Route 66 and the Daily Life Behind Tourism

Historically, Route 66 represents westward expansion and industrial revolution. Built in 1926, the highway was meant to connect two major cities on either coast - Los Angeles and Chicago. Following The Depression, the highway was a symbol for opportunity. What could no longer be found on the east coast might be found on the west. In the 1960s and 70s, the highway was a popular tourist attraction, even prompting a TV show and a hit song. However in classic American fashion, there is always a marginalized history behind the mainstream.

What happens to the people who travelled along Route 66 in search of adventure and a new life, but never found it? In Arizona, the rural homeless population is rapidly increasing. Many homeless people can be found along - you guessed it - Route 66. Recently, a woman by the name of Lori bought Route 66 Motel to transform it into a homeless shelter called ANEW Living. A documentary film would tell the stories of the people in this motel. It would tell the daily life behind a tourist attraction. The truth behind the facade. The reality behind the show.

American Horror Story: Murder House

American Horror Story: Murder House is the first season of the FX television series American Horror Story aired between October 5, 2011 and December 21, 2011. The season was produced by 20th Century Fox Television, and the executive producers were Dante Di Loreto and series creators Brad Falchuk and Ryan Murphy.

The season centers its focus on the Harmon family: Ben, Vivien and their daughter Violet, who move from Boston to Los Angeles after Vivien has a agonizing miscarriage and Ben has an affair with one of this students. They move into a restored mansion, unaware that the home is haunted by its former inhabitants, most of which were murdered in the house.




The first season of American Horror Story was well received and praised by television critics and fans. The cast was generally praised, particularly Jessica Lange and Frances Conroy. The series drew consistently high ratings for the FX network, ending its first season as the biggest new cable series of the year. The first season was nominated for various industry awards, including the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series- Drama. In addition, Lange won many Golden Globes for Best Supporting Actress, The Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series, and the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie.  Conroy was also nominated for the Supporting Actress Emmy. The main cast includes Taissa Farmiga, Connie Britton, Dylan McDermott, Evan Peters, Denis O'Hare and Jessica Lange.

*Spoiler Alert* 

The entire series is one thick plot unraveling itself and the Harmon family discovers the horrors and secrets of the house.  They try to get out and move from the house, but they are doomed from the start.  Ben sees patients in an office in the house, most of the patients he treats are spirits of the house trying to cope with their psychological problems.  Vivian is raped, and then carries for most of the season twins, one of which is her husbands, and one of which is her rapists son.  Violet, their daughter, who is the first of the family to die in the house, suffers from depression, and is in love with Tate, a spirit in the house, and little does she know, is her mother's rapist.  The sickening story unfolds with scary scenes and complex character development.

I highly recommend watching all seasons of this show.  I think that it is well made and executed terrifically.  

Batman vs. Superman: not just a 2015 event

There's been a lot of buzz going around recently about the new 'Batman vs. Superman' movie coming out in 2015. Much of it has been directed at Ben Affleck, who was just confirmed as the new Batman. These two characters are getting a lot of attention right now with the Dark Knight series well on their way and the Superman series just starting up again. Their history goes far beyond the last 5 years though, and I'd thought it'd be fun to take a quick peak at what these characters have gone through in the past.

Firstly, let's go back to the dinosaur ages of 1966. Phrases like "gee wiz" were actually said, as you'll notice only 4 minutes into this episode from the Batman TV series:

The series was never viewed as especially good though, and they clearly had a struggling budget. 

Okay, maybe they were struggling with a little more then their budget. But before this show even existed, there was the "Adventures of Superman" TV show that started back when the pyramids were being built. AKA 1952. 

Moving way ahead in time though, this cartoon was released just last year and features an epic battle between Batman and Superman. I feel like this may give us a good idea of what to expect from the new movie coming in 2015, except instead of a cartoon it's real people and a sh*t load of special effects. 

Period/Cultural Films and Their Importance

After watching the videos from behind the scenes of The Curse of the Golden Flower, I was very curious to figure out if the lead actress (Li Gong) had been in Memoirs of a Geisha directed by Rob Marshall, which is one of my favorite movies. I was delighted to discover that she was in fact in that movie as Hatsumomo. I have to admit just from the behind the scenes look and the fact that Li Gong is in The Curse of the Golden Flower, makes me desperate to see this movie. I'm intrigued by how Professor Sinclair described director Yimou Zhang's filming style, so I have also added some of his other movies, such as The Road Home and Not One Less to my list as well. So, hopefully more on that in a later post soon.


Anyways, I think I've come to the realization that I love period pieces. In high school, I was the nerd in history class who would research period clothing for a class project, (I actually made a dress in the Ancient Greek style my sophomore year). I think they are not only important for historical perspectives and understandings, but sometimes they even help with cultural perspectives. Even movies that tell of specific events, such as civil wars, have a lot to tell.


 Last weekend, I saw Hotel Rwanda directed by Terry George. I had seen it once before, but the impact of that movie still hit me hard. The way it was filmed not only tells a horrific and inspiring story, but also instills a desire to go out and help people who are in such positions. I watched the movie in a group of twenty people or so, and the tension and sorrow that filled the room was almost palpable. I can't tell you how many people went online trying to find ways to help those who are in similar situations around the world and even maybe in our own country.

This made me think about the role of filmmakers and the media in general. We tell stories, yes. Some stories are just meant to make someone smile. Some are meant to scare the audience. Some are very tense. Yet, something that they all share (at least most of the time) is that they all give some kind of message. I think it is so important to have films like Hotel Rwanda and Memoirs of a Geisha. Yes, they are events that happened in the past, and yes, they are not always pleasant to see, but without these reminders, who's to say history won't repeat itself?

~Amber Capogrossi

1001 Movies You Must See

          1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die by Steven Jay Schneider is a collection of 1001 movies that various contributors believed were the most important movies to watch in your lifetime. I stumbled across this book around a year ago and I thought that it would be an interesting challenge to attempt to accomplish. 1001 movies, it can't be that much of a challenge can it? Who knows?
          The thing that I really like about the book is that in a way it's sort of a history lesson of film itself. The first movie listed in the book is A Trip To The Moon directed by Georges Melies. I'm sure many of you might recognize this film from Hugo. This was a movie that was made in 1902, over a hundred years ago and it's still considered to be a movie worth viewing. The list starts there and goes all the way up to movies coming out today. The book is a great way of literally seeing the history of film in front of you and also just enjoying many movies from the past and present.
          If anyone hasn't read or seen this book then I would highly recommend checking it out. It's pretty reasonably priced and if you buy one edition, you probably won't have to get another one.

Here's the link for it. http://www.amazon.com/1001-Movies-You-Must-Before/dp/0764164228/ref=tmm_hrd_title_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1347068968&sr=8-1