Oh, Bradley Cooper, you were so great in Limitless, why did you have to go gross me out like that…..sigh. Oh well, I first need to say that I really liked the movie. I loved the concept. How many of us have dreamed of a super pill that could solve all of our problems. I was along for the ride……until my Mr. Cooper started drinking blood off the floor. The breaking of that taboo I believe ties in with the desire for a human being to live; that instinct that Cooper’s character was talking about. To the question about why it seemed so disgusting in Limitless while it seems “okay” in the wave of Vampire movies and TV shows; I think the difference lies in the context. Vampires too drink blood in order to stay alive, but they exist only in a fantasy world where we can glorify them to be the pin ups in a teen age girl magazine. The blood sucking trait of the character can also be traced back hundreds of years since vampire stories have existed. Our cultures are used to the long standing fantasy aspect of it. Plus, the character drinking blood in Limitless is the guy we are rooting for; vampires are often seen as the bad guy who would naturally do the wrong thing. Now, this is not to say that I think that what happened in the movie is reality, however, the miracles provided by science (made up or not) seem a little more real than Robert Pattinson flying around the woods with an angsty teenage girl on his back. That being so, death and blood in real life are gruesome, and I think the director did a great job in Limitless by emphasizing the “ew” factor the audience felt as Bradley Cooper did whatever he could to stay alive.
I also agree that the girlfriend, Lindy, was the one true moral figure in the movie. During the table discussion we discussed how, like Dr. Redick’s email said, she was the one good moral figure because she was able to turn away from the power of the drug. However, I do not think it was her that inspired Eddie to give the drug up, I think its limited availability and the results of withdrawal did that motivated him. Not that Eddie did not love Lindy; but I think the power of being all knowing was too strong for the Eddie. Therefore, I think Eddie was lying in the end when he said he was off the drug; I think he found a way to purify the drug to make it better for his system.
In having an ending where it seems that Eddie had it all while still being on the drug, I think the movie lost some of its power here. In Limitless we saw the abandonment of the “wholly other” by Eddie for the drug that made the “wholly other” obsolete. The prolonged result would have been illness and death. The message being, nobody can be “God” without consequences. If this message held true, it would support that Eddie did stop the drug and that Lindy was the moral figure Eddie needed to get through his ordeal. However, I think the way he acted toward DeNiro’s character and how he could just speak Chinese at the end proved he was able to get away with being a genius at no cost. It is an interesting twist at the end, but like I said, the movie lost some of its “moral” message and power. He could be God like (as was mentioned in the movie earlier) with no consequences. Then again, the idea of moral precepts has to do with what one considers moral, and that is an entirely different conversation.
Monday, April 4, 2011
Sarah Clementson- Blog 4- Limitless
A drug that allowed the user to have full access to the brain meant the possibilities were limitless...Or are they really? I feel as though the movie was full of holes in its plot and its over-all theme condoned drug use, but it did come across a few interesting themes: Control, Power, and the ability of the human mind.
Touching on control- the only person who tried the drug in the movie and did not re-use it was Eddie's girlfriend, Lindy. Her character in the film is intriguing because she does not fit the mold and is almost similar to the type of character portrayed in the film Groundhog Day from the beginning of the semester. Although the drug appeared to be the sacred, something that broke out of the mundane or profane existence, the plot did not do a good job of portraying it, but I feel as though Lindy might have won out. In the end, Eddie did not want to lose her and he even gave up the drug. The drug was a tool and a pivotal component but in the end, he just wanted to save his girlfriend, apologize and get back to her. The drug was one that controlled Eddie through addiction, terrible migraines due to withdrawal symptoms. The drug controlled his life because he had become addicted and utterly dependent on it with just one pill it seemed. The only issue I have with that is he seemed to look normal, recover, and even look healthier after weaning himself off the drug instead of haggard, decrepit and sickly like everyone else.
It was obvious how much power one was able to achieve when using their mind to its fullest potential when he amassed huge amounts of money through the stock market in just a few days and writing a book in hours. Yet, the human mind was still limited by being inside one being. He was able to guess things that would happen based on conversation or reading up on things but he was not omnipotent or omniscient. Eddie still had human failings- leaving his coat with the lawyer and not noticing that all of his pills were gone from the hidden pocket.
This thought ties to the limitations of the human mind. Instead of portraying a movie of someone with limitless possibilities and opportunities, I saw someone struggling to become sovereign over his own life by gaining control. But the frailty of the human body was evident in the withdrawal symptoms or the fatality rate of others who had used it. It almost showed that having that much access to knowledge was so unnatural that it cannot be contained in a human mind. It makes me think of the verses Psalm 139:17-18 "How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand". We see that his thoughts are so overwhelming that Eddie starts blacking out and missing parts of his life. I think this movie shows that only God is able to have limitless possibilities and any attempt humans have will fall short because we were not made to be God, only in His image.
Touching on control- the only person who tried the drug in the movie and did not re-use it was Eddie's girlfriend, Lindy. Her character in the film is intriguing because she does not fit the mold and is almost similar to the type of character portrayed in the film Groundhog Day from the beginning of the semester. Although the drug appeared to be the sacred, something that broke out of the mundane or profane existence, the plot did not do a good job of portraying it, but I feel as though Lindy might have won out. In the end, Eddie did not want to lose her and he even gave up the drug. The drug was a tool and a pivotal component but in the end, he just wanted to save his girlfriend, apologize and get back to her. The drug was one that controlled Eddie through addiction, terrible migraines due to withdrawal symptoms. The drug controlled his life because he had become addicted and utterly dependent on it with just one pill it seemed. The only issue I have with that is he seemed to look normal, recover, and even look healthier after weaning himself off the drug instead of haggard, decrepit and sickly like everyone else.
It was obvious how much power one was able to achieve when using their mind to its fullest potential when he amassed huge amounts of money through the stock market in just a few days and writing a book in hours. Yet, the human mind was still limited by being inside one being. He was able to guess things that would happen based on conversation or reading up on things but he was not omnipotent or omniscient. Eddie still had human failings- leaving his coat with the lawyer and not noticing that all of his pills were gone from the hidden pocket.
This thought ties to the limitations of the human mind. Instead of portraying a movie of someone with limitless possibilities and opportunities, I saw someone struggling to become sovereign over his own life by gaining control. But the frailty of the human body was evident in the withdrawal symptoms or the fatality rate of others who had used it. It almost showed that having that much access to knowledge was so unnatural that it cannot be contained in a human mind. It makes me think of the verses Psalm 139:17-18 "How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand". We see that his thoughts are so overwhelming that Eddie starts blacking out and missing parts of his life. I think this movie shows that only God is able to have limitless possibilities and any attempt humans have will fall short because we were not made to be God, only in His image.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Brynne Valla--Student Choice #2
Last week I watched the film "Gran Torino" starring Clint Eastwood. The film begins with Walt at the funeral of his wife. A priest comes up to him and tells him that Walt's wife, Dorothy, desired that Walt would attend confession. Walt, a cynical, gruff man, told the priest that he desired no such thing, not even if it was his wife's last wish.
While all this is occurring, Walt's neighborhood is experiencing an overhaul. Hmong refugees are occupying most of the neighborhood, and make it very clear that they want Walt to sell his house and move out. Walt, being the stickler that he is, refuses and over the course of the movie, he starts to open up to the refugees.
Most notably, Walt involves himself in his neighbor's affair when the daughter is beaten and raped by a gang. Her brother seeks vengeance and Walt promises that the family will have it. However, he does so in an unexpected way. Whereas before, Walt had been quick to pick up one of his many guns to solve a problem, he goes to the gang's hangout completely unarmed. He pretends as though he is about to pull a weapon, and as he does this, the gang fires on him relentlessly. Walt dies with his lighter in his outstretched hands, with blood collecting in his palms and running down to his feet.
In this instance, Walt resembles Jesus on the cross. Though he does not have nails in his hands or feet, his body is positioned in the same manner and the blood collects in spots the nails would be. Additionally, the lighter alludes to Christ being the "light of the world." Throughout the film, cameras lingered on the lighter and discussion centered on Walt's lighter. It seems appropriate that Walt dies with the lighter in his hand, as the redeemer to his neighbors and anyone terrorized by the gang.
Although Christianity is represented in the film (primarily in the relationship he has with the priest who tries to get him to confession) the movie as a whole does not emphasize these points. Rather, the plight of the refugees seems to be the main point. It is interesting that a crotchety old white guy is their redeemer when he seemed the most likely to help anyone but himself.
While all this is occurring, Walt's neighborhood is experiencing an overhaul. Hmong refugees are occupying most of the neighborhood, and make it very clear that they want Walt to sell his house and move out. Walt, being the stickler that he is, refuses and over the course of the movie, he starts to open up to the refugees.
Most notably, Walt involves himself in his neighbor's affair when the daughter is beaten and raped by a gang. Her brother seeks vengeance and Walt promises that the family will have it. However, he does so in an unexpected way. Whereas before, Walt had been quick to pick up one of his many guns to solve a problem, he goes to the gang's hangout completely unarmed. He pretends as though he is about to pull a weapon, and as he does this, the gang fires on him relentlessly. Walt dies with his lighter in his outstretched hands, with blood collecting in his palms and running down to his feet.
In this instance, Walt resembles Jesus on the cross. Though he does not have nails in his hands or feet, his body is positioned in the same manner and the blood collects in spots the nails would be. Additionally, the lighter alludes to Christ being the "light of the world." Throughout the film, cameras lingered on the lighter and discussion centered on Walt's lighter. It seems appropriate that Walt dies with the lighter in his hand, as the redeemer to his neighbors and anyone terrorized by the gang.
Although Christianity is represented in the film (primarily in the relationship he has with the priest who tries to get him to confession) the movie as a whole does not emphasize these points. Rather, the plight of the refugees seems to be the main point. It is interesting that a crotchety old white guy is their redeemer when he seemed the most likely to help anyone but himself.
Brynne Valla--Films from Class #4
Last week we watched the movie "Limitless," and the part that stuck out to me the most occurred when Eddie was on the ledge of his bunker about to jump off of it. While he is standing on the ledge, listening to the men try and break down his door, Eddie contemplates suicide because at least jumping off will be not only less painful but also his choice. For a second, he finds comfort that HE gets to choose when and how he will die--not the creeps taking a chainsaw to his door. Then, he realizes that he wants to live. Instead of simply throwing in the towel, Eddie mans up and attempts to survive.
This instance reminded me of Kierkegaard's existentialism theory, where everything in life (except birth) is a choice we make. Before watching this movie, I did not see how death was a choice we could make--we do not decide to get cancer and die from it or choose to have a heart attack and die. However, I now see that the choices that we make leading up to those decisions factor in to our deaths. For instance, if someone dies of a heart attack, it may be do to that person's chosen diet or lack of exercise. Thus, that person chooses how he or she wants to die. In "Limitless" we see quite blatantly that Eddie can take or save his life. So, this is Kierkegaard's theory in obvious action--we have the option to choose whatever we want to do.
Aside from that, the fact that Eddie has a sort of omniscience makes him God-like. When he takes the pill, he accesses information he did not even know he had. However, when the pill's effects wear off, he is back to his normal (and sometimes sickly) self. Still, his knowledge and ability to almost tell the future (such as predicting what move an opponent will take in a fight) makes him sort of God-like.
This instance reminded me of Kierkegaard's existentialism theory, where everything in life (except birth) is a choice we make. Before watching this movie, I did not see how death was a choice we could make--we do not decide to get cancer and die from it or choose to have a heart attack and die. However, I now see that the choices that we make leading up to those decisions factor in to our deaths. For instance, if someone dies of a heart attack, it may be do to that person's chosen diet or lack of exercise. Thus, that person chooses how he or she wants to die. In "Limitless" we see quite blatantly that Eddie can take or save his life. So, this is Kierkegaard's theory in obvious action--we have the option to choose whatever we want to do.
Aside from that, the fact that Eddie has a sort of omniscience makes him God-like. When he takes the pill, he accesses information he did not even know he had. However, when the pill's effects wear off, he is back to his normal (and sometimes sickly) self. Still, his knowledge and ability to almost tell the future (such as predicting what move an opponent will take in a fight) makes him sort of God-like.
Friday, April 1, 2011
Deanna Yurovich - Blog #14 - Outside Reading Wisdom's Blossoms
Wisdom’s Blossoms is a book that contains different stories about the saints of India. This book is assigned for the class Religions of the East and it actually has some very interesting stories to tell that gives a great outlook on life.
Chapter 17 is a story about a man and his student. The student spends the entire night trying to find one piece of money that is not accounted for. He literally stayed up the entire night to find this one money. His teacher taught him that if he meditated with the same intensity he had for finding that piece of money he would reach god more quickly.
This story reminds us that all of our material things do not really matter in the end. It does not matter how far along we are in technology our faith is what gets us through. It reminds me of the Decalogue how the father relied on his material things for his son to be alive. Also Blade Runner, the people relied on the robots until they caused issues. We all need to remember there is something greater than us and in the end that one piece of money will not go with us.
Chapter 17 is a story about a man and his student. The student spends the entire night trying to find one piece of money that is not accounted for. He literally stayed up the entire night to find this one money. His teacher taught him that if he meditated with the same intensity he had for finding that piece of money he would reach god more quickly.
This story reminds us that all of our material things do not really matter in the end. It does not matter how far along we are in technology our faith is what gets us through. It reminds me of the Decalogue how the father relied on his material things for his son to be alive. Also Blade Runner, the people relied on the robots until they caused issues. We all need to remember there is something greater than us and in the end that one piece of money will not go with us.
Deanna Yurovich - Blog Post #13 - Limitless
The movie Limitless was not a movie I really was dying to see. I am a Bradley Cooper fan though, so it was not a horrible movie to watch. The ways in which the filmmaker showed how Eddie caught up to himself was very cool, the fact that you saw two of him instead of just trying to understand. The visual of two Eddie’s really helped to show what the drug did to him. The drug put Eddie and anyone who used it into a hero or God like state. They are able to get anything done no matter what.
The film creates something that sends people into a state where they are able to use their entire brain. The viewer can see when Eddie goes from a drab state to hopped up on the drug. The colors are very drab and boring to a high spectrum of brighter colors. The person is placed into a trance and the viewer is brought along for the ride with the colors and fast paced life style the person undergoes.
The scene that stands out the most in my mind is near the end when he is fighting the guys in his apartment. He needs the last pill but the guy injects it in himself. When he begins to bleed Eddie decides to drink the blood to get the power of the drug. This was a scene where I literally closed my eyes. It is a very powerful scene in seeing that he really needs that drug to function at all anymore. Which leads me to this question. At the end when he says that he is off the drug, is he really off the drug? Something to think about.
The film creates something that sends people into a state where they are able to use their entire brain. The viewer can see when Eddie goes from a drab state to hopped up on the drug. The colors are very drab and boring to a high spectrum of brighter colors. The person is placed into a trance and the viewer is brought along for the ride with the colors and fast paced life style the person undergoes.
The scene that stands out the most in my mind is near the end when he is fighting the guys in his apartment. He needs the last pill but the guy injects it in himself. When he begins to bleed Eddie decides to drink the blood to get the power of the drug. This was a scene where I literally closed my eyes. It is a very powerful scene in seeing that he really needs that drug to function at all anymore. Which leads me to this question. At the end when he says that he is off the drug, is he really off the drug? Something to think about.
Louisa Andrusko #9-- 4/1/11: Outside Film: Chronicles of Narnia
The Narnia series is filled with religious symbols and themes. Written by C.S. Lewis, the books lead readers to foreign lands rich with Christianity. While the film versions have their differences from the novels, the religious connotations translate very well on screen. Aslan, the courageous and selfless lion, sacrifices himself for the life of Edmund, making Aslan a symbol of Jesus. Moreover, Aslan’s sinless nature results in his resurrection and return to power. Like Jesus, Aslan’s faith essentially allows him life after death. The belief in an after-life plays a profound role in Christian doctrines and dictates the actions of Christians in life. In both the films and books, faith is imperative to the admittance of the siblings into Narnia. Those who stop believing or lose faith, like Susan and Peter, can no longer enter Narnia. We have seen the idea of faith come up in many of the films we have watched, especially in the Decalogue. Edmund’s betrayal to both Aslan and his siblings leads us to believe his character is most like Judas from the Bible. The battle between good and evil drives the novels and films, climactic battles heightening the experience. The witch verse lion battle shows us our own internal struggles of pure and impure.
While the mysteriousness of religion is difficult to capture on screen, faith has continually been portrayed and examined. I wonder why. Also, how much of an impact do these films have on their targeted audiences: children?
While the mysteriousness of religion is difficult to capture on screen, faith has continually been portrayed and examined. I wonder why. Also, how much of an impact do these films have on their targeted audiences: children?
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