Category: 2 November

This week we discussed “A Bronx Tale” and how a story and the content change between different art mediums.  “A Bronx Tale” was originally a one-man show by Chazz Palminteri (who played Sonny).  Music, singing, and dancing in a live performance lighten the mood and express emotion different from only speaking.  Music also evolves throughout a movie, adding to suspense, drama, or comedy.  Cinematography adds to a movie in ways a live performance cannot.  We wrote a paper one the affect camera angles have on a movie, and if “Ace in the Hole” was a live performance, then it would be constructed differently.  We continued the class with a discussion of the movie, but not everyone was able to watch it.  We ended class by having groups choose a work that was interpreted into three mediums and discuss it with the class.  My group talked about……

1) Hamlet – book

• The Lion King movie
• The Lion King show

2) American Idiot – album

• Musical
• Soon to be movie

I was very impressed with the way Joe ran the class last week. I thought he did a great job keeping us intrigued and involved while we were discussing A Bronx Tale and how stories are constructed. I found it very interesting when we discussed works that had been changed into three or more adaptations. I honestly thought that would be a hard task, but after the discussion I realized how many works have been based off of each other that I had never noticed before. Overall, I think Joe did a fantastic job while he was with us last week.

Last week Joe Pentagelo was the professor and we had a great time.  We started by talking about the movie a Bronx Tale.  We discussed the plot, the producer, the director, and what went into making the movie.  After that, we discussed how much a story can change when used in different mediums.  In groups, we brought up different examples we knew.  My group talked about Matilda and how it is a movie,  musical and book.  We also discussed Star Wars which is a movie, book, television show, and one man play.  Before that, I never realized how different a story may be when the medium is switched.

Joe, our ITF, taught class in the absence of Dr. Kahan last week and I think he did a very good job. His lecture about the Bronx Tale was engaging while educational at the same time. We learned about the 4 parts of the basic narrative structure. (exposition, rising action, climax, and falling action or dénouement) Listening to him talking about what went on in the Bronx Tale was also really interesting because of his occasional inserts of humor. We also talked about the differences between musicals, books, and movies. Towards the end of class, we got into our groups to come up with books that had many different adaptations and shared it. Overall, it was an interesting lecture.

This past Wednesday we had a guest lecturer, our ITF Joseph Pantenglo, who led our class in discussion about the film, A Bronx tale. Mr.Pantengelo began the class by speaking about the story arc of most movies, describing each step in detail. First we spoke about how exposition is key for the development of most movies because they are set in a world that is previously set up for the audience. Next we spoke about how rising action and climax of the movie are usual the points when a conflict befalls the main character and a big event follows. Additionally we spoke briefly about the falling action of a movie, as this is usually the shortest and most joyful part of the movie. Using these four elements we began to analyze the movie and as a class spoke about how these points played out in the movie. Mr.Pantenglo than started to discuss themes present throughout the film such as: Allegiance, Neighborhoods, Race. As a class we discussed the themes all while Mr.Pantenglo would use specific examples from the text to support each theme. Towards the end of class we got a tutorial on how to use iMovie for our video project, while also brainstorming as a group what are some specific examples of adaptation across multiple factions of media (movies, tv shows, music).

Last week, our ITF Joseph Pentangelo substituted the class. He did a tremendous job explaining the basic structure of a narrative. The exposition sets the stage for the rest of the story. Then comes the rising action, then the climax, and finally the falling action (or the dénouement). We spoke about how these parts of a narrative relate to the Bronx Tale and all its story. Then we talked about the various themes in A Bronx Tale such as race, gender, organized crime, alliances, etc. He brought to light a variety of subtle aspects of the movie that I wouldn’t have picked up otherwise. For example, the fact that there are very few female characters in the play was something very surprising. The idea that most of what the mother suggested were shut down by the father, and that she just disappears from the movie at one point never to be mentioned of again was interesting to think about. Also, we spoke about how movies, plays, and books of the same story can change based on the medium it’s portrayed under. Budgetary constraints and camera work can immensely change the viewing experience between plays and movies. When one watches a play, they can only see the play from one point. As opposed to movies, where cameras can be transported wherever the director wants. An actor in a play opening night could slightly change how he/she performs compared to closing night. Compare this to movies, when one literally watches the same exact performance over and over. Books are another story (haha, get it? Like stories in books). This is because books are dependent upon the reader’s imagination with no visual aide.

 

Joe was a great substitute and did an amazing job conducting class.

This past week we had another guest instructor, our ITF Joe. He was someone who I already met before so I kind of knew who he was, but I never had him teach me in class before. Fortunately, during the whole class last week it was very enjoyable, while also educational. He was able to put a lot of jokes and humor into the lesson, while also teaching us the information that we needed to know.  In class, we were at least able to go over the plot of “A Bronx Tale”, since finding the movie online was almost impossible. Going over the plot though was very helpful, and gave good insight into what to expect when we go to the actual play.

Also, the second part of the lesson I found interesting too. I have read so many books/articles, and have watched so many reproductions of them been made, but, never did I put together or realize the amount of replications across media that different works of art have. So many works have had this done, and within those numerous works tens, if not hundreds, of there own rewrites have been made. It was quite interesting to me, and made me see something that was in front of me all this time and I hadn’t noticed. Overall, Joe was a great teacher and I would welcome him back again.

In class on November 2nd we had a guest Professor in the person of our Macaulay ITF  Joe. I really like the way he taught the class, he infused a lot of humor into the message he was trying to send. He talked to us about the plot of “A Bronx Tale”. He told us about how many stories are put into different medias. He taught us about Frankenstien and the many ways it has been adapted into different medias. An exercise that Joe gave us that really opened my eyes was when he told us to find two stories adapted into at least three medias. My group and I used Star Wars and Spiderman, but there were so many choices. It shows how many medias a story can be adapted into.

This week we had Joe as our guest lecturer and we mainly discussed the movie “A Bronx Tale” such as its themes and its narrative structure. Some reoccurring topics were morality, family, race, and gender. The main thing that stuck in my head in class was our discussion on gender in A Bronx Tale. Joe discussed the failure to represent women as meaningful characters in the movie. The women in the movie were mainly used as plot devices for the men. There were only like two women in the movie and most of their dialogue would be about a man. This same representation of women can be seen in many movies. You can even see it in the Lion King. Theres only like two girl lions and they both always talk about Simba.

We then discussed the changes that can happen to a narrative when it is adapted through different forms of art. For example, a play that is turned into a film, then into a musical. Joe asked us to think of a few stories that have been adapted into different forms. My group and I thought about Annie which has gone through a bunch of adaptations such as a comic to a play to a movie. There are many adaptations to a movie and the most recent one has a really big change with Annie being played as a black orphan in harlem. The significance of this change is to change Annie to being of an ethnicity that is considered to be a minority of modern times.

This week Joe led our class.  In the beginning of the class we discussed the movie “A Bronx Tale” and how basic narrative structures are used within it.  We learned that exposition introduces the characters as well as the world in which the characters exist and rising action is the highlight of the tension or main conflict of a narrative that ultimately leads towards a climax.  The climax is the main turning point where the main character’s fate is decided.  The falling action, or denouncement establishes the state in which the world that the exposition described at the end of the narrative.  In the movie “A Bronx Tale” main themes employed within the film include allegiance, neighborhood, race, gender, class, morality, organized crime.  Within this movie a gender role of women is implemented.  Throughout the whole movie no two women interact with one another while two plus men interact throughout the movie.  We also discussed how the classic classification; that men place women into; is reversed when Jane, a black girl, claims that she likes Italian men instead of the other way around.  We also spoke about how racism can be a two way street.  the Italian people in the movie were so against change that they alienated and even acted aggressive towards the up-and-coming African American community.  As a result of this the African American community was wary of the Italian community, creating a cycle of hate and distrust.  In relation to morality, no one within the movie is clearly good or bad.  The characters behave in a way that they deem to be morally correct rather than what the government deems to be correct, which eventually leads to the formation of independent governing forces such as organized crime systems.

For the second half of class we discussed how movies are transitioned from books and plays.  Some scenes must be added and deleted in order to make the story line make sense.  Sometimes the story line is completely changed to make sense.  My group and I discussed the transitions of Disney movies from fairy-tale to Disney movie.  The movies are changed from dark and gruesome tale from sources such as Hans Christian Anderson and The Grim Tales into happily ever after ending stories that teach children to believe in magic and the powers of love and friendship.

 

-Samantha Silber