The Arts in New York City | Baruch Fall 2013 Macaulay Seminar 1

Mood Diary: Nosferatu

Posted on October 30, 2013 by Andrew Chen

As soon as I opened up Nosferatu, I cringed. The year 1992 jumped out at me and the sudden black-and-white coloration was a sharp contrast from what I was used to seeing. The graininess of the film due to the lack of an advanced camera bothered me throughout the whole movie. The constant flashing of light is very distracting from the main action from the movie. The addition of no voice audio for the actors also steered my attention away from enjoying Nosferatu. Not only was it uncomfortable to sit and listen to with just the classical music, but it also reminded me of Charlie Chaplin movies. Though I didn’t like how it was just music playing, I commend the use of music to establish and enhance the atmosphere of the movie.

“V-Magazine.” V-Magazine. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Oct. 2013.

My first impression of Nosferatu, even before watching it, consisted of a Dracula-like character for the vampire. Instead, when seeing Nosferatu for the first time, it was a mix between a swamp creature and Lord Voldemort. I was taken aback by the contrast of perceived appearance and actual appearance. Nosferatu seemed to look similar to everything else but Count Dracula. He even resembled Baraka from the Mortal Kombat series, mouth-wise. A good part of this movie had me questioning the design of Nosferatu as a character. Was this intentional, as to avoid copyright and plagerism? Or was it the perceived figure of a vampire in the 1920’s? Overall, Nosferatu had too many distractions for me to actually enjoy watching it.

“Vampires: Folklore, fantasy and fact – Michael Molina.” The Moving Company Animation Studio. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Oct. 2013.

“Baraka.” Mortal Kombat. Kuro Selas, n.d. Web. 30 Oct. 2013.

Nosferatu Mood Diary

Posted on October 30, 2013 by Khrystyna Melnyk

nosferatularge

The first part that I really liked about the movie was that it had these piano melodies playing in the background and it was in black and white. Old black and white movies are my

favorite so I automatically thought I would like this one.

First of all, like many others, I started watching the movie at night. At first it was okay. A newlywed couple and the wife is waiting for the husband who comes home with flowers. That’s nice. But then things took a turn for the creepy. As soon as Hutter arrives in

Count_von_Count

Transylvania, I was feeling scared. When I thought of Transylvania before this movie, all

that came to mind was that it was the home of the vampires. I had heard these stories before and basically, I thought every other house was

the home of a vampire. The most important being – count Dracula. And yes, I know this is a picture of Count Count from Sesame Street, but that’s because he is my favorite vampire: All the scary, without any of the killing.

demotivation-posters-auto-304747

Now, as many people of our generation, I had a bias against vampires ever since Twilight. I didn’t expect the vampire to be that creepy and for him to have the weird two teeth in the front.

Lastly, the ending of the movie was amazing. I really liked it because it showed how strong Ellen was and how good hearted. She offered up her own life to end the reign of terror Nosferatu was causing even though she was still very young and had a long future ahead of her. And the vampire being frozen in the sunlight was cool too because Twilight had changed that as well.

Nosferatu Mood Diary

Posted on October 30, 2013 by Shirley Yau

To be honest, I’ve never watched Dracula or heard anything about the film other than “it’s about a vampire,” which is an incredibly vague description. I essentially watched Nosferatu with a blank slate. I’m not the biggest fan of scary movies, (I get scared super easily) and as I began watching the film at 2 o clock in the morning, after about 90 seconds, I shut it off and went to bed. Perhaps it was the creepy faces of the characters or just the eeriness of it all, but I just couldn’t handle it.

Now, attempt number two. I knew I had to watch the film, so I reassured myself that since it was filmed in 1922, graphics were not going to be all that high-tech or realistic. It’s not going to be scary. And, well I was right. Nothing in the film was all that scary; rather, the film was just downright creepy. Essentially, throughout the whole film, my face looked like this:

Because there were no spoken words, I found myself paying really close attention to the lighting and sound effects in the film. I thought F.W. Murnau did an exceptional job. Even without words or color, he was able to evoke such strong emotions in the audience. I personally thought his use of shadows in the film was brilliant, it was able to build up suspense and as always the chills that run through your spine.

One thing I noticed a lot throughout the film was the constant focus on rats. Now that for me was also a bit creepy just because I’m terrified of rats. As I was watching the movie, I kept thinking about why the director would frequently show clips of rats and the significance of them. Even though I didn’t like looking at the rats, I thought Murnau did a great job of using them to symbolize disease/plague. Rats are always associated with the spreading of disease, so I think he was trying to express that the vampirism is similar to the plague. Along with that, if you think about it, the fangs of a vampire are quite rat-like. Renfield in general I thought was a human rat. Everything about him, from his facial structure to his posture and the way he moves all resemble those of a rat. These small little details really made the film thought provoking and fun.

Another aspect of the film that was confusing to me was the idea that a woman had to stay by the vampire’s side until the cock crowed. I guess Murnau decided to leave this up to the audience’s interpretation as to whether or not this was meant in a sexual way. When Nosferatu first enters Nina’s room, as a shadow of course, we see the shadow of his hand grip the left side of Nina’s chest as she writhes in pain. Now this again can be interpreted in two ways. Since it was the left side of Nina’s chest, Nosferatu could have been attacking her heart. On the other hand, this action could be interpreted as his desire for not just blood, but a woman.

Overall, I think Nosferatu was a new experience for many of us. Silent, black and white films from the 1920’s aren’t exactly in my usual choices of entertainment. But surprisingly, I really did enjoy it, aside from it being creepy. But I mean, we are nearing Halloween, what movie better to watch than Nosferatu?

Nosferatu Mood Diary

Posted on October 30, 2013 by rschneider

To indulge myself, I’ll post the obligatory Spongebob gif everyone is so fond of and primarily the reason most of us had heard of this fellow Nosferatu before.

Alright, now that I got that out of the way…

This may not make sense because Nosferatu predates its inception by over 30 years, but the film reminded me of The Twilight Zone (a 1950’s-60’s T.V series by Rod Serling). Particularly, it reminded me of a certain episode: The Howling Man (pictured below). In this episode, a man comes upon a castle one night during a terrible storm. He goes in for shelter and stays there for the night only to find out a man is being held captive. This man says that he had been wrongly imprisoned and asks the man staying the night to release him. He releases the captive even after strict warnings by the caretaker of the castle. The man had been tricked and the captive he released was no man at all, but the devil incarnate! DUN DUN DUN (sorry to ruin the ending for anyone).

But anyway, this stuck in my head so vividly while I was watching Nosferatu because of the similarities in the style. The Twilight Zone episode was not silent, however, it did contain a great deal of narration comparable to the cards shown throughout Nosferatu. The episode was in black and white as well which triggered my feelings. The series has a distinct theme music to it that is in itself very mysterious like the score of Nosferatu.

I also thought that the Nosferatu character was rather funny-looking. I found the plot to be more humorous (though dramatic) than frightening. It might be partially due to Spongebob introducing a seemingly harmless character of Nosferatu in my youth or it could be because it loosely resembled a Kanamit (something out of another Twilight Zone episode) – not pictured. I think this also says a lot about how our perception of “scary” has evolved over the years.

I’m also not used to silent movies; No one nowadays really is, but I found myself focusing on the background music a lot which I thoroughly enjoyed.

By the way, am I the only one who was thinking NOSE-feratu the whole time? (especially due to the last thing we were required to see)

Happy early Halloween!

See you all on Thursday at BAM

Ralph S. signing off

Mood Diary on “Nosferatu”

Posted on October 30, 2013 by adonagjoka

For a silent movie, “Nosferatu” stirred a lot of emotion in me. The beginning scene of Count Orlok reading a paper rattled me not only because of his frightening appearance, but his expression seemed sneaky and malicious.

One scene that foreshadows that Orlok can’t be trusted is when Hutter mentions his name in a motel he stopped in as he was on his way to Orlok’s castle. Everyone’s expression around him changed to a blank disapproval. Even the animals outside run away or dig themselves underground and the elderly women start praying.

As I was watching the movie, I thought it was extremely foolish of Hutter to not take anyone’s advice of Orlok. The carriage that Orlok sent to pick up Hutter also seemed untrustworthy because it was in fast motion and the covered horses gave it frightening mood. It didn’t really hit me that Orlok was a vampire until he feverishly followed Hutter after his paper cut. I was grossed out by Orlok’s excitement for blood.

I was a little confused when the movie started transitioning between Hutter and his wife, Ellen. It seemed like the two scenes were working together because as Ellen would cry out at the shadow in her room, Orlok would move away from Hutter. I didn’t realize this at first because Orlok and Hutter looked like they were in the same room as Ellen, but she was actually just dreaming. Ellen’s acting skills are persuasive because she exaggerates her arm movement and hold her expressions to capture the audience’s attention.

At this point, Hutter realizes he’s in danger and escapes, but Orlok follows on a ship. I was confused at the fly’s role in the movie. It hovered over the coffin and alerted the scientist’s attention.

The letter about the plague caught my attention because it showed how clueless society was to Nosferatu. The bites on people’s necks were considered part of the plague when in reality they were vampire bites. I think the scariest scene in the movie was when Nosferatu went after the crewmen on the ship because they had no where to run to.

Nosferatu Mood Diary

Posted on October 30, 2013 by Austin Fischer

The only knowledge I had on Nosferatu prior to watching the movie was that the count was a creepy vampiresque character that had made an appearance in Spongebob. This probably wasn’t a solid basis for understanding the movie, but I continued anyway with the thought of a man flickering a light switch in the back of my mind. I couldn’t help but chuckle at the special effects and the attempt to make something scary that was so innately humorous. I found Harker to be way too happy, like he was trying to compensate for a lack of voice with an ear-to-ear smile. I found myself criticizing the rate at which people in the 1920s read. I didn’t understand if the silent movie’s target audience was that of the near blind or dyslexic. However, in the end, I decided that for something like Nosferatu, the setting in which you watched the movie was crucial to your reaction. My first viewing took place sitting with friends, and criticism and laughter were our immediate reactions. Yet, upon sitting and watching the film alone I found there to be something so fundamentally eerie about what was happening.

There is something to be said about the idea of a society being picked off by something unknown. There is a feeling this type of idea evokes that goes beyond any black and white man flicking a light switch. It is an idea of the unknown that slowly creeps under your skin and leaves you with a sense of defenseless fear that stretches beyond time. I have always been interested in movies of this sort, where a society faces a plague and works in a rush to figure out what the heck is happening. Although the immediate scene may not have been scary, the slow build up of the music and the addition of Bram Stoker’s text put a feeling in the back of my mind that slowly manifested itself. Even though I felt no inclination to rush out of my room, I still felt the familiar goose bumps slowly rise up from the bottom of my spine to the back of my neck.

I wouldn’t necessary define my feeling as fear, because that, to me, involves an immediate reaction. However, I did feel something… and the presence of any feeling at all surprised me. The blend of dramatic music and the blurred lighting of the film really allowed for interpretation and I think this is where the movie thrives. I don’t think that Nosferatu has the ability to produce an immediate reaction with stop motion special effects. However, where the movie did its best was in the tip of your spine slowly rising as the pressure and suspense built and I admire so much that a silent film could acomplish this. It was the same feeling I got as a kid watching goosebumps.

On a more unrelated note, while watching the movie I came to a conclusion on attention deficit disorder. While watching the movie, I began to think that our media today is so concerned with constant and immediate stimulation. Everything we do in our world involved quick flashy interaction. It may be that I have lived in NYC my entire life, but I see this everywhere, from advertisements to our daily journey on the subway. This silent film allowed me to realize how dependent on stimulation we are. The computers, televisions and videogames we interact with provide an array of flashing lights that come at our eyes quicker than we can comprehend. I don’t think this part is a theory; T.V. works to display flashes of different colors of light so quickly that we don’t even see the transitions and instead perceive a solid image. We need so much engagement to stay interested in something and it seems like the rate of the movie left people laughing or bored to tears. Even so, this is why I admire this movie so much. Its has the ability to transcend time and even if it produced a tenth of the feeling the special affects of modern day do, that would be incredible.

Works Cited:

Flashing Lights. N.d. Photograph. Coolchaser.com. NextSmallThings. Web. 30 Oct. 2013.

Goosebump Logo Gif. N.d. Photograph. Kwejk.pl. Kwejk. Web. 30 Oct. 2013.

Llustration of the Black Death from the Toggenburg Bible. 1411. Photograph. Simple.Wikipedia.com. Wikipedia. Web. 30 Oct. 2013.

N.d. Photograph. Altanta-accupuncuture.net. Acupuncture Atlanta Georgia. Web. 30 Oct. 2013.

Nosferatu Gifs. N.d. Photograph. Wifflegif.com. Twitter. Web. 30 Oct. 2013.

Mood Diary: Nosferatu – The Origins of Horror

Posted on October 30, 2013 by Jeremy Lyle Brown

As a fan of horror movies, I was very curious to finally see Nosferatu. I didn’t expect it to actual scare me, but I was aware the whole time of what elements might have scared an audience in the 1920’s. In fact I think this is the oldest film I’ve ever seen, and because of this, I also noticed a lot of the elements of the film that were a byproduct of its age.

Many modern horror films use the same sort of black and white film effect on their frames to make them appear scary. The association with this effect, I suspect, may have come from Nosferatu. Nosferatu, like other early films, could not control whether or not they had this effect on the frame – I’m not an expert, but I’m assuming it was due to the quality of the physical film. While I watched Nosferatu, I consciously tried to avoid associating this visual effect with horror – and as a result, I was not as scared.

Often used in modern horror films to be scary, this was a part of every older film, scary or not.

But there were times while I was watching Nosferatu that I slipped and allowed the old effects to act on me as if I was watching a modern film. I figure that this is okay to happen when watching an older film, as I can’t possibly deny that I live in the now and not nearly a century ago. Watching from a modern standpoint made me want to probe deeper into the film, even when there was nothing deeper to probe into. For instance, in the scenes where a character is simply walking, is there anything going on in the background of significance? Do the little black dots and lines actually mean something? These questions popped into my head as I watched the film, and the answer is, no.

See the image above? Nothing there. Like me trying to delve deeper into Nosferatu as I watched it – I couldn’t see deeper meaning in individual scenes. No symbolism or anything of the sort.

Modern films have forced me to act as if there is always something significant in the frame. Older films, or at least Nosferatu, take things slow. I respect this, because along with other elements of the films (such as the silence, and the lack of visual violence) it forces the viewer to use their imagination. This isn’t to say that there isn’t a deeper meaning to Nosferatu as a whole – I think that it raises questions about society of the 1920s – but there are no small symbols or hidden objects in each scene.

Did Nosferatu end up being scary to me? Not really. But I’m still glad that I saw it – it serves as a basis for many other horror films to follow. I’m glad that it forces the viewer to use his/her imagination in the horror, because it draws the viewer in more, rather than presenting it all for the viewer to see. More modern films such as Saw lay everything out for the viewer to see, which desensitizes the modern moviegoer. I can respect that Nosferatu respected its viewers by not desensitizing them.

Nosferatu Mood Diary

Posted on October 30, 2013 by Evans Charles Augustin

While watching Nosferatu I realized that this was the first silent film I had ever seen. It was a new experience for me. They way the actors had to over emphasize their actions and expressions in order to convey emotions was strange. It was similar to that of the opera we saw of The Nose, by its absurdity. The only silent films I have ever really heard of were done by Charlie Chaplin. Chaplin apparently did comedies, while Nosferatu was a horror thriller. Even though I am would not say I am a fan of silent films I did enjoy this one.

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I read Bram Stoker’s Dracula a few years ago and I thought that on paper it was more thrilling than this film. I know that Noseferatu was considered frightening in its time, but today it does not seem scary at all. I found it to be a little more humorous. I thought Dracula was more of an agent of evil who lusted for blood, a dark menacing creature. In this film he seemed more as a goofy villain. I can’t really criticize the portrayal of a vampire in this film because over the years they have taken new forms. One example being, the Twilight Saga in which there is a love story between a human girl and a vampire. This type of vampire avoids sunlight because it makes his skin shinny instead of burns him. His whole motivation is for love instead of hunger. I believe this difference also highlights how the black and white of Nosferatu makes a clear cut between good and evil, while today the lines are more blurred.

Kids are not that easily scared any more, monsters have become part of a child’s life. They grew up learning to like monsters, because they are on the television and in movies. Some teach them the alphabet and social skills by singing and dancing.

images

The only films that get me scared today are those that either play with my imagination and force me to create my own monsters in the darkness, or those that have a creature that is overwhelmingly blood thirsty and made. It may require special effects so it is beyond what I can conceive on my own.

In Noseferatu what built the suspense for me was the music in the background. It really highlighted some of the fear and anxiety felt. It also brought a calm to the lighter moments to the film. I wonder if filmmakers were to make a brand new Dracula movie today how scary would it be, or would knowing Dracula and having him been made trite monster take away from the film.

Mood Diary: Nosferatu

Posted on October 30, 2013 by Aishwarya Bhatia

Dread. When I was initially told to watch Nosferatu, I could only think of possible dreadful scenes and implications in the movie.

My anticipation, however, was nothing short of unwarranted and purposeless. Although scary for its own time period, the movie is no match for the wide range of actual scary movies we have available today.

Even before I started watching Nosferatu, I had decided that I wouldn’t like it at all for not only was it black and white, but also silent. Watching the movie, therefore, seemed more of a laborious task than an entertaining alternative. When I finally sat to watch the movie, I was disappointed and angered by the loud acting. I understand that silent films put an additional burden on the actors of telling a story through gestures, but does that mean they have to come out of their characters and exaggerate their emotions to make a point? (If it does, then acting probably had a different meaning in 1922.)

While watching the movie, I continuously wondered what reactions and emotions did the movie evoke in the audience of the 1920s. I assumed they experienced the same trepidation that the modern audience members do when they watch movies like Night of the Living Dead and Jaws.

Regardless, as I watched the movie, I became more curious as to what Count Dracula would look like and how the movie would be structured in general. However, the discrepancies took away from the building curiosity. First off, why did Jonathon agree to go to Transylvania when Renfield advised him not to listen to people who speak of phantoms in the town? I was surprised that Jonathon did not pick up on that clear clue; it goes to show how ignorant and foolish he is. When I saw that scene, I equated it with a scene in which a guilty child denies breaking the living room lamp even before his parents notice that the lamp is missing. You automatically know that the child is confessing his wrongful act by the very fact that he feels the need to deny it before anyone raises a question around the subject. In effect, the parents and the audience know the child is guilty. Jonathon is quite the contrary; he runs in the direction that he is blatantly warned against. Why?

“Pictures Of…” A Colorful Cartoon of a Businessman Running In the Wrong Direction. Acclaim Imagery, Ltd., n.d. Web. 29 Oct. 2013. <http://www.picturesof.net/pages/100615-005163-268053.html>.

Another discrepancy was that the movie never referenced how Reinfield knew Count Dracula, let alone how he conspired with him. Besides, how did Reinfield benefit from helping Count Dracula? The mystery behind these questions actually decreased my interest in the film, much like the repetitive background score. The music lacked timbre and qualities that spark various responses within viewers. Had the music director used instruments other than the low-pitched bassoon, the movie would have been more engaging. Unfortunately, instead of evoking different emotions, the music made the movie tedious and monotonous.

Having said that, I think that despite the setbacks, the movie did a decent job in entertaining its viewers. Honestly, I did not expect the movie to have any of the action techniques and illusions that we are accustomed to. Thus, when the door opened by itself and Count Dracula stood up from his coffin in a humanly impossible way and in the end, vanished in smoke, I started to appreciate the filmmakers and actors’ attempts. I also examined the different characters and found credibility in Jonathon Harker’s and Nina’s portrayal. Moreover, I finally understood how the stereotypical image of a monster came about. The thick eyebrows, sunken eyes, missing teeth, and long nails were characteristics that filmmakers came up with decades ago. After watching the portrayal of a vampire in Nosferatu, I could not help but juxtapose it with that in Twilight Saga. Although the physical appearance of vampires has greatly evolved, it seems that ideas like vampires cannot withstand sunlight have survived the test of time.

“Wallpapers Tagged With TWILIGHT – Page 1.” HD Wallpapers. HD Wallpapers, n.d. Web. 29 Oct. 2013. <http://www.hdwallpapers.in/tag/twilight.html>.

Lastly, just like the stories we have read so far this semester, the movie Nosferatu had a bittersweet ending. Nina, much like Gregor in Metamorphosis, sacrifices herself for the well-being of others. With that in mind, when the screen flashes, “…that moment, as if by a miracle, the sick no longer died, and the stifling shadow of the vampire vanished with the morning sun,” viewers experience conflicting emotions of melancholy and contentment.

Works Cited:

“Pictures Of…” A Colorful Cartoon of a Businessman Running In the Wrong Direction. Acclaim Imagery, Ltd., n.d. Web. 29 Oct. 2013. <http://www.picturesof.net/pages/100615-005163-268053.html>.

“Wallpapers Tagged With TWILIGHT – Page 1.” HD Wallpapers. HD Wallpapers, n.d. Web. 29 Oct. 2013. <http://www.hdwallpapers.in/tag/twilight.html>.

Nosferatu Mood Diary

Posted on October 29, 2013 by Nursultan Djamalidinov

I will be honest and say I am not a fan of old movies. Those movies were made with people’s preferences in mind at that moment. It was also limited by the technology so there were no voice overs or color. it just personally detracts from the experience. But the movie was not that bad as I watched it. It was a little slow at first until I saw the carriage driver who took Hutter to where he was going. That guy was the definition of creepy. It also turns out he is the Count Orlok.

Count Orlok was a welcome change from the twilight style vampires I have been saying recently. I mean I am not an expert but I think vampires are supposed to be scary. No matter what you do, if the vampire looks like he wears more make up than most girls, he is not scary. He will forever be a pretty boy.

I think this has become a pattern in movies. There are less ugly or scary people than there were earlier. Villians, vampires, other monsters are becoming more chiseled with washboard abs and great skin. I think it is a bad direction to move towards because then scary movies will lose a major topic or character because if more vampires come out looking like the vampires form twilight, vampires would not be taken seriously.

I would certainly be terrified if I saw Count Orlok at my door. But the problem is I know I never will, which is why modern horror movies do not scare me either. I went to see The Conjuring but I just wound up laughing through most of the film because I have this thought in the back of my mind that I am watching a movie and the events of the movie do not happen in real life.

Overall I slightly enjoyed the movie. It made use of what it had and that is commendable. I also respected how it used real horror instead of bone chilling special effects, highly realistic sound, or surprises to scare the viewer. It uses a person’s mind against them when scaring them.

Also, as a long time fan of spongebob, I have to reference that time Count Orlok made an appearance. This was actually the first thing that came to mind when hearing about this movie.