The Great Gatsby: A Rare Movie Review

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Generally speaking, I don’t really see movie reviews as something that this blog is really prepared to tackle. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love movies. Maybe a little too much at times. The real issue is that I try and keep this blog (and myself) tightly focused on writing and literature and avoid a lot of enticing but largely unrelated topics. That said, there are times in which the medium of film can be used as an example or to further a point that I am trying to make about writing in general. The minute that I finished watching the newly released The Great Gatsby (which was around 2:30am on opening night.. morning?) I knew that I wanted to use it as an example for a concept I have been trying to write about for a while.

When it comes to my personal skills as a writer, composing settings and descriptions are definitely my strong suits – in terms of writing fiction at least. In talking with other writers I have found that there are as many different ways and techniques to approaching the writing of scenes and describing actions, characters, events, etc. as there are people writing them. I describe my own process as seeing what I want to write in the form of a movie scene, and then doing my best to transcribe what I see in that scene onto paper. I do the opposite when I am reading fiction as well. I see the words on the page and transform them into moving scenes in my head. As you can see, I’m a pretty visual individual as far as bookworms and writers go. It is probably because of this process that I stray from many writers and literary fans/bookworms in that I cannot wait to go see the Hollywood adaptations of my favorite books. (Don’t tell anyone, but sometimes I’ll even go see the movie before I read the book! I know… sacrilegious. I’ll explain in another post.) I always like to see what other people visualize when reading the same work.

Most film adaptations differ in many ways from the way I pictured it happening during my reading. However, the most recent The Great Gatsby film shocked me at just how closely it matched what I imagined while reading the actual book, but I’ll talk briefly about that in my movie review below. Which, speaking of, we should probably get to!

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The Great Gatsby (2013)

Directed by: Baz Lurhmann

Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, and Carey Mulligan

According to Rotten Tomatoes’ measly 48% (up from 38% a week ago) rating, Baz Lurhmann’s film adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s jazz-age classic The Great Gatsby has not made much of an impression on film critics. However, for many literature fans, the 48% rating is a gross injustice to the film’s representation of the book. One of the most famous and well-read pieces of literature, The Great Gatsby offers quite the challenge for directors aiming to tackle it; a challenge that Jack Clayton seemed unable to conquer with his 1974 version starring Robert Redford and Mia Farrow.

In his first major Hollywood film since Australia, Lurhmann definitely took a more ambitious approach to the same piece of literature that four flopped films and two poorly received TV series made infamous. Where Clayton attempted to be suave and subtle, Lurhmann pulled out all of the stops, even going as far as to film in 3-D and the studio deciding to pull the film out of Oscar contention for a summer release. The extravagant trailers that describe a world where “the shows were broader, the buildings were higher, the morals, were looser and the liquor was cheaper” turn out to be but a mere glimpse of what the full film has to offer. Baz Lurhmann’s adaptation of The Great Gatsby creates a setting that is larger than life and focuses on famed mysticism of Jay Gatsby in a way that surpasses any previous attempt.

In many ways, this over the top approach is what caused traditional film critics to stumble and fans of the book to cheer. Where film buffs complain of an over-eager use of CGI, larger than life party scenes that are hard to take in, and seemingly bipolar mood swings by the main characters, fans of the classic book stand up in applause for the true-to-reading experience. Fitzgerald’s telling of and perception of the lives of narrator Nick Carraway, his cousin Daisy, and the mythical Jay Gatsby often leaves the reader with an ethereal, out of body feeling that Baz Lurhmann does an excellent job of recreating.

the-great-gatsby-leonardo-dicaprioLeonardo DiCaprio brings to life an image of Gatsby that is just as it is in the book: mythical. This is wonderfully complimented by Tobey Maguire’s “along for the ride” presence and mentality. Carey Mulligan flawlessly brings the troubled but flirtatious nature of Daisy to life n the big screen, drawing all of the characters to actions and thoughts that seem to drive the entire movie. Backed by a phenomenal soundtrack that was produced by Jay-Z, the film takes you from lifestyles and party scenes that can only be described as orgiastic to gut-wrenching moments of human flaw and emotion. The Great Gatsby, its director, and its cast will arguably go down in history as one of the best adaptations of classic literature to come to the silver screen.

EWU Earth Day 2013!

Reblogged from Pine Tree Philosophy:

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One of the many great things about college life is the fact that more often than not, Universities are open to celebrating and bringing awareness to environmental causes. Earth Day tends to lend itself quite handily to a campus-wide event to bring awareness to global issues that range from social ethics and equality to urban sustainability. I myself, (Connor), attend Eastern Washington University and this year EWU put on its second annual Earth Day Festival!

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My latest post from Pine Tree Philosophy, my environmental blog:

How Boston Proves There is Still Good in Humanity

Image Credit: National Geographic

I have been somewhat hesitant to write about my feelings regarding the Boston Marathon Bombings if only for the over-abundance of media coverage. A few days have passed and more importantly a sense of closure has been brought to the City of Boston and the victims’ families and I feel more comfortable discussing the events of the past week. That said, I struggle to know where to begin, or even how to talk about the myriad of emotions and thoughts swirling around in my mind. Before I move on to my own introspective ramblings I would like to convey my most sincere condolences to those who have been victims of this terrible event. My heart goes out to the families of those lost or injured and I would hope that the capture and prosecution of the suspect has brought some small comfort to you.

In my short lifetime I have experienced the World Trade Center attacks on September 11, seen and volunteered after Hurricane Katrina, two wars in the Middle East, and now the Boston Marathon Bombings. As an eternal pessimist, it would be all too easy for me to look at all of these events, the people involved, and the pain experienced and say “Woe unto Man because his nature is inherently…’troubled.’” That would certainly fall in line with the American writers like Herman Melville. In the instances of terrorist attacks, both here in America and (more commonly) across the world it is all too apparent that there are people who have it within themselves to end the lives of others, and to bring pain and suffering to many more. The continuation of this behavior would easily lend itself to the belief that the nature of man is more often bad than good. As a pessimist, I struggle to move past this belief on a daily basis.

Thankfully, however, the personal experiences of my short life have repeatedly shown me different. For years after the attacks on 9/11 footage of New Yorkers, first responders and average joes alike, running directly into the maw of dust and debris billowing from the base of the towers to help those in need, completely and freely sacrificing their own freedom to help others who were in need. Officially, five people were accused as terrorist plotters. Five people with evil and malice at the heart of their beings. And yet, there were hundreds that day and thousands in the years to come that leapt to the aid of others regardless of what the consequences might be. And in many cases of those at the base of the towers, the consequences included a long and slow death at the hands of cancer or respiratory conditions.

In 2006, when my father and I went to New Orleans with a small group of volunteers to help with reconstruction, even at the age of 13 I was forever touched by the kindness of people who had lost everything at the hands of nature. There was one woman in particular that showed me such a profound kindness despite the fact that all of her possessions had been carried away by the flood waters. One afternoon after rebuilding a wheelchair ramp for this woman’s disabled mother, the group I was with was making ready to go grab a bite to eat from the nearest fast food restaurant. We were literally piling into our trucks when this woman came rushing out of her makeshift trailer waving her hands and shouting at us. She came over to our trucks and refused to let us leave, insisting that she make us lunch. At first we tried to politely decline, knowing all too well this woman was in no position to feed eight hungry men, but it quickly became apparent that we would not win this battle. Sure enough this woman, who literally had little more than the clothes on her back brought out a couple loafs of bread, some pastrami, and cheese, sat us down on our tailgates and promptly handmade us as many sandwiches as we could eat all the while telling us these fantastic and heart-wrenching stories of what she and her mother had been through. After that experience, I will never again question the innate goodness that can course through people.

The stories of unquestionable mercy and humanity that quickly emerged from the Boston Marathon Bombings only served to confirm the idea that no matter how many people wish to do evil in this world, there will always be more willing to do good and trying to right the wrongs. Thus, despite my incessant pessimism and apparently dismal outlook on many things, I will never be able to question that the majority on mankind is inherently good. Even more so, that in the face of pain and tragedy, the best that is in people will become apparent and it will be easy to remember why we as humans are capable of more good than we are of evil.

Hanford Nuclear 101

Reblogged from Pine Tree Philosophy:

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Everything you need to know about the Hanford Nuclear Site, the cleanup project, and the environmental controversy surrounding it.

History/Overview

The Hanford Site, sitting on 586 square miles of shrub-steppe desert in Southeast Washington, was initially constructed as a part of the Manhattan Project - the government initiative charged with creating the first nuclear bomb. Opening plutonium production in 1943, the Hanford Site produced the material used in the bombs dropped over Japan, effectively ending World War II.

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Unexpected Attention

This is a post that I really never anticipated writing. It has literally been two and a half months since my last post, and I haven’t consistently posted on here since the first of the year. I had planned on taking a hiatus of unknown length in order to work on my other  project, Pine Tree Philosophy. (If you’re at all interested in environmental issues, sustainability, or getting back to nature I encourage you to check out the intro to PTP here.) Without going too far into detail, I haven’t even had the time I would like to work on PTP! Long story short, I haven’t been doing a lot of blogging of any sorts lately. Despite that however, I’ve been getting notifications and emails this past week of new followers, post likes, and comments on this blog! I checked my stats and seemingly out of nowhere I’ve had a relatively large influx of viewers!

As such, I figured it was high time to make the time in order to give Wanna-Be Writer some much needed TLC. This includes a few minor makeover projects, some backlogged posting, and most importantly… some shout outs!!

We’ll start with those!

First and foremost I would like to give a big thank you to the editors/writers at WordPress Daily Post for featuring my blog in their post, Branding Your Blog: Let’s Get Visual 101. I have no doubt that their little shout out to my category photos on my side panel is the source of many of the new visitors.

That's my blog!

That’s my blog!

Secondly I would give a very sincere thank you to Tonie Christine (an amazing photographer.. you should check her stuff out!), Amae Guerrero, Kim Koning,  SoulFoodWords, Andrea Stephenson, Kevin Gillespie  for enjoying my blog enough to start following it. You guys are the very reason that I write and your support is an excellent reminder to keep putting the effort in! Thank you!

I’m hoping that time will lend itself to more posting on this blog. Thank you once more to everyone who is following or reading my blog, I hope to have your continued attention and support. As always, feel free to contact me with questions, comments, and especially topics regarding writing or literature that you would like to see discussed here at Wanna-Be Writer! Feel free to drop a comment below or shoot me an email at connor.griffin91@gmail.com!

Cheers!

Pine Tree Philosophy: My Environmental Project

Hey everyone! I have realized that I’ve been posting a lot of little things here and there (not that there’s anything wrong with little things here and there), but in terms of significant pieces of writing/blogging advice or my own personal work has been a little lacking. In order to help solve this problem, I figured I should start posting links to the articles I do on my other blog, Pine Tree Philosophy. That way you guys can get a picture of what all my advice amounts to in my own life, as well as getting a glimpse of my more “professional” writing! Below is a link to my most recent post at Pine Tree Philosophy.

Hiking Locations: Hog Canyon Creek, WA, USA

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Would You Write Your Story?

For those of you who know me, I’m a huge fan of Transcendental writers such as Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. It just so happens that we are reading the Transcendentalists in my early American Literature class this week and my professor shared with my class a quote from Thoreau that I have decided to try and live my life by them. As writers, I figured that you would appreciate this just as much as I do.

 

“My life is the book I would have writ, but I was too busy living it.” – Henry David Thoreau