Midterm Movie Pitch: Heart over Head

Heart over Head

The struggle with identity is a problem many of us can relate to. In so many of today's movies, there is a focus on people relying on others for their own happiness. I want my movie to make viewers think outside the box and actually come to terms with loving themselves first and realize that you can make your own happiness. The name of my film is Heart over Head. This film will be easy for viewers to identify with in the sense that the main character is a college student contemplating all of the decisions she's made in her life thus far. She is used to the constant pressure of meeting and exceeding society's expectations, which is what she is currently struggling with.

My film will take place in present-day Los Angeles. Lina is a twenty-one year old college student currently majoring in business. She is a slender brunette with bright blue eyes and a smile that could light up the darkest of nights. Her charismatic nature and kind-hearted personality are why many people find themselves drawn to her. It is her third year at the university and she is doing well in all of her classes, but has yet to find any which truly engage her. She chose her business major because she knew how broad it was and that she could apply in any field of work after she graduated school. She has very supportive parents, but they are expecting her to graduate with a degree that, in their opinion, will actually aid Lina in being successful in life. Lina feels as though she is living in a world where people are no longer pursuing higher education to learn, but rather to solely better secure their chance of getting "the right" job once they graduate. She had many friends and colleagues who had certain career goals merely to live up to the expectations set by their parents. Deep down, this has always bothered Lina. She realizes the importance of having a stable job which would aid in her being able to provide for herself and eventually a family, however; she also knows that sacrificing happiness for money is often the root of so many people’s problems.

 This semester at college, she decided to take an art history class to rekindle her love for art. She had taken a course on it in the past, but now that she was a bit older, she felt that she could truly appreciate the class and enjoy learning about her favorite artists. One day in class, her professor recommended going to the Norton Simon Museum. Lina knew the name sounded familiar, and that was when she remembered how every year when her family would watch the Rose Parade on television, her dad would always make a point to mention how he took her mom right there to the Norton Simon Museum on their first date. As soon as she had a free day, Lina rushed to the Norton Simon. From that day on, her life as she knew it would be changed forever. Lina always had a tender spot in her heart for museums, but she felt as though this place was perfectly tailored to her exact taste in art. Paintings from Monet and Van Gogh, realistic Degas dancing figures, and Buddha statues all brought out a refreshing excitement in Lina that she wasn’t used to feeling. It was then when she realized that her true passion lied within the arts. Of course she could succeed in the business corporate world; she was smart and capable of doing whatever she set her mind to. But why waste her time and energy on something that didn’t incorporate at least some of what she was truly passionate for?

After going to the museum, Lina felt as though she had had some sort of awakening. Three months ago, Lina and her long-term boyfriend broke up. She struggled with no longer having a companion there to remind her of how much she was loved. She felt the pressures from society that being alone has some sort of negative connotation. After going to the museum and enjoying herself so much, she realized that she must learn to love and identify her true self. Now, she is slowly learning how to be more independent. She is becoming more comfortable with going places alone and doing things for herself that she actually enjoys, such as indulging in lattes while reading in coffee shops, practicing yoga, making day trips, and visiting art museums. A huge benefit of visiting the museum was Lina’s discovery of her newfound interest in Buddhism. She saw the statues and researched about the religion immediately after she got home. She was intrigued by the self-awareness valued so highly in Buddhism. “In mindfulness one is not only restful and happy, but alert and awake.” This excerpt from The Miracle of Mindfulness: An Introduction to the Practice of Meditation by Thích Nhất Hạnh shows how critical being self-aware is in order to reach happiness, which is something everyone wants out of life. For the first time in her life, Lina is actually putting herself, her needs, and her own desires first.

Lina will have to decide whether to follow “society’s rules” and play it safe, or do something more risky that she is truly passionate for. In the end, she realizes that she can attempt to do a combination of both. She will talk to her art history teacher, with whom she has built a good relationship with, and she will introduce Lina to a career path that she had never even given much thought to: being an art dealer. Lina will complete her degree in business and apply her knowledge of how the market operates to her job as an art dealer.

The actress that I believe would be perfect for Lina would be Jennifer Lawrence. She is well-liked and respected by young-adults everywhere and I believe she would beautifully bring Lina’s character to life. I want Lina to be someone to look up to, and I know that many young girls in particular already view Jennifer Lawrence as a great role model. Another significant character would be Lina’s art history professor, Mrs. Groff. I would choose Julianne Moore to play her character because I think she would be able to portray the perfect balance of quirkiness and intelligence that a typical art history professor embodies.

The main purpose of Heart over Head is to call attention to the importance of self-discovery. This is something Lina has always struggled with because she has been too afraid of “being free” and letting go of society’s expectations. Chris Barker’s book Cultural Studies: Theories and Practice explains that “there is no known culture that does not use the pronoun ‘I’ and which does not therefore have a conception of the self and personhood. However, the manner in which ‘I’ is used, what it means, does vary from culture to culture.” Barker mentions the fact that some cultures view personhood as “inseparable from a network of kinship relations and social obligations.” Similar to this is Stuart Hall’s analysis of the sociological subject. His theory explains how the inner core was formed in relation to “significant” others. Hall also discusses the “post-modern subject,” who assumes different identities at different times. This idea of a constantly evolving “self” is what I find so intriguing and what I believe many viewers can relate to. People shouldn’t feel that they are tied down to a certain image of themselves just based on decisions they’ve made in the past or what society tells them. I would like Lina to be seen as someone who has grown to understand that being alone does not mean that you’re lonely; but instead it allows you to find out who you are and what you love.

Works Cited:

Barker, Chris. Cultural Studies: Theory and Practice. 4thth ed. London: Sage, 2012. N. pag. Print

Hall, Stuart , David Held, Don  Hubert, and Kenneth Thompson. "The Question of Cultural Identity." Modernity: An Introduction to Modern Sciences. Malden: Blackwell, 1996. 597-600. Print.

Hanh, Thích. The Miracle of Mindfullness: A manual on meditation. Revised ed. Boston, Mass.: Beacon Press, 1987. Print.

Korkki, Phyllis. "The True Calling That Wasn't." nytimes.com. N.p., 17 July 2010. Web. 27 Oct. 2013. <http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/18/jobs/

Bond and Orientalism

“It is quite common to hear high officials in Washington and elsewhere speak of changing the map of the Middle East, as if ancient societies and myriad peoples can be shaken up like so many peanuts in a jar.”
― Edward W. Said

This week we addressed the topic of Orientalism. Edward Said's take on Orientalism allows us to consider how much we really do partake in it. In relation to Orientalism, the East is negatively perceived as engaging in totalitarianism and oppression. Post World War II, the world was essentially divided in two. There was the Imperialist Capitalist and the Communist Progressive. We watched scenes from the James Bond movie Goldfinger and related it to the idea of Orientalism as well. In the film, James Bond represents a number of things. Essentially, he embodies the values of Western culture. He is tall, handsome, well-liked, and strong, all while representing individualism, freedom, security, and capitalism. The enemies in the film are representations of Eastern culture. We have to consider why all of this is relevant. There is a destabilized environment which leaves room for the USSR to take control. Bond portrays the "ideal British man"/ "English gentleman," in order to maintain Britain as a global power. There is also the whole concept of the "Bond girl." In the 1960's films, the Bond girl is tailored to meet Bond's every move. As the films has progressed though, the Bond girl has evolved to be more independent, strong, and self-sufficient.

"If You Don't Like It, Leave"

This week we explored the realms of old world order vs. new world disorder. We also focused on the concept of globalization. Through globalization, we can see how the economy divides the way culture operates. Professor Wexler related globalization to "border-crossing." An example that our textbook mentions is the rising popularity of "Bollywood" here in the United States. The movie Slumdog Millionare was a huge hit, being praised by many critics and winning several academy awards and golden globes. I even see small examples of globalization in my personal life on a daily basis. At the CSUN SRC, they offer several group exercise classes all throughout the week. You can enroll in a variety of classes, including belly-dancing, yoga, and tai-chi. I think this is very beneficial because it allows us to be more culturally aware and exposes us to new ideas. Earlier in the week we watched a Charlie Chaplin scene from Modern Times and compared it to Alec Baldwin's speech in the film Glengarry Glen Ross. In the Charlie Chaplin scene, we see the concept of Fordism. The workplace is an assembly line and there is a division and specification of labor. Without one person or if one step is skipped, the whole end result is ruined. The speech from Glengarry exemplifies the idea of new world disorder. Alec Baldwin is like a military sergeant. He is talking to the men and showing them how replaceable they are. If they do not close the sale, someone else will. In one part of this scene, he tells one of the men that being a "nice father" doesn't mean anything. This just shows how with this "new-world disorder," family values are not as important as before. Alec Baldwin is there to tell them they need to improve and close their sales while simultaneously saying that they are not good enough and will never be like him."Id wish you good luck but you wouldn't know what to do with it if you got it." The two scenes both perfectly exemplify the shift from old world order to new world disorder. 

The Rom Com

This past week in class, we discussed the “Rom Com,” or Romantic Comedy. Traditionally, there are three main stages in the romantic comedy: 1.) Boy meets girl, 2.) Boy loses girl, 3.) Boy gets girl. There are several ideologies that are presented in many romantic comedies. There is often the element of sex, who wants what when, the idea that love is “the norm”, monogamy, and marriage. If some of these elements are not obvious, more often than not, they are implied. In class we watched the movie “10”. The movie is basically about a man going through a mid-life crisis. One day he sees a random woman and instantly becomes intrigued and obsessed with her. He thinks she is the epitome of perfection; a “10.” What stuck out to me most in the movie was the scene after George and Jenny had just gotten intimate, which did not exactly go as George had planned. He finally realized that he had put Jenny on some pedestal that she would never be capable of reaching because that was not who she really was. In a sense, Jenny provided a mirror to George of himself, and he didn’t like it. Today, there are a lot of romantic comedies that are not traditional, but often still contain the elements typical of a rom com. Movies like Knocked Up, The Proposal, and Forgetting Sarah Marshall are all recent films that don’t necessarily present the stages of the romantic comedy in a specific order, however those elements of sex, love, and a happy ending are still present. I think this says a lot about our culture. Even with films like “No Strings Attatched” and “Friends With Benefits”, which start off with a relationship based strictly on sex only, they still focus on the love and relationship which builds between the two main characters. Finding true love is very important us, even if some of us don’t want to admit it.