- Take 2 films you enjoy and break down the character development and story development throughout the film:
- Analyse how the main characters evolve
- Analyse how the characters drive the story
- If there are similarities between your films point this out and why you think they are following a similar structure if so.
- 1.Watchmen
The story is set during the cold war between the United States and the Soviet Union. In the beginning, a strong man named Blake was thrown out of his balcony. At night, a mysterious man who called himself Luoxia in a windbreaker and mask sneaked into the scene of the crime. He found a combat suit hidden in Blake’s wardrobe.
The mysterious man found the middle-aged man Daniel. It turned out that both of them were masked heroes. The Blake family’s battle suit proves that Blake is the hero code named comedian. The free law enforcement of masked heroes was protested by the public. It has long been banned by the government. Today, only Rorschach is still illegal.
Rorschach thinks that someone is slaughtering masked heroes, so he hereby informs Daniel, the former night owl. Then he went to warn Victor, the original code name Pharaoh; Rory, the once silk soul; And Dr Manhattan, the only superpower hero in this book, who is now in a relationship with Lori. They don’t care about Rorschach’s conspiracy theory. Rory also said the comedian’s death was deserved because the omnipotent guy raped his mother.
Dr Manhattan buried himself in his work and had a big quarrel with Rory. Rory went to the owl, while Dr Manhattan went to an interview. In the interview, the doctor was accused of emitting carcinogenic radiation. In the face of the reporter’s evidence, questioning and reprimand, the overwhelmed doctor quickly moved to Mars and cut off all contact with the earth.
Dr Manhattan was originally just an unfortunate scientist. Because of his mistake, he was locked in the Bergenfield experiment module and completely decomposed. Surprisingly, he not only reorganized himself. It also gained the ability to manipulate material particles and predict the future. His appearance shocked the world, and the US government packaged him as a flashy but highly deterrent weapon. Now Dr Manhattan’s departure means that the United States has lost a great weight to suppress the Soviet Union.
On the other side, Rorschach received a message from the former villain Moloch. But when he arrived at Morlock’s house, he found that it was a trap: Morlock was dead and the house was surrounded by the police. Illegal masked policemen were arrested and jailed.
After Dr Manhattan left, Lori stayed at Daniel’s house. Getting along with Rory aroused Daniel’s desire for a heroic life. He put on the night owl suit again, rescued Luo Xia with Luo Rui, and was determined to find out the culprit.
At the same time, the United States and the Soviet Union are at war. But once a nuclear war breaks out, the world will be destroyed. At this time, the only hope was that Dr Manhattan found Rory to see if she could persuade herself to save the earth. The omnipotent Manhattan has long been indifferent to the earth. His love for Rory was the only reason he stayed on earth. The doctor entered Rory’s brain and saw her past. She turned out to be the daughter of a comedian she hated. Rory was devastated, but it was countless / almost miraculous/such coincidences in human destiny that moved the doctor.
On the other side, Rorschach and the owl go to another hero – the smartest man in the world, Victor, for help. But found that he was the culprit. Witt was Frank: he wanted to create a monster using cloning technology and send it to New York. In this way, mankind will mistakenly think that there will be an alien attack, and the world will be united to the outside world. Nuclear war is self-defeating. He killed the comedian because he found out his plan. Framing Dr Manhattan and Rorschach is also to eliminate the threat.
Dr Manhattan and Rory are a little late. There are only ruins and corpses in New York. At the centre of the ruins is a dead monster. Ironically, this absurd plan really led the heads of state to sign a peace agreement. The heroes finally reached a consensus, killed Rorschach who could not accept the result, kept silent and maintained the peace based on lies and sacrifices.
The classic philosophical tram problem means that the tram is rushing towards ten people. You have the opportunity to change the direction of the tram and let it rush towards another person. How would you choose? The catcher actually constructs a real tram problem: before the outbreak of nuclear war, mankind was in danger. Do you agree that Witt chose to sacrifice New York residents to create a false alien attack to prevent nuclear war? Of course, this is more complicated. Peace also means deception. Moreover, how long can a false peace be maintained by this method of treating the symptoms rather than the root causes? It is such a thought-provoking philosophical proposition that makes the catcher stand out from the stereotyped hero comics.
In addition to the story design worthy of careful consideration, as a cartoon, the catcher also combines words and pictures to the extreme. Compared with words, pictures are more intuitive, vivid and expressive. The catcher makes full use of this advantage. For example, skillfully use colour to render the atmosphere: when the comedian dies, the picture is covered with a layer of gradually deepening blood-red; The story of Chapter 8 takes place on Halloween, so a large number of Halloween colours are used. There are also sub mirrors and transitions. The catcher uses the most basic traditional dividing mirror of nine frames per page and still plays with flowers. For example, in the chapter symmetry of death, the title refers to the frightening symmetrical patterns on Rorschach’s mask, but careful observation shows that the content of the whole chapter is symmetrical around 14 pages. The transition is also unique. Rorschach and the owl rush to Witt’s base. The camera zoomed out and turned out to be the picture on Witt’s monitor. The coherent transition will also make Witt more unfathomable. In addition, the catcher also uses multiple groups of montages. What impressed me most was that the little gangster broke into the house of a generation of night owls and fought against the old man who had no strength to bind chickens. The picture of the old man being beaten to death is interspersed with his heroic posture when attacking criminals. The great drop shows the sadness of the hero’s Twilight incisively and vividly.
Although the picture is intuitive, it contains more and more obscure information, which can be found only by careful observation. This in turn enhances the readability of the catcher. The book has repeatedly used newspaper headlines to show the precarious relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union, which puts readers in that tense era more than narration. Some of the graffiti on the wall read the classic “who will monitor the monitor”, which shows people’s distrust of masked heroes; Some are advertisements printed with “Witt body shaping scheme”, which reflects that Witt’s company is in the middle of the day. There is no waste in every picture of the catcher. For example, the first picture of the last one looks like an empty mirror of the street. In fact, it has a huge amount of information. The sign of the restaurant has become “hamburger and borscht soup”, which means that the United States and the Soviet Union have made good friends. The original super space-time Research Institute has become the construction site of Witt’s new project. It means that Witt succeeded in covering everything up. Pictures full of information quietly pave the way for the following text, which makes you have to applaud
The catcher makes full use of the advantages of picture books and expresses the depth that traditional picture books have not reached. It is this that makes the catcher an eternal milestone.
2. The Shawshank Redemption
This film takes Shawshank prison as the background of the story, and Andy, the warden and prisoners constitute this chaotic world. It is undoubtedly great work. The fate of the characters in prison makes people think about human nature, crime and hope.
It is about Andy, a banker, who entered Shawshank prison because he was falsely accused of killing his wife, which made him fall from the peak of his life to hell on earth. But in prison, Andy encountered darker things, the humiliation of “sister flower”, the greedy and cold-blooded warden, and the tragic experience of Lao Bu’s institutionalization.
“Shawshank” symbolizes darkness and sin, which comes from the word redemption in the Old Testament Isaiah. I used to and always thought this book was to expose the darkest side of the prison. But now after Rereading, I understand that this book tells us to always hope and redeem ourselves.
Hope is a good thing, maybe the best thing. Hope always has hope.
In this book, Andy, Rhett and old cloth, three distinct people, actually represent these three types of people respectively. Because of different beliefs, the outcome is completely different.
After 50 years of prison life, Lao Bu was institutionalized and absolutely dependent on the prison
In Shawshank Redemption, Lao Bu is the most shocking character to me. He lived in prison for 50 years. Finally, he was released on parole and had the opportunity to experience life outside the wall.
But he felt frightened and wanted to go back to prison. Finally, only “Lao Bu came here for a visit” in the hotel ended his lonely life.
Lao Bu is the last character in this book. It seems absurd and ridiculous. How dare someone be afraid of freedom and want to return to prison? In fact, Lao Bu’s fate is the outcome of most prisoners.
As Rhett said:
These walls are very strange. When you first come, you will hate them. Slowly you will get used to them. Over time, you will find that you can’t live without them, that is, they are institutionalized.
Lao Bu has been institutionalized. He has lived in prison for 50 years. He has long changed from a young man eager for freedom to a kind old man. The prison smoothed his edges and corners, turning him from hatred to habit and even absolute dependence. He is used to the life respected by prisoners in prison. He is used to the quiet environment alone.
Therefore, when Lao Bu was given the freedom he longed for most, he panicked. In 50 years, the outside society has already turned upside down. The fast car brought him not a surprise but a fear of derailment.
Lao Bu just escaped from one cage to another. But he is old and has no time and blood to adapt to the new environment.
Through the image of Lao Bu, we may see a similar situation. But this time there are no physical prisons, some of which are built in the heart. We may choose to escape because of practical difficulties or temporary mistakes. A long time of escape makes us less aware of the real world, so we lack the courage to change.
Rhett chose to be sober and institutionalized
Stephen Edwin King created the image of Rhett. He sold all kinds of goods in prison and was the most thoroughly seen person in prison. But it gives people a startling feeling that he is sober and institutionalized.
In the novel, Rhett has lived in prison for decades. He knows all kinds of prison rules and can even profit from them. He is one of Andy’s few friends. It is also because of his relationship that Andy can get the tools to escape.
In fact, it should have been Rhett who was easier to get a break from prison than Andy, a novice. He knew the prison-like the back of his hand. He had groups of friends, but he didn’t choose to escape. He chose to let it be and let it be.
And ironically, it was Rhett who proposed institutionalization. He clearly realized the horror of prison. From hating the surrounding high wall at first to living on it later. Rhett, he always knew the existence of institutionalization and that there was a world of freedom outside the high wall.
But he is still institutionalized. Unlike Lao Bu’s imperceptibility, Rhett is assimilated soberly. People in prison have three chances of parole. Parole is to release criminals with repentance in advance, but with conditions attached.
In the face of the first two parole opportunities, it can be said that his blood was boiling. But it didn’t succeed. He was discouraged and lost hope of parole.
At that moment, I felt that what Rhett gave up was not the hope of parole, but the longing and pursuit of freedom. There was no hope in his heart and he began to let things go like Lao bu. Even when he learned Andy’s desire for freedom, his heart was full of anger. He wanted to persuade Andy to give up.
For him, if the hope in his heart is out of reach, he should stop daydreaming and give up as soon as possible.
In the final ending, red is rekindled by Andy, gets free and gets the salvation of his heart. But in reality, how many people, like Rhett, give up hope early before they succeed. Just this time, there’s no Andy to save us.
Life is actually a self-salvation. If there is no Andy to save us, we will save ourselves like Andy.
In the dark prison, Andy didn’t wait for God’s salvation and forgiveness. He was saving himself
In the novel, Andy can win freedom because of his adherence to good human nature and 20 years of patience. Compared with an old cloth, Andy has enough time and has the possibility of success. Compared with Rhett, although they have wisdom and can see through many things, Andy has the courage to change.
The most valuable quality of a person is hope. Some things can only see hope if they persist. If you stagnate, success will not come to you automatically.
Just like Andy’s last smooth escape. From the moment he entered prison, he always yearned for freedom and wanted to escape. He even made two preparations for this. One was to find out the truth and collect evidence so that the warden could help him escape; One is to collect tools secretly and dig holes to escape.
He lived in prison for 20 years and almost dug for 20 years. Perhaps even if they tell other prisoners the escape secret, they will despise it and think it’s a complete joke. For decades to dig holes? It’s better to have a good rest at night.
It’s not that they don’t yearn for freedom, but they don’t dare to gamble. They are afraid, they are afraid of paying for decades. If the final result is a failure, what a terrible thing it will be. It is this fear that makes them really prisoners.
Actually, as Andy said,
Anyway, people just have to choose one of two, busy living or busy dying.
People have only two choices. The prisoners chose to be busy dying. They were afraid of failure, so they gave up their struggle and began to wait for death. Andy chose to be busy living. What if he failed? At least he fought for freedom and was not institutionalized.
So, as ordinary people, how can we get rid of “institutionalization” and maintain the pursuit of freedom?
In fact, Andy has told us the answer
keep awake
Andy has always kept a clear mind in Shawshank, a prison full of sin, to prevent his imprisoned heart. After everyone told him that he was guilty, the prison was the right place for him. But Andy himself knows that he is wronged and his life should not be like this.
This firm belief needs to be instilled day after day in order to prevent himself from being brainwashed by the people around him. Be content when others are saying, that’s it. In fact, they don’t even know themselves, so they want to guide others.
In reality, we should always be alert and introspective. When we constantly reflect on ourselves, we will always remember the original goal, and then constantly adjust our route.
Make good friends
In prison, facing the oppression of “Sister Flowers”, Andy didn’t give in. He will not wrong himself to flatter others, and will not let himself fall into countless troubles for temporary comfort. Instead, he took the initiative to choose a friend who was good for him – Rhett. When he was extremely embarrassed, he didn’t give the initiative to others.
In fact, we often complain about their stinginess, laziness and lack of progress while we are hypocritical and snake with our friends. But such a dilemma is caused by ourselves. Although we can’t choose family and origin, our friends are completely chosen by ourselves.
Long term preparation for success For an elite like Andy, it took him 20 years to get free. Success is never easy to achieve. It takes a long time of patience. Andy used the stupidest but most effective way to escape from prison. Stick pictures of beautiful women on the wall to numb others, and then dig tunnels with hammers that carve things.
In fact, we are very much like other prisoners inside. We know the way to escape, but we dare not do it. If you want to learn skills, you know that the only way is to read books, watch videos, and then practice. But we don’t want to do this. We think there must be a shortcut.