Avatar

Avatar Directed by James Cameron (2009).

"A paraplegic marine dispatched to the moon Pandora on a unique mission becomes torn between following his orders and protecting the world he feels is his home."
                          - Imdb, 2009





Avatar, a film set far into the future, shows us technologies one hopes to come, almost like an overhyped tokyo. Holograms used to show advertisments, hand held gadgets like more advanced versions of I gadgets i.e. I phone, Itouch, but without the casing, simply a transparent mini screen.

A important constant colour is the colour blue. The sky on Pandora is blue and misty as are the inhabitants, not only the Na'vi but the flying, horse like, and monkey like creatures.
The only creatures that were not a shade of blue were the dangerous carnivorus creatures. Especially the big red flying creature that "none had tamed".
                                                                                                                           *Even the test tubes that held the marine's
                                                                                                                             and his acomplice's Na'vi in had blue liquid in them*

 The science room they were based in when on Pandora was a Electronic era like dream. Thier machines were all holographic screens and if they so wished to take thier work with them they could simply swipe thier hand across it and transfer it to a portable mini screen. Thier 'map' looked touchable dispite the fact it wasn't really there, it was a 3D version of a traditional map.

 The colours used in each place were simple/ subliminal , deliberate and effective. For example when the protagonist went to the mech holding area eveything, from ground/walls up were different shades of grey, the only thing that had colour was the railing which was yellow, a clear contrast.

Pandora, because it was generally a forest, no buildings, it was all shades of green and beautiful earthly colours mixed in which plants and the like which were traditionally seen at the bottom of the water.

There were speculations on avatar other than being like pochahotas, but being like the race row over 'white people' taking over 'black countries'.

The simularities are in the clothes the "Blue Monkeys" wear, tending to be tribal looking clothes, which in our eyes are revealing. The accesories worn by the 2 main Na'vi leaders of the native tribe we meet, wear bits of bone. Including the ones we meet later on, have "war make up" painted on thier face and bones through thier nose known normally by those who live in a rain forest..

Other tribal attributes picked up where ther stance on the world or the "noise of ancestors". Once a Na'vi has passed trails they are allowed to pick a woman "we have many fine women". This also includes when the Na'vi were chanting to the tree and in doing so the forest followed in lighting thier energy.
*This shows that the woman has no say in the matter, but unlike most stereotypical rules they are allowed to fight, and gather, this appears to be the only right they do not have*.

The 'Mother tree' they had (including many others) were simular to the shape of the trees seen in disneys The Lion King (also based in a country simular to this).

The movie showed us the perception of the natives and that of the invaders "Thats one big tree" where as the Na'vi saw it as thier "Mother tree". When the tree is being destroyed few leaves fall from the tree, almost like the tree is weeping.
The invaders don't even see the inhabitants as equals "Thats how you scatter the roaches".

The sky of Pandora showed us huge planets, just from looking up from the ground without any need of a telescope. The night sky on pandora looked much like the Aurora Borialice.

 Ironic line was he
"Went to the worst hostile enviroment known to man just to see how it went". (which quite summed it up)

Another line I found intresting was "Warrior who dreamnt of giving piece, sooner or later you have to wake up" but he never did, in fact he went further into his 'dream' and left all ties of the human world  behind altogether.. almost like being in a coma...




Biblo:
- http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0499549/

Concept 2

Tried to incorperate other(s) advice~

Maya: Finally, the street has been made

I do believe I'm ready for someone to take Maya away from me now -_-

Dark Crystal

Intrestingly enough there are roumers that "Dark Cystal 2" will be made in 2011...

Any who back to the review..

Dark Crystal, Directed by Jim Henson (1982). A Beautiful journey is taken as we follow a young Gelfling named Jen on his quest. " it succeeds as a sequence of strangely beautiful, almost mesmeric images made from a kind of composite mythology".  (marginal gloss.2009)

Dark Crystal like the never ending story is a 80's fantasy movie. Aspects of this movie and James Cameron's "Avatar" Can been seen as similar do to the fruitful, vast scenery we see and the creatures that resemble those underwater like plants.

Not only was the scenery and the detail on the characters atmosphere setting, but the music also had the power to lure you in with its desperate sad tune.

We are introduced to the Skeksis and The mystics, both display a certain group of people.

The Skeksis, looked hollowed, of a dead color with lines on their skin, they were dressed in the finest of clothes, had slaves, ate at a long table with metal crockery, and, gauging by what the emperor had, beds in silk. The skeksis represent the richer economies,they have laws are rich,corrupt, and vain; and when it comes to a fraudulent one of thier own "By law he must be punished" they punish their own by stripping them of cloth, demoralizing said person.

*Considering them as vain  is ironic that they are "Putrid Lizards"*

We seen the new ruler ridding a slave of "Fears,thoughts and essence". It restores his skin to something somewhat nice and smooth, but once he finds it was only a quick fix and not permanent he takes the failure out on his scientist. meaning they're rash too, seemingly having every bad quality a person could have.

Compared to the mystics however, they appear more like Gypsy's. Their home is dusty, walkways made from well-crafted logs, homes inside little crators within thier rocky temple. They seem more in-tune to each other, and are reserved, and paradoxically

 they are the strongest our of the two, we see this near the end of the movie when their long travel gets them to the gates of the castle, where the beetle-guards block their path and all they do is chant and they seem to , deactivate.

 The entire movie is timed by the length of time it takes the mystics, who while travelling befall injuries and deaths due to their other halves, the Skeksis trying to outwit Jen.

The movie contains such innocence along side sadness, even when nothing sad has happened the pretense has already been set within the first 5 minutes of the film.

The environments are something to be desired and held onto. The waterfall scene and where we are introduced to Ocra for the first time, have so much going on in terms of vines and moss and rock decor.
However where we meet Kiera, its a forest that looks endless, there is more than the eye can absorb. The forest while looking unique slightly resembles the rainforest's.
you can see this in the colours used in Kiera's forest, all the Tree's appear to be moving, breathing almost. putting the  emphasis on "The jungle's alive".



 The home of the Galeflings, though in "ruin" was a wondrous broken stone temple, which had a stone throne, with moss sprawled amongst it.
Hieroglyphics where also found on the wall, well preserved.  Showing they like the mystics were "well educated"...

Once both Skeksis and Mystics "Became one" they formed into giant entities, transparent white with a white luminous glow; the castle also changed(Crystal castle), its here we see that the castle reflected its owners appearance.


"The Dark Crystal" controlled the world's scenery, in which case it was dark dreary and dead, but once its 'creator(s)' joined once again, the "Crystal of truth" set the world back to being lifeful.
*This does also point out the fact the crystal was only a powerful vessel, and could be changed to do good or evil depending a situation..*








Biblo:
.http://brightwalldarkroom.tumblr.com/post/146950261/the-dark-crystal

Right, inside topics for essay

I realised today that maybe only having devloper diaries, and interviews weren't really enough for my essay so after chatting to a classmate I realised that Enslaved is all about the idea of  a Post Apocaypitic world. So i'm still going to focus my essay on Rnslaved, but also on other people's versions and ideas of what a postapocalptic world would look like.

I picked up a photographic book called, "Detroit Dissassembled" By Andrew Moore.
Also an E-book called "Novels of the contemporary extreme".

Also funny that most of the movies I watched when I was younger were almost all post apoclyptic and only now do I realise this, and how useful this is for my essay.
Movies (and shows) like:

. Equilibrium
.Fist Of The North Star
.Akira
.Judge Dreed
.Mad Max
.Jerico
.Planet of the apes
.The Outer Limits

I want to, now, look more at people's interpretations of a post apocalyptic world/society. While still keeping on task with my chosen game, and how they differed from the typical idea of it~

Barbarella

Or rather the sexploits of Barbarella. A movie with catchy pyscadellic sixties music, fur rugs, iniuendo's revealing clothes, and comic fornication.

Barbarella directed by Roger Vadim (1968) staring the sex symbol of the time Jane Fonda. The movie Barbarella may be considered the starting point for Austin powers. both delve into a slightly sexier version of clothes from the 60's, a few bad puns and 'eye candy'. The design of the inside of the ship was very futuristic, or what was imagined to be futuristic, rounded TV's, gadgets in almost every decorative item and interior to match a "swanky 60's pad' with short brown fur.


To quote John. J. Puccio a DVD reviewer. "It is a satire of the love and peace movement of the sixites, plus a parody of the Bond-type adventures of the era".
                                                                                                             - (Puccio,2006)

A movie with a clear 'male gaze', which so happens to appear in the first scene, accompanied by a funky burlesque like song, which lyrics include 'Barbarella'. Through this we a greeted with a space suit strip tease the camera focuses on her bare hands and feet, by it doing so it attempts to not alienate the audience it makes them focus on what a man/ the director, would focus on a woman.


We are shown the 60's interests in a storm, fur was quite popular so in many shots fur was a factor, they even kept the hippies colours when Barbarella was travelling in her ship through a 'warp zone'. Not only the colours but the drug culture as well , she gets offered a puff from a  pot like drug called "Essence of man".

More suggestive themes when she receives her weapons for her coming mission on finding "Duran Duran" . All the weapons have hands on them, dispute the fact that the intention of that isn't exactly clear.

When She gets to an icy planet, with air that look slike toxic gas, she gets out her space ship by exciting through a tiny hole in the side, it open's and closes like the gun in the intro for a james bond movie.

But I digress. When she gets to the planet of ice she is greeted by children who later turn out to be quite sadistic as they tie her up to be chomped on by a bunch of demon dolls with teeth.
She is rescued by a man wearing alot of fur and said he "accepted job of Catchman". Catchman sounds like a zoo keeper or poacher, the children Ironically are treated like wild animals/monsters, they were caught in a net, (Similar to taming circus animals) and were tamed by a whip that sounded like a woman screaming.

Once saved, the first sexual trip was had with the "catchman"  who's ship's sails were like the shells over a mermaids bosom, and where he got her to sit was like a shell.
When he propositioned her for sex as thanks her initial reason for not ding was because " nobody's done that for centuries! I mean, nobody except the very poor, who can't afford the pills."


Making it seem as though the traditional animalstic fornication is looked down upon (in her world). where they opt for a "pill" which is more mental than physical, which could be seen as the female option compared to the mans.
When she meets Dildarno and she wants to offer her thanks he prefers to do it via the pill for he claims "I'm not a savage".

When she finally gets to Duran we find that we've seen him before and he is corrupt. He tries to kill her via "Death o' Pleasure". consisting of an accordion looking machine. But finds she has more stamina in the sack then he can combat.

Despite the films lack of story, The environment created for it was a spectacle in itself. The Labyrinth, seemed similar to what one might imagine hell to be, where all the off cuts are placed if they're "not hole". Bodies were stuck inside the scenery, doomed to be striped of emotion, and clothes, to never move again. Strange that even though the labyrinth is beneath the icy city it also has a sky, and clouds unlike the world above.

Biblo:
-http://www.dvdtown.com/review/barbarella/dvd/296

Official concept 1

I want this to be my style for this current unit. Compared to what I've done before it looks, new, and I'm still not 'all right' with the colours so I am attempting to hint at the colour rather than splash it on inappropriately.