When we looked at Clute's four-part model in class, I thought it sounded similar to another model that I was taught in middle school. The Revel sounded a lot like the climax, but I couldn't remember the other parts. I looked it up, and Freytag's dramatic structure contains the exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and denouement/catastrophe/resolution. I mostly agree with these models. However, there is one thing that stands out in Clute's description of the Aftermath. It seems like there are a lot of movies that leave questions unanswered at the end. Obviously the main storyline has to be completed, but I have to disagree with the statement that "there is nothing to be done."
I saw Book of Eli yesterday, and I highly recommend it. It was directed by the Hughes brothers, who also directed the film adaptation of From Hell. When Book of Eli was nearing the end, I thought the action had been awesome but the end was going to be anticlimactic compared to the suspense established by the main character. I was definitely wrong. The twist is amazing.
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Which Twilight Zone TV series do you mean, Charlie?
ReplyDeleteTrue, many movies leave loose ends in order to pave the way for sequels, but that's a marketing decision, not an artistic one. And horror-movie sequels don't necessary imply that things are going to get better. Romero's sequels to Night of the Living Dead, for example, make clear that things will just get worse and worse, that there is no escape, that everything is Aftermath.
I used to watch the reruns of the original Twilight Zone. The SciFi channel (or SyFy now for some reason) has marathons on New Year's and I think the Fourth of July too. It also shows a couple episodes late at night.
ReplyDeleteI think No Country for Old Men is a good counterexample of Clute's aftermath. I did not read the novel, but I heard it had the same ending as the movie. I really enjoyed the movie but not the ending.
What do mean, Charlie, "a good counterexample of Clute's aftermath"? And what did you dislike about the movie's ending?
ReplyDeleteThe quote on the handout says that in the aftermath "there is nothing to be done." I guess we have to assume that Chigurh escapes, but I did not have the sense that this is definitely what happens. I didn't like how the movie was reaching an intense point with him getting in the wreck, but then he just walks off and the Sheriff says he's retiring. I think it's the sudden change of pace that bothers me more than the ending itself. I can appreciate the fact that the good guy does not win, and the bad guy gets away. Another film with a similar but better ending in my opinion was Arlington Road. Have you seen it?
ReplyDeleteIt had same affect on me as well. Horror is not my thing, but I do like things that are based on things that are real, which I'm about to talk about in my post. I feel I'm rather new to all of this, though.
ReplyDeleteCharlie, I have to agree with what you said about it being similar to other forms of "breaking down" a story. I thought the same thing as we were discussing it in class. It doesn't really seem to be a novel idea, just an idea expanded into a different literary genre.
ReplyDeleteCharlie, I saw The Book of Eli on Monday and I also thought it was amazing. The twists were unexpected and exciting. Overall, I thought it was a really clever and thoughtful movie that made me appreciate the things I have. I was really disappointed that it didn't get many positive reviews, though. I hope it will still do well in the box office.
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