band tried to do in order to get back on their feet collapsed around them. It’s such an amazing look into the world of the music business, and how somebody that was so influential not 25 years ago, can become entirely unwanted and obscure. It pains me to see artists like this, ones who have such a deep passion for their music and continue to play it to this day are thrown by the wayside, while others, who continue to sing only for the cash, fame, and contracts find massive success in such a corrupt industry. Anvil: The Story of Anvil takes all that, and makes it into one of the most stressful, yet rewarding films of the year.

5. Avatar

There’s a whole post just below this about Avatar, but let me explain why it’s number 5 on this list. This is the first time that I’ve ever had to make such a tough decision regarding a film that had such an impact on my life. It’s a monumental moment, and the creation of this world, and the performances, and the combination of acting and technology simply can’t be ignored. That said,  there isn’t much substance. I’m not asking for more, but I think that with such a massive action blockbuster, Avatar did what it needed to do story-wise, and nothing more. But it’s impossible not to include this on my list. It’s such a major event in filmmaking, that while we may not look back at Avatar as fondly as we do now 10 years into the future, we will have to recognize it for the stunning  accomplishment that it is.

4. Moon

Duncan Jones is going to be big. He’s going to be huge. And if there is ever any need for proof of this statement, look no further than Moon. It’s a sci-fi tale that is entirely the opposite of Avatar. It’s small, confined, lonely, and completely perfect. Sam Rockwell’s performance is spot-on, and I’m continually astounded about how well he performed as a character with no other actors. It’s great to see actors with good chemistry and dialogue, but it’s another achievement altogether to see someone create such a wonderful performance all by himself. The story is meaningful, the cinematography is beautiful, and if Moon doesn’t prove that somebody needs to give Duncan Jones a boatload of money so he can realize his next vision, nothing will.

3. The Hurt Locker

First off, I’d like to thank Dave Chen over at Slashfilm for constantly talking about this movie on the /Filmcast since the beginning of this year. If I hadn’t been so constantly harassed about it,  listening to his great podcast while walking to school every day, I wouldn’t have given the film a second look. But what I found was one of the best action films of the year, possibly the decade. Kathryn Bigelow outperformed my expectations in every way when I watched this movie, and has cemented herself as one of the great female directors of our time. I hadn’t really enjoyed many of her films since Point Break, but The Hurt Locker has so much intense detail, so much gritty realism, that I couldn’t help but walk out of the movie completely exhausted. It’s a movie that kept me up on the edge of my seat for the entirety of the film, and featured such intensity, that you’ll need an Advil and a nap when you leave the theater.

2. 500 Days of Summer

This was a real tough decision for me, because I loved both my number 2 and number 1 picks so much, that it took me a long while to decide which deserved top honors. But coming in at number 2, is Marc Webb’s romantic comedy, 500 Days of Summer. I’m kind of a sucker for romantic comedies. I Love You, Man was an interesting take on the genre earlier this year, and one of my favorite films, About a Boy, tells a great and powerful story in the genre as well. But 500 Days of Summer puts a fantastic spin on the romantic comedy, and does something that The Break-Up promised to do 3 years ago. You are told at the beginning of this movie that it is NOT a love story, and by the end, you’ll agree with this statement, but the journey that Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt take on this film is full of passion and romance. I had such a deep relation to Gorden-Levitt’s character, that I was somewhat frightened that Marc Webb had been stalking me and was simply telling the story of my life. The attachment that he had to Deschanel, and the heartbreak he felt after they separated, and the powerful realization that his story of love that he made up in his mind was something completely different in reality reacted with  me in a way no romantic comedy has ever done before. 500 Days of Summer is full of laughs, tears, fantastic acting, and a story that begs to be rewatched again and again. Also, I’m very happy that we both found our Autumn.

1. The Brothers Bloom

It was close, but the clear victor of this year is Rian Johnson’s The Brothers Bloom. There’s a lot to be said about this movie. It comes from the man who brought us 2006′s Brick, starring the aforementioned Joseph Gordon-Levitt. I only had to chance to see that movie earlier in the year, again from the constant mentions via Slashfilm’s David Chen. I was mesmerized by its clever dialogue, captivating story, and clever setting. I’ve always been a huge fan of film-noir, and his combination of the genre and a modern-day high school environment made it one of my favorite films of the decade. Of course, when I heard of The Brothers Bloom’s imminent release, I was nothing less than thrilled. Again, when I heard that Minnesota would have a theater showing it in its first run of release, I couldn’t wait to see it. So, June 1st rolled around, my birthday, and I hopped in the car and drove off to Rosedale to see it. I tried to stay away from as much info on the film as I could. I heard Rian Johnson speak on the /Filmcast a few times, but beyond the fact that it starred Adrian Brody, Mark Ruffalo, and was a con film, I was clueless. What I saw that day was fantastic. It seemed like it was a movie almost hand-crafted for me. The sarcastic wit, the hilarious scenarios, the quick acting protagonists, the clever and odd romance, it all was put together so perfectly. Even the score, done by fellow Johnson, Nathan Johnson, was fantastic, and has since become my default soundtrack to go to while I’m working. You could tell that every single person that worked on this movie had put every ounce of care and love into crafting the experience. Nothing was ham-fisted or shoddily created, it was stitched together seamlessly. Rachel Weisz’s performance as Penelope was easily the best this year, her character was so quirky, yet filled with so much independence and heart, she captured every bit of it perfectly. Con films pride themselves on making sure the viewer doesn’t know what’s real or not, and Johnson’s way of twisting that formula, and sending the characters themselves into that very same loop worked perfectly, yet they still retained the heart that so many con films fail to achieve. The movie has its sad moments, but overall, it’s the uplifting and quirky comedy that I needed to much see this year. And because of all of this, and so much more, The Brothers Bloom is the best film of 2009.

P.S- Quick note. There are a few movies that were released this year, including Up in the Air, A Serious Man, and Inglourious Basterds that I very much wish to see. When I do see them (which will be very soon) and if any of them make this list (which I’m pretty sure one of them will) then I will update accordingly.

Welcome to Pandora

When I was about 8 years old, my uncle introduced me to Star Wars. He had always been a odd guy, I was into baseball and collecting cards, he was a computer technician who’s house contained a one single room which served as a massive lair of films, books, and videos. I didn’t know what to make of his hobbies, I was interested in computers and such, but I didn’t know much beyond spending a few hours playing Kings Quest or Ducktales. His media room contained a single, dark closet in the corner, which was filled to the brim with Star Trek, Star Wars, and Lord of the Rings memorabilia. I was intrigued. He offered a world of adventure and space exploration, one that intrigued me greatly as a child. We sat through the Star Wars trilogy, then through The Wrath of Khan, and I remember him telling me about the first time he saw Star Wars in theaters.

He said it was magical, and he talked about waiting in massive long lines with hundreds of adoring fans, waiting to see the sci-fi masterpiece. He talked about the first time he ever laid eyes upon the film, and how from the moment that he saw the iconic image of the Tanitive IV being chased by a Star Destroyer, that the movie was a game-changer. And he was right, there would be no modern cinema as we know it without the existence of Star Wars. It set a new precedent on how movies were made. I listened, and I remembered his tale, but I never understood. I saw Star Wars on VHS, shown on a 27″ CRT television. I never knew that magic, and even if I had seen it for the first time on a theater screen, I doubt I ever would. Star Wars is fantastic, it’s my favorite movie of all time, but by the time I had set my first foot into the world of geekdom, it had become part of a bygone era. It was still a masterpiece, but it wasn’t new. The change had already taken place, and I was too late to witness the event. My ability to grasp that magic had been lost.

Now, I sit here, 12 years later. A college student, studying video game design, and fully immersed in the world of sci-fi, fantasy, film, and overall geek culture. My life is entirely a result of what I witnessed all those years ago. But I still didn’t have that “moment.” Until I saw Avatar.

I admit. I was a nay-sayer. I wasn’t impressed by the trailer, I didn’t bother to attend the over-blown event that was “Avatar Day,” and I laughed as the overbearing hype surrounding the movie would surely lead it to a “Waterworld”-esque demise. But I have been proven wrong, and I simply can’t describe to you how wrong I was. If I could go back to my self 6 months ago during Comic-Con, I would punch me in the stomach and tell myself never to judge Avatar like anything less than it is, a masterpiece. The film was presented and promoted as a game changer, and James Cameron’s epic has proved this on all accounts. It’s not a movie, it’s an experience. There is nothing like this movie in the history of human existence. I wasn’t watching a film, I was witnessing an event, I didn’t see the world, I was in it. Upon my repeated viewings, I don’t tell people that “I’m going to see Avatar again,” I tell them, “I’m going back to Pandora.”

Because that’s what this film is, it’s a journey. I walked out of that theater on opening night, and I hated the fact that I had to ever leave. My uncle told me about this feeling when he saw Star Wars, that he didn’t want to leave Luke and his friends, and I finally understood what he meant. I never wanted to leave Pandora. The world is such a detailed, immersive, and fully-realized experience, that one can’t help but feel like they’re there, right next to Jake Sully as he’s learning about the Na’vi, and trying to understand this mysterious world. We’re learning with him, as stated in the movie, we’re entering Pandora with our cups empty. The sheer emotional experience that Avatar causes is something that I can not simply explain. I can’t get it out of my head. I’m in love.

There was a scene in this film, where our hero takes his first flight among the Hallelujah Mountains, the floating mountains of Pandora. I cried.  It wasn’t even for the story. The events unfolding were interesting and captivating, sure, but the raw emotion that I felt when I saw this virtual world that Cameron has created, and when that awe-inspiring moment set in that he had truly achieved his goal, that he had actually changed cinema forever, I couldn’t help but shed a few tears. I was breathless, I was shocked. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing on the screen. And the worst part of it all, is that I can’t recount this experience to anybody, because there is nothing to compare it to. Avatar is such a monumental event because of this, because it’s so amazing, so breathtaking, that it can’t even be described without being witnessed. When the final action setpiece began, and the music began to swell, I couldn’t help but whisper to myself, “Oh my God, he actually did it. He actually did it.”

I’ve made a few trips back to Pandora since my first visit. I want to go back, and I keep going back, because it’s something that I can’t witness anywhere else. James Cameron may have just saved the entire theater industry because of this. He’s developed a style, a technology, and a world that simply can’t be experienced anywhere else. Sure the Blu-Ray will come out, and there’ll be the opportunity to watch Avatar at home on your television, but it will never be the same. Just like the yearly re-releases of the Star Wars films, Avatar is something that people will continue to flock to theaters to see, simply because even if they were presented with a home alternative, there is no other way to experience this adventure, except for in a theater, in 3D.

When I began this journey 6 months ago, I would have never thought that I would be where I am today. I am in love with movies, and I couldn’t be happier about the future of cinema than I am right now, because as I journey out into adulthood, I will be on the forefront of a revolution. I had the opportunity, just like my uncle did, to experience such a magical moment, that I won’t forget it for the rest of my life. And I will be able to witness the results of such a feat first-hand for decades to come.

Split Personalities: The Player/Avatar Relationship

From an early age my life was surrounded by avatars. At two years old, I created a LEGO world of superheroes in a dystopian future that would have to fight against armies of insects, household pets, and Star Wars action figures. My character was Tech Man, a normal guy who had no abilities whatsoever, but when he put on his super-powered, technology-infused jetpack, he was the greatest hero known to man. Tech Man was always my character and we had a special bond, I cared about what happened to him and as his situation would become direr, I would do everything I can to imagine a way for him to succeed. Today, this relationship has traveled over to video games, more specifically quality video games. Instead of Tech Man, I traveled to Morrowind as Ator, I ventured into The Old Republic as the great Jedi Knight Fuz Staten, and I entered the World of Warcraft as the mighty Tauren Frobisher. All of these characters have become extensions of myself and my personality, and while they remain characters in these virtual spaces, they play an integral role in gaming as avatars. Through experience with such characters, I have come upon one fact: when it comes to creating an exciting and compelling video game, the one aspect every game must achieve is for the player to care about the character they control.

First, it is important to define what an avatar is. Avatars are a users representation of themselves in another space, be it a board game, a video game, or the internet. Our whole society is surrounded by avatars; nearly every single person on the planet has some sort of forum, message board, or AIM account that is under a nickname where people have the freedom to express their feelings and thoughts in a forum of anonymity. In this respect, it no longer becomes that the individual is speaking his mind, his avatar is. Other users don’t know the person by their real name; instead, all of their connections are through a nickname. This has become rampant in gaming, and services such as the Playstation Network and Xbox Live further advance this trend by including IDs and Gamertags that allow for the player to hide behind a mask of anonymity, even in a competitive environment. Instead of entering the world of Halo or Call of Duty as Brice Puls, I instead enter as Sqornshellous, an identity that beyond my group of friends remains entirely anonymous to the rest of the users. This creates and interesting trend, where instead of each game having its own specific avatar, the collective group of avatars from all of these online multiplayer titles meld into one online identity. Therefore, an avatar is not simply a character in a game, but is a user’s virtual identity in a gamespace.

These identities are only the surface of our persona in video games. The most common avatars that we experience as gamers are the characters in games themselves. These identities are the most important to a designer, as they represent the player’s existence in a virtual gamespace and therefore must achieve several different milestones to be a credible representation. First, an avatar must be relatable in a physical sense. The actions desired and performed by the user must accurately match the results displayed on screen. If the player does not feel like they have accurate control over the game, then not only can it cause a severe disconnect between the avatar and player, but it hurts overall gameplay. These avatars, while inheriting many traits and personalities of their own, always must be under the full control of the player in order to achieve a sense of credibility. Second, a player must find the situation believable. This is usually through physical means. Games are most successful when the character correctly fits in with their surroundings. While several games have extensive character creation modes that allow the player to create their own ridiculous concepts, when talking in relation to games with static characters, a player must always feel that the events the avatar is involved in correctly matches their appearance and actions. Finally, a character must be able to connect with their avatar as another being, one that is believable, understandable, and is able to achieve a successful caring connection with the user.

There are several ways to achieve a connection between the player and the character, and not all of them require having a deep narrative. When I claim the player must care about the avatar they control, it simply means that the player must have to have a sort of emotional reaction to the accomplishments and downfalls of the avatar. This is a rule that exists in games from Madden to Dragon Age. The game must simulate the experience well enough that the player becomes immersed in to the world, and starts to care about the events occurring. For a game like Madden, this requires the developers to properly simulate the experience of football. If the game allowed the player to run at the speed of light, and constantly complete 90 yard passes, then the game would be pulled out of the realm of simulation, and into the absurd. It’s not bad gameplay, but it’s not the experience that Madden strives for. Since Madden doesn’t have single character, the avatar becomes the collective team that the player is controlling. By properly simulating the experience of football, the player is able to experience the thrill of completing a touchdown, or the frustration of a turnover. The player doesn’t feel empathy or pain when one of the virtual players is injured, but he experiences that simple connection to the game that allows them to feel like a strong participant in the gamespace. Madden is a perfect example of the most simple connection between player and avatar. It’s not a relationship of narrative and empathy, but instead features a perfect enough simulation of the experience that the player can relate and connect.

Of course, the relationship between player and avatar goes far deeper than this simple connection, and in most cases, this requires narrative. There are two different types of narrative games, ones that feature dynamic characters who are created and customized by the player, and those with static characters who feature a unique identity and personality. Titles with dynamic characters allow players to create an identity that represent themselves in the game. Players like to feel a sense of familiarity with those they control, and by creating their own characters they can have a character which virtually represents them in the gamespace. When I played The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, the character I created did not physically represent me, but as the character lacked his own personality, I played him as if he was I in the game. The character creation tool allows the player to not connect to a separate character, but instead extend their own personality and identity into the game. While the actions the player might perform in the game may not be representative of them, the avatar tends to have less character development and lacks their own personality, requiring the player to fill their own traits into the avatar. The level of attachment to the character varies between people of course, as some may see it as a passing feature and connect with their avatar simply as their representation in the game, where others can grow a deep emotional attachment to their avatars, which can lead to unforeseen consequences. A Rape in Cyberspace is an article which dictates the events of the rape of a player’s virtual character in a massively multiplayer game. One character, Mr. Bungle, took control of another player’s character and forced her to do sexual acts to him against the player’s will. While this article is less about the rape itself, and more about the development of a community inhabited by player’s avatars, it does discuss the potential for a deep emotional connection between a player and an avatar. When Julian Dibbel interviewed the victim months after the incident, she “would confide to me that as she wrote those words posttraumatic tears were streaming down her face—a real-life fact that should suffice to prove that the words’ emotional content was no mere playacting.” (Dibbell)

Other games feature a static character, one who has their own unique personality. From this viewpoint, players don’t connect with the player as an extension of themselves, but instead connect with the avatar as another being. Games such as God of War and Mass Effect have characters that have their own actions, identity and persona. They allow for a different narrative experience where the character is a separate identity and the story is told from their perspective, instead of being a story about the player. From this perspective, the connection doesn’t involve an emotion of being the character, but instead feeling empathy to the character’s actions. While this may vary anywhere from the thrill of dicing up an enemy, to the sadness of witnessing a loved one dying, these games provide a narrative experience that is more akin to a book or a film, where the story is told from a third person point of view and you control this avatar through their adventure. Still, it is important for these characters to be well-crafted, in order for the player to connect to them. Characters with poor design or development, such as the main character of Bionic Commando, remove the player from the experience, and instead of connecting with this avatar, it becomes a farce and a severe detriment to the ability to enjoy the game. Our society in general prefers protagonists with predictable qualities. While some may have characteristics of an anti-hero, players must still retain that feeling that the character’s actions are real, important, and in most cases, positive. The “No Russian” level of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 illustrates this perfectly, as players may hesitate to attack innocent and unarmed civilians. Our desire to have characters that we can identify with is challenged, and the experience is altered from one of entertainment to a severe disconnect from the game, which causes the player to question his own virtual actions.

As games expand, the desire to have strong narrative continues to grow. Games are emerging from both sides of this narrative experience. Titles such as Heavy Rain allow the player to control a character through a movie-like storyline, where their decisions affect the outcome of a story filled with developed character with their own specific identities. Other games are dropping the player in the shoes of a faceless soldier. When I played games like Halo 3: ODST, Far Cry 2, or Bioshock, I was given absolutely no information about who I was in this game from a personality sense, only a name. From this perspective, these games allow the player to exist as a member of this virtual world, such as being a rookie soldier facing a massive alien invasion, but still allow the player to feel as if they are extending their own identities into the game. Multiplayer titles strive for this experience, and titles that perform it successfully, such as Call of Duty or Halo, have been met with massive success. Other titles are experiencing with having fleshed-out, developed characters in their multiplayer titles, which has been met with great success in Valve’s Left 4 Dead franchise. I long for the day that I will be able to pick up a game and experience the same adventure and connection I did with my LEGO Tech Man character so long ago. Many titles have tried, and several have successfully created a deeper emotional experience that I hope to see more of. This doesn’t mean every game needs to, I’m happy to see my Miami Dolphins without feeling the pain of a bruised knee, and sometimes it’s just fun to pick up a gun and feel the challenge of sniping a few bad guys, but while these games don’t require a deep connection, they still require the player to have some sort of caring for their virtual avatars, and that feeling is what all games must strive for and achieve.

Shoot to Kill: A Far Cry 2 Analysis

This paper was written for a midterm project in Game Culture. While reviewing it for my final paper, I became aware on how much I enjoyed this piece, and decided to post it for a wider audience. Enjoy.

Far Cry 2 starts with a mission and a name; kill The Jackal. The only information given about him is that he’s a weapons dealer, and he must be assassinated. The game may start with a simple plot, but the adventure that occurs along the way translates such a simple objective into one of the deepest and most culturally enriching titles in video game history.

Far Cry 2 begins with a very simple character select screen, asking you to choose from 9 different characters. None of these characters are given a deep backstory but they are physically diverse, allowing the player to find a character they indentify with. The game is told entirely from a first-person perspective, and both of these mechanics allow the player to feel as if they are playing as an extension of themselves in the gamespace, instead of establishing the main character as an individual.  It crafts a single player experience customized for each player, and every play-through of the game creates a different path through the title by randomly selecting what accomplices the player will encounter.

One of the main complaints regarding narrative in video games has been the inability to tell stories in the medium due to the lack of a director. There is nothing to guide the player to progress through the story, and instead, they have the ability to progress through it in any way they choose. Far Cry 2 chooses to overcome this boundary by having the story progress as the player chooses, and the order that the player chooses to complete missions can affect how the rest of the game plays out. Society enjoys having such a sense of choice, and by combining the ability to choose with in-game consequences and rewards allows the player to feel more interaction and control over the game.

One of the more interesting design choices in Far Cry 2 is its open world environment. Several games have adopted this playstyle, and they attempt to create entertaining and engaging spaces that the player will want to explore. Games such as Grand Theft Auto IV create a living, breathing world like Liberty City, where non-player characters wander around about their everyday lives while Niko Bellic creates mayhem and destruction wherever and whenever he pleases. Far Cry 2 crafts an open world that is far different from such open world titles. Instead, it creates a world that is empty and bleak. There are several different terrain environments, such as desert, mountains, jungle, and savannah, but each of these contains the same feeling of misery that becomes an overarching theme in the game. The roads aren’t paved, the buildings shoddily constructed, and every single person in the environment is attempting to kill the player. The game attempts to convey a message about war and turmoil in Africa. While the game is set in a fictional country, the issues surrounding the game are culturally similar to those currently occurring in countries such as the Republic of Congo. In fact, the game’s main currency, diamonds, have long been an international conflict which have caused several nations and factions to declare total war against each other, forcing young children to fight and die in such conflicts. The game also deals with one of the biggest diseases afflicting third-world countries at the moment, malaria, and the main character is afflicted with it five minutes into the game.

This creates an interesting gameplay mechanic where you constantly have to take malaria pills to suppress the effects. It can be very frustrating to be driving a jeep away from a gunfight, only for the disease to cause the player drive off the road and into a tree while attempting to take a pill. Pills are limited as well, and the game requires you to complete missions in order to get them. Some critics have labeled this as a frustrating and boring game mechanic, but Far Cry 2 attempts to accurately reflect how living in third-world Africa during a civil conflict could really be. The player doesn’t have any real power or control over the events occurring, instead, they have to take jobs from both sides whenever they get them, and just attempt to complete their objective and escape before they die.

Far Cry 2’s characters are unfriendly. Every single person the player encounters outside of the main hub towns will attempt to kill them and since the player has no allegiance to either faction, there simply are no friendly faces to be found. There is though, one small location that ends up serving as a virtual home for the character. In a small alcove, south of one of the main hub towns, there is a collection of three buildings. One is a weapons dealer and armory, a place where you can use conflict diamonds you have acquired on your missions to exchange for better weapons. The dealer is not to be regarded as your friend though, as he, and the others like him in the game, are more intent on using you to fight their battles in exchange for new weapons. The third building is a tiny, run down bar. It’s a building no bigger than a standard hotel room, but it’s the only place in the whole game where nobody will try to kill the main character. The people here each have their own reasons for being in Africa, and as the avatar runs missions for them and gets to know them throughout the game, they become the only friends the player has in the game.

Each of these characters are picked based on what character the player chooses at the beginning of the game, and they can be met at any point throughout the game, based on when and how often the player returns to the bar. These people offer alternatives to your missions for each faction, and take advantage of your missions to accomplish their own agenda. Even though many of these characters aren’t respectable individuals, they become close friends to the main character, because they end up being the only friendly characters in the whole title. Even in the hub towns, which are declared as cease-fire zones, the player can make one wrong step into the wrong building, or accidentally pull out a gun, and cause a massive gunfight between him and both factions. These friends allow the player to be able to capture different viewpoints on the conflict occurring in the game, and empathy is truly established between the player and these characters. The game is clearly crafted as an emotional experience. The gameplay, plot, and location are not fun, but they do entertain. Its technology immerses the player into a situation that they would never be able to experience outside of a game, and while it doesn’t point to a specific conflict, the overarching themes of civil war, diamond conflict, and poverty are clearly established and emotionally forced onto the player.

One of the several events that occur with the character in the game is the death of a friend. Your accomplices will attempt to save the player from their own demise by coming to their aid and pulling them out of combat. They will then hand the character a pistol, and attempt to help them out of their current battle. Every character in this game is mortal, and if they take enough shots, friends will fall as well. The game then presents the player with a decision. Either they can use one of their rare and vital adrenaline shots to attempt to save their compatriot, or they can put a bullet in their head and give them a quick death. It can take anywhere from one to five shots to save a friend, and in some cases, they have moved beyond the point of saving. The game uses these emotional scenes to cause the player to grow more immersed in the characters of the game, not just the plot. Actions such as this can be very tough for a player to make, if they have the capability to become emotionally invested in a game, and Far Cry 2 proves to be a great example of how gameplay tactics can be used for emotion manipulation, much like the use of shots and dialogue in a film.

Games have long attempted to convey a message and give some sort of emotional investment to the player, and Far Cry 2 accomplishes both admirably. While several games in the industry such as Halo, Killzone, and Gears of War have superior combat mechanics, Far Cry 2 is one of the few titles that can make the player question the morality of what they are doing. By surrounding the player in a fictional but realistic setting, where a conflict repeatedly seen in Africa in the past years is taking place can cause a player to feel more empathy for those who inhabit the gamespace, and educate them about the consequences of such events. The game doesn’t end with the hero saving the day; it ends with them escaping after completing their first objective to kill The Jackal. In fact, The Jackal rarely appears in the game, and at several points, he ends up being one of the few friends the player has. By tying such a grand world around a simple plot, the player has freedom to navigate the space and experience their own story. They encounter friendly computer-driven characters that promote actual empathy, and give meaning to their constant violence. The developers crafted a game that has moral, cultural, and emotional implications, and in that scenario, Far Cry 2 is one of the deepest and emotionally powerful titles ever created.