Wild Wild West (1999)

I remember first seeing Wild Wild West at the drive-in theater when I was 15 years old. I really looked forward to seeing it but, in the end, was disappointed with how over-the-top it was (the giant mechanical spider was a bit too much for me).

It was interesting watching it this time through the lens (or goggles) of Steampunk studies and see it from a different angle. What aspects of Steampunk did you see in the film? Is this film really Steampunk? In what ways did the film help you better understand what Steampunk is / can be? How did the film help you formulate ideas for your own script? Please provide specific examples to back up your opinions and observations.

Also, back to what is becoming a central question of our study of Steampunk. How strong are the characters and themes in this film? Are they deep or shallow? Explain. Be specific.

BTW: just so you know, this movie is based off an old TV show from the 60's. You might want to check it out. The pic to the left is from that TV show.

And one final note: I feel a strong obligation to not let my silence ever be an endorsement of the immoral treatment of human beings. So, I want to point out that I strongly object and am even disgusted by how this film depicts one half of the human race (I'm referring to the half with two X chromosomes). I feel this movie was valuable to watch as a case study in Western Steampunk but my showing it is in no means an endorsement of the belittling sexist innuendoes and disturbing portrayal of the lead female character (disturbing in the way that she either happily or stupidly responded to the heroes' demeaning objectification of her).

That is all. Now comment:

Steamboy (2004)

I experienced Steamboy for the first time along with you guys and I was happy to see that it was the perfect choice for our first Steampunk feature watched in class. It was so quintessentially Steampunk that if made my valves burst (metaphorically).

Which elements of Steampunk did you see in the film? Did it help you understand better what Steampunk is? If so, how?

We talked in class about how it is important when writing in any sci-fi/fantasy drama to be careful not to let all the cool technology/magic stuff distract you from telling a good story with strong characters and themes that matter. How do you feel Steamboy did with this? Was this a strong story with deep characters and themes or was it just cool because it had cool Steampunk stuff going on? Defend your opinion.

Also, this is pretty cool:

Steampunk Short Stories

Each class member will be assigned a different short story from the book Penny Dread Tales: Volume III: In Darkness Clockwork Shine. Read the short story and then answer the following questions in a comment below:

• What happens in your short story? (Provide a paragraph-long synopsis that quickly tells us the beginning, middle, and end.)
• What are all the elements of Steampunk that are present in your short story? (I.e. list all the different Steampunky things that are present; e.g. Steam-powered robots, a ray gun, an airship, etc.) How did each of these play into the plot?
• In addition to Steampunk, what other genres would this story fall under? (E.g. romance, horror, time travel, comedy, road trip, drama, etc.)
• How interesting were the characters in your story? What did or did not make them interesting? How interesting was the plot? What did or did not make it interesting?
• Overall, would you recommend that others in the class read this story? Why or why not?

Then, after you have made your comment, read the comments left by other class members and reply to at least one of them. In your reply, list any reactions you have to what they wrote or questions you have. Your reply can also be at the bottom of the comments session and be a general reaction to all of the posts where you point out any trends you are seeing.

NOTE: I know that some of these stories have unusual vocabulary. This is often because the people in the Victorian era used words we don't normally use today or because the stories refer to lots of historical events or trends that we are not familiar with. If you struggle to comprehend the reading, please try the following strategies:

• Circle words you don’t know as you read. Guess what they mean based on context and write that next to them. If you can’t guess, then use a dictionary to look it up.
• Next to each paragraph or page, write a very basic summary of what is happening.
• Guess what will happen next and then read to see if that happens.
• Read the questions on the blog that you supposed to answer and read to answer those questions. As you go, mark the answers to questions as you find them (for example, you can circle all the Steampunk elements you see and put a box around all the indications of other Genres that you see.)
• Read outloud in a group of two in an edit bay and help each other. If you do this, both class members who read together need to post a comment below.

ANOTHER NOTE: I really want a keyboard like the one pictured above. Keep that in mind this Christmas ;)

Share Cool Steampunk Stuff Here

Now that we're learning what Steampunk is and think a lot about it, many class members keep sharing cool Steampunk stuff they find on the internet (memes, pictures, short films, etc.) with me.

This got me thinking that it would be great to have an official place where we can all share this stuff with each other. This is not an assignment but, for fun, you can post any cool Steampunk things you find here in comments below.

Again, this is not an assignment. But it is fun and does help all of us get a better idea of what Steampunk can be. So, enjoy!

Le Samouraï (1967)

Wow!  A Noir that is French, that is in color, and that is about a guy who fancies himself a samurai?  Sign me up!

This French movie, made in the late '60s, intentionally wants to be a Film Noir.  Do you feel like it does a good job?  Does it contain the elements of the Noir genre?  Which elements?  What elements does it leave out, if any?

How does it compare to super legit American made Noir, like, say, Sunset Blvd?   What about the way the dialogue is written in each of these two films?  Differences?  Similarities?  

Did you like this movie?  Why, or why not?  And, do you feel like Le Samouraï is a good title for this film?  Why or why not?



And, is it just me, or does anybody else think Jef Costello kind of looks like Joseph Gordon Levitt?  I mean, if his hair was longer and all over his face and stuff? ... anybody?... anybody?

Brick (2005)

This neo noir featuring a very young-looking Joseph Gordon Levitt is, in a my opinion, a gem of a movie. It is especially so when you know the conventions of film noir and can see how they are being played with in this high school setting.

I am super curious to see how you all, being high school students yourselves, reacted to the movie. Did the fact that you are currently experiencing high school make this movie mean anything to you that it wouldn't have if you weren't in high school?

What, overall, did you think of the film? What were your favorite parts? Why? What conventions of noir did you notice? How did your background in noir affect your experience with this movie?

P.S.: I am pretty certain that everyone who did not watch the movie in class said they were planning on doing so at home. So, I assume that everyone should be able to do this post then. If you are unable to complete this post because you are unable to view the movie, let me know and I will happily give you an alternative assignment :)

P.S.S.: Tolkein (you know, the guy who writes the Hobbit books) is a great writer because he describes stuff good.

Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)

Who would have thought that the first neo noir we watch in class would star an animated bunny in the title role? I suppose stranger things have happened.

So, it's full of cartoons, is it really noir? In what ways is it nori? In what ways does it deviate from the noir conventions? Be sure to challenge each other's assumptions on this as appropriate and back up your opinions. Give an air tight, bullet proof argument (yes, I know that's a mixed metaphor).

In general, what did you think of this film? What was good? What not so much? Why? How did knowing so much about noir change your experience watching it?

Did this film give you any ideas you'll apply when writing your own noir? If so, please elaborate.

I noticed that the writers of this film put a lot of work into giving the perfect introduction to each character. The visuals, lines, and circumstances surrounding each characters' introduction are carefully planned to help us understand what each character is about as quickly as possible and tell us what we should think about each character. There is much to learn as writers from this aspect of this film. Did anyone else notice this? Feel free to write about specific things the writers did to introduce specific characters and what that teaches us about screenwriting.

Without further ado ... write away right away: