Sprint 6
Over Spring Break I collected the three scenes I intend to use for my Foley project as well as the objects I plan to use for the first scene, which will be the fight in Gladiator. For this scene, I got a pizza pan which will be used as the shield, a pry bar and my fencing swords will be used for weapons, a chain dog collar which I will use for the tiger’s chains, and rice which I will use as the sand. I will get the materials for The Breakfast Club next week after I finish Gladiator. I have also started rehearsing for the recording session which mostly involves trying to memorize what action to make and when so that timing is just right. Currently, the hardest one to do is the footsteps. It’s like trying to learn how to dance with the lights going out every so often. Even when the character’s feet are not shown they are still moving and remembering how they are moving while only seeing half their body is not easy. I plan to continue practicing for the rest of the week and recording should be starting some time next week.
Ethics:
My senior thesis covers no major ethical concerns but Foley is a part of the larger more ethically challenged film industry. There are many aspects of how films portray people that bother me, from how the LGBTQ community is viewed, to how women are treated and how they are shown; but I would like to focus on the whitewashing of films. In recent times, there has been a lot more talk about the importance of race in films. 2016 saw Doctor Strange cast Tilda Swinton as the Ancient One — a character who in the comics is depicted to be an Asian man, most likely from the Himalayas. The Great Wall — a film that takes place in ancient China, is directed by Zhang Yimou and has a mostly Asian cast but instead of casting a Chinese actor, chose Matt Damon. In 2005, Batman Begins — it cast Liam Neeson as Ra’s al Ghul who is shown to be of Arab decent in the comics. The list goes on.
Films that go this route are not all bad — in fact, I think many of them are very good, however, I find it hard to believe the casting directors could not find an actor of the correct demographic who could play these roles. Which begs the question of why? And the answer for many of these is simple. Money. That is what happened with the film The Great Wall. The name Matt Damon is globally recognized and that recognition draws attention from the media which draws people in to the movie and gets them into the theater.
Film is a business. It is run like a business. But what is often forgotten about film is that it is also a social commentary. It tells the story of us, of humanity, how we view ourselves, how we view the world, how we interact with it. The setting can be wherever you want it to be in the past, in the future, in a world that can’t possibly exist. But the characters must feel real, they have to be able to connect with the audience. But, if film only uses characters of one race, most of the story of us is lost. Forgotten. Ignored.
One reason I love the Pixar movie Moana is because of how important it was for the cast to be made of people of Pacific Islander decent. Even though it was animated, they recognized how as a film that tell the story of a certain people requires them to be true to the story’s setting. It is something I hope to see more of in the future and hopefully one that will become common practice.
