Please introduce yourself briefly and talk about your background with film and/or interest in this class. What kind of movies do you like, which ones do you detest and why?
I myself watched many of the epic movies we'll discuss as a child on German TV. Back
then, I just enjoyed the spectacle and epic scale of these movies.
Later, as I studied Latin and Greek and learned more and more about the
actual ancient world, I got a bit disenchanted with them because these movies take so many liberties with history that they are almost painful to watch. But then, they aren't meant to be documentaries, just to entertain. Ever since I've accepted that, I've been able to enjoy toga movies.
In term of non-toga movies, I like comedies, but also some action movies. Last summer, for example, I enjoyed watching all five "Dirty Harry" movies with my son. That said, I don't actually care for movies that contain lots of gratuitous violence, and I really don't like horror movies. I remember being freaked out by the silent movie "Nosferatu" when I saw it first many years ago. The closest I can take are parodies of the genre, like Gene Wilder's "Young Frankenstein" (which is, of course, really a comedy).
My name is Jonathan Webb, but I prefer to be called Anders. I do not have any past experience with film aside from small amounts from my brother and others, nor with any toga movies, unless Disney's Hercules counts, and even then, I watched it a long, long time ago.
ReplyDeleteA lot of the movies I watch are animated, and my favorites consist of Studio Ghibli films like Spirited Away, Totoro, and Princess Mononoke, as well as some other popular ones, like Your Name and Weathering Away. In terms of other movies, I enjoy comedy, action and some mystery. Some notable movies to me are Lord of the Rings (currently watching), a lot of Jackie Chan/martial arts focused, and Pirates of the Carribean.
よろしくお願いっひます
Thanks, Anders! Or should I say ありがとうございました? In my case, that would be cheating with Google Translate, though.;-)
DeleteMy name is Veronica Castille (some call me Ronnie, it's your choice which you prefer), and I do not have any past experience with film. I do enjoy watching movies when I have the time, but I typically stick to reading or watching TV shows instead. Greek and Roman history has always seemed interesting to me, so I'm glad I get the opportunity to see my first toga movie and learn more about the history instead of just accepting the stereotypes and romanticization of the topic.
ReplyDeleteMy favourite movie genre is horror. Sometimes horror movies are so bad they're good and it's fun to poke fun at their campy nature, but most of the time the horror movies I watch fall into the psychological horror category which is more interesting for me to watch. Some of my favourite horror movies are the Saw franchise, Get Out, Midsommar, and American Psycho.
I wouldn't necessarily say I detest this genre, but I don't particularly like action movies. I feel that they're over-the-top and focus more on crazy action sequences than on forming and sticking to a cohesive and engaging storyline. Essentially, I think they're cheesy and not worth watching. The Fast and Furious franchise comes to mind for this category.
I'm curious as to what you'll think about our toga movies. Some of them can be quite cheesy too. Overall, though, there's acyually a wide variety of subgenres, and I'll think you'll find at least some really enjoyable.
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ReplyDeleteI joined this class because I enjoy analyzing movies and learning the history behind what I'm experiencing. I have some Experience in film including a short film and a movie last summer. my favorite films are horror movies.you could find me immersed for hours binge watching the scream franchise or the shining. That said, I have an appreciation for toga movies though I don't have much experience with them. I have seen some of the classics but I tend to have gravitated towards gladiator and the 300 in the past.
DeleteYour experience with the production side of movie making will come in very handy, I'm sure, and it's something that I can't contribute myself.
DeleteI'm Ashton Scott, or just Ash!! I don't have any experience in the film production, but I've always loved watching them. Both toga movies and Greek/Roman history are subjects I've never been versed in, so I'm excited to learn about them here!
ReplyDeleteI've always enjoyed animated movies--I grew up watching lots of Disney (my favorite probably being The Lion King) and Studio Ghibli (my favorite definitely being Howl's Moving Castle!). I love horror movies, as well; even the worst ones can be really enjoyable with friends! My favorites there are films directed by Jordan Peele or Ari Aster. I wouldn't say there's genres I detest, but there does seem to be a lot of action movies that end up feeling really similar.
I loved "Totoro" and "Howl's Moving Castle" myself, but that's about the extent of my experience with Japanese animation. I agree about the action movies - it can become quite repetitive. With toga movies, there are also some stock scenes that pop up in many of them. But I think we'll see such a mix of different takes on the genre that it won't get too repetitive.
DeleteI'm Emma Sherwin, and I don't have any experience with Greek and Roman movies, but I do have experience with creations of films. In high school I took 2 movie analysis classes that gave me the interest of how movies and films are created and the effort put in to them. Greek and Roman myths have always been an interest to me though, since I get so entranced in the storylines and how creative they are.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite movie genre would probably be comedy or romance since I only normally put on movies when I'm just playing it in the background or something. But if I want to sit down and really enjoy a movie I would pick something in the horror genre. I think if a horror movie is well put together, the cinematic beauty is absolutely astounding. Being able to get the audience to be as scared by off screen horror as on screen horror, it's definitely an accomplishment.
My least favorite genre is horror and action. Ironically, I absolutely hate scary things and being scared. I also just don't like action movies since they seem to have the same plots (heros journey) that seems repetitive and not worth the watch for me personally. But I do respect the effort put into certain action shots.
The movie analysis classes certainly explain why you even noticed things like background characters and lighting on our pretest. Cool! Interesting that horror is one of your least favorite genres, and yet that's the genre you'd choose if you actually wanted to focus on a movie. Hope you'll like our toga movies. Now that you are also studying Latin, you'll probably get even more out of them.
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