Legally Blonde: Three Act Structure

           In the film Legally Blonde, the three act structure is prevalent throughout the plot. There is a introduction, a confrontation, then a resolution with a plot point at the end of the introduction and confrontation, then the climax at the end of the resolution. In the introduction of Legally Blonde, we get to know Elle and all the she is about. The plot point is when she gets accepted to Harvard in order to win back Warner who dumped her in the beginning of the movie. This lasts about 30 minutes. We find out in the beginning of the confrontation of Act II that Warner already is engaged to a girl at Harvard. The plot point of Act II is when Elle wins an internship, along with Warner and his girlfriend, for Callahan, a very important professor of Harvard. The confrontation lasts about 40-50 minutes.The resolution is when Elle finds a guy that truly likes her regardless of her blonde hair and fashionable wardrobe. The climax happens when she proves Brooke innocent, a girl on trial for murder. This happens in about the last ten minutes of the movie.

Serial vs. Episodic

            TV sitcoms can come in a variety of forms, two of them being episodic and serial. In a serial sitcom, plots are developed over time. If you miss one episode, you are most likely going to be out of the loop if you tune in to the next one. The plot patterns can sometimes be hard to predict, and characters tend to develop in a much more complicated way. These types of sitcoms are not as lesson centered such as in an episodic sitcom. In an episodic sitcom, the story usually ends where it begins in each episode and the main character usually learns a lesson of some sort at the end. These plots are more familiar than serial ones. Also, episodic sitcoms are much easier to follow if one happens to jump in mid-season unlike the serial format. This fact leads to a much easier syndication value in episodic sitcoms where re-runs will play again and again on television. 
           
          Lost is a great example of a serial sitcom that I am fairly obsessed with :) Each episode raises a new question and the next few episodes will simultaneously answer the questions that arose in the past episodes and also invent new questions to be answered. This strategy keeps viewers watching the weekly premieres because they are so hooked on the plot of Lost, 24, or whichever serial show is their obsession at the moment. One of my favorite episodic shows is Two and a Half Men. I could easily jump into the middle of the season and begin watching without any doubts as to what is going on. The characters rarely develop, as Charlie (Charlie Sheen) is always a promiscuous lady lover, and Alan (Jon Cryer) is a nerdy, single father who constantly has problems reeling in the ladies. My favorite type of show would definitely be the serial sitcom, because I seem to develop a greater love for these type of shows as I watch each character develop and the plot thicken each episode.

Shot Progression in Alice in Wonderland

            In the opening scene of the cartoon version of Alice in Wonderland, one my favorite movies of all time, the variations of shots and shot progressions correlate very much to the meanings that the film writers, directors, producers, etc. were trying to convey within the movie. In the beginning we see the main landscape of the area that the opening scene is taking place in,  showing the grasses, the flowers, butterflies flying around. This is called the long shot or orientation shot where the viewer is getting a general idea of the environment and the world that is encompassing the scene at hand. The environment appears pretty, quaint, and almost mystical with its abundance of green, a peaceful pond, and various butterflies fluttering around. In the middle shot, or information shot we see Alice's  sister reading her some passages from a book for her history lesson. Then we see Alice sitting on a tree branch fiddling with a bundle of flowers trying to make a necklace of some sort. The viewer will most likely begin to assume that Alice is very distracted and her mind is in a complete different world. The next shot is the close up scene where we see Alice's face up close, which shows a look of indifference and anxiousness. She keeps moving around and playing with her cat in front of her and then complains that the book has no pictures in it. The viewer needs to remember that Alice in not content in her present reality, and when she experiences the "wonderland" that she is about to fall into, her present reality will be a far cry away. 

Opening Scene of Alice in Wonderland

RTF 305: Contract Talent

John Wayne

              The studio system in classical Hollywood had a factory based, mass production system in use, filled with contract talent and an assembly line that produced numerous famous movies. This specific aspect of the studio system resulted in an "american idol"-like production, where a young actor or actress would come to Hollywood and compete against other actors and actresses. Once one was chosen, the production company would put he or she to work with training, voice lessons, dance lessons, piano lessons, etc. The studio owned them for a very long time. This resulted in a era where when audiences watched a movie, they were getting the star, and not just the film. Also, stars had certain genres associated with them, and studios would used that to sell their products. For example, whenever the name John Wayne appeared on a movie poster or advertisement, one would most likely assume that the upcoming film will be a country-western. The fact that so many people loved John Wayne as a country-western actor opened the financial gates to the production company who owned him. If the production company had put a different actor in place of John Wayne, there would most likely not be as big of a turnout as with a movie   with the famous John Wayne.