Clarity: Treatment

Logline: A boy comes to terms with his emotions by escaping through nature..

A boy sits on a log, the same log in the same clearing that he has been returning to for years. Here, he can be himself. Here he is alone, away from the pressures of society and family. Here, he can clear his mind and never go home. This small clearing is his home, this is his escape.

As he sits outside the cafe, he tries to picture what it would be like if it never happened. The thing that made him so isolated, so separated from everyone. If only someone shared the feelings that he felt. He couldn’t imagine that he could ever talk to anyone about it. He sees the flyer that has always been posted in the same position - group therapy, for those who need it. Frustrated that he sees it everyday, he closes his eyes.

He scratches another tick on the log in the clearing. He puts the knife under the same rock he has always put it under and gets up. But that isn’t enough, he feels that something is missing. He returns to the rock and pulls the knife out and marks a nearby tree, “what can I do?” he inscribes, and drops to the floor, tears rolling down.

What can he do? He has to go back, as much as he doesn’t want to. So he does. In another public spot, he sits, gazing across as far as he can see. This place so much different than the clearing, he cannot see the horizon, he cannot hear himself think, he cannot function. He cannot stand it - the stares, the murmurs - he is imprisoned.

He returns. He breathes. He glides down to the clearing when he notices that there is something written on his scratched tree. A reply? He looks around thinking somebody has been watching him. Does someone else know about his sanctuary? He decides its okay, knowing that there’s nothing to lose. He writes back.

Day after day he returns, discovering new messages, and he feels a satisfaction from this connection to the unknown. He is able to express once again, even if it is not in a regular way, it is better than how he was a few days ago.

He decides to give the group therapy a try even if he doesn’t speak and only “passes” on speaking, he has allowed himself to attach himself to other things, and work his way back into a regular life. Whom had once been lonely and emotionally isolated now has a new charisma. His energy flows through his limbs and it radiates through his appearance. He continues to write on the trees.

He finally expresses himself to others comfortably. He doesn’t “pass”. He decides its okay, and expresses himself in voice. He doesn’t looks away in disgust when people look at him. He sees light in the world. He seems to be well off and stable once again.

Back in the clearing, he reaches for the knife, ready to write a new message. He had not been here in days. His life is finally coming together and he is not the lonely boy he once was; he is now an individual, one that can clearly articulate his emotions. He brushes the carved trees with his hands. He feels through the carvings that he had once wrote, the carvings that he has distanced himself from. He feels the precise lettering, and feels the emptiness underneath his own writings - the replies to his messages are gone.

Titanic: Film Language and Representation

V. Film Language and Representation
The characters that are in this extract mainly include the passenger of the ship with sub-characters such as the captain and the ship's designer. The production value and the amount of people in the shots depict the chaos in the ship. There are different emotions portrayed. The range from prideful acceptance, to chaotic and hopeless. These emotions allow the audience to see not everyone responded to the event the same way and provides a more nuanced portrayal. There are also interesting use of angles in the excerpt. To accommodate the sinking angle of the ship, some shots are also angled. These are usually the sequences that are still in the interior of the ship. These shots are further emphasized by the use of lines within the shot. The horizontal lines contrast with the camera's edges, therefore adding to the sense of the sinking Titanic. The is little camera moves. There are only slight pans and trucking, along with the dolly shots of the entire ship. The editing jumps from place to place. It doesn't only focus on the emotions of one person. Instead, it goes to many aspects of the ship's emotion, from the rich to the poor, from the old to the young. This reveals the many emotions that Cameron had wanted to portray - that the Titanic was a dramatic, tragic event, contrary to the prior films made on it which showed the sinking as graceful.
The sound in this excerpt heavily influences how the audience should feel, and perhaps Cameron's intended effects. It begins with the calm music that the band plays, with screaming in the background, but the music is louder than the chaos. The montage of the ship, along with the music, shows one aspect of the event, where are the yelling in the background encompasses another. Overall, this scene is intended to be artful and expressive to incorporate all the beauty in the ship and the etherial qualities. Nearer to the end of the excerpt, the music changes to a dramatic, upbeat instrumental. The audience now feels a heightened sense of danger because of the use of sound and music. It is interesting because the commotion in the shots are still relatively similar, but because of the sound, the mood is completely different.
The symbols in this excerpt are limited because there is not a fixed shot on an object. One symbol that I found interesting was the floating painting that was owned by Rose. I felt that the painting represents the wealthy class and from this it can be interpreted two ways. One is that, with the painting floating, it shows how the wealthy were more fortunate than others in society. Another interpretation is that no one is superior, even with wealth because the painting is submerged in the water. Although only being in the scene for a few seconds, the shot had to have some importance and meaning to be placed in the film.

Titanic: Narrative

IV. Narrative
I chose to use the excerpt in which the ship's band plays "Nearer My God to Thee" while the ship is sinking. I chose to analyze this scene because I feel that it incorporates themes of the film as well as the associations that fall with the Titanic. I felt that the blending of a tragic event such as the sinking of the Titanic combined with the tranquility and calmness of the music provides a great contrast and provides an excellent portrayal of the event. I felt that the use of contrasting shots in the extract allows the audience to feel the full depiction of the event as well as embodying the emotions along with it. The extract is one of the most climactic moment in the film because it shows the emotions of the passengers from safety to giving up, from determination to acceptance.
The narrative is told from an elderly Rose DeWitt Bukater to a group of sea explorers. It takes place in the present day and she reflects back to the voyage of the RMS Titanic. The narrative is more character driven than plot driven although both are incorporated into the film. During the course of the film, we experience the trip of the Titanic from a few established character; therefore, we are given only the perspectives of these characters. The film is constructed around the love between the two main characters of Jack and Rose. Their love is paralleled with the film's inevitable course in which the Titanic sinks. This helps propel their love because us as an audience know that they would ultimately fall apart, physically ending their epic romance but Rose, continues to love throughout her life in the image of Jack. We see this at the end of the film from the old Rose's photos.

Titanic: Historical :: Socio-Cultural

II. Historical and Institutional Factors

Titanic, directed by James Cameron, under 20th Century Fox, Paramount Pictures, and Lightstorm Entertainment was at first in question about the economic endeavor because Cameron had asked for $150 million for the production of the film from Fox. This soon, during production,  rose to $200 million due to the engineering of a replicate RMS Titanic and production technology for the visual effects. This made it the most expensive movie produced in its time. There was question about whether or not the film would gain profit, and at a time, it was sure to have a loss of $50 million. Titanic ended up being the most grossing film at that time and to this day, sits at #2 at the highest grossing behind Cameron's recent Avatar. This was due to multiple screenings of the film by individuals and spreading it through good word of mouth. It also was released during the 90's scene in which home theatre was becoming more common.

The film is a documentation of the tragic event of the sinking of the passenger liner, RMS Titanic across the Atlantic. It showed the emotions of the event and Cameron tried to accurately depict it, even referring to historians to validate its accuracy. It starts with a majestic tone with the sight of the grand Titanic on the fate of April 10, 1912 to the hopeless tone of its sinking on the morning of the 15th.

III. Socio-Cultural Context

Titanic informs the audience of the emotional struggles that surrounds the liner. It communicates the time period through the setting and characters being English traveling to America. It also provides a visual depiction of class struggle. Undermining the conflict of the crisis, is the need of wealth and reputation. The film, Titanic provides a significant comparison between societies from the early 1900's in Europe compared to the society that we are used to today. Although not being the main focus, Titanic depicts the struggle for reputation within the wealthy, upper classes. This can be represented by the ship's different classes: the wealthy, middle, and lower classes. This contrast in society is shown through the love story of Jack Dawson and Rose DeWitt Bukater. Despite their economic differences, the two find a way to overcome their status, possibly signifying a step forward. The film, Titanic, was made to document the tragic incident of the sinking of the passenger liner. Past documentaries, Cameron felt, were not accurate in depicting the tragic incident as a graceful downfall; instead, it was catastrophic, so he decided to portray the event as closely as possible, running it through with multiple historians.