At the beginning of Perfumed Nightmare I can honestly say that I was discouraged. You could tell it was extremely low budget, and it was a little bit of a turn off. I can appreciate low budget films, but this just seemed a little bit too extreme for me. However, as the story developed and progressed, my opinion of the film changed.

While, for the most part, I had no idea where the story was going, I found myself becoming very interested in the characters and situations being portrayed. I was very interested in how much Kidlot admired the little he knew about America. How much he yearned to be there, and how he wanted to fall into the loving arms of capitalism and become rich. Now I know that more than anything he wanted to become an astronaut, but he also did mention that he wanted to become rich and famous. Kidlot religiously listened to his radio and was the leader of the Wernher von Braun fan club. It was very interesting to me that they chose for Kidlot to aspire to be an astronaut, because that is a very American aspiration. Every little boy growing up in America said that they wanted to be an astronaut at one point in their life. This part of his character really helped me understand where this movie was going.

The middle section of the movie dragged on a little in my opinion. We were exposed to some of the traditions of the village that he lived in, and that was pretty good insight, but it seemed a little but unnecessary. However, as soon as Kidlot went to Paris the movie really gained its traction with me.

I tried to place myself in Kidlots’ shoes. Seeing an industrialized civilization for the first time would be a crazy feeling. I could not imagine going from a village that lives a pretty simple life to a place like Paris. The huge buildings, the constant hustle that comes with big city life, and most importantly the completely foreign technologies. I would be in complete shock and awe, just like Kidlot. Kidlot embraces this new world, and even mentions his desire for progress from his village. But then Kidlot is exposed to what comes from industrialization and capitalism. He makes friends with one of the last street vendors in Paris. She is the only person left who sells real, farm fresh eggs. But she is quickly evicted from the story when the super market takes over her space. He begins to see the lifestyle of greed and excess that comes from capitalism, and he is very disappointed and ashamed.

I would like to think that if I were in Kidlots’ situation I would have the same feelings. Being raised on capitalism almost makes you numb to the effects it has. I admired Kidlots’ shame and it honestly made me feel a little bit guilty for the lifestyle that I am a part of. I think that is a true testament to the quality of this film. The fact that it can evoke such powerful emotions on such a low budget is a testament to the quality of the story, regardless of the talent of actors and staff.

I went and listened in on the Q&A between the director of the Cinema Studies program and comedic writer/director Matt Piedmont. Personally, I thought that this Q&A was a little bit lacking in substantial information, and was more of a vehicle to better get to know Matt’s personal life. There were not many tips or words of wisdom, which I felt could have been very beneficial.

The Q&A started with a screening of the last episode of his new mini-series “The Spoils of Babylon”. We watch that for approximately 15 minutes and when that concluded the interview began. Matt told us of how he always loved movies and the idea of making them, but he never thought he would have a career doing so. He didn’t go to school to become a director, and went to New York on a whim after he finished his degree (which he got to custom make after he petitioned). He got a page position at SNL, and he fell in love with working in the 30 Rock building. He was offered a job selling tickets for the show and being basically a receptionist, and he willingly accepted. Over time he was asked to write the promo section of the show, and it was greatly accepted by the studio and audience. This landed him a real writing position in the show, and he began to really hone his craft.

He works closely with Will Ferrell and writes for Funny or Die. Because of this relationship he was able to cast Will in his “Spoils of Babylon” show. Because he had such a prominent actor already casted, he was able to get a lot more famous actors/actresses on board with this crazy series.

The most rewarding part of this interview was when Matt opened up to questions from the audience. While I am not interested in a film career, I still thought that the questions asked to Matt by my fellow classmates provided good insight that was not given in his formal interview. During this section he explained his writing process, which essentially boils down to walking around and observing people until something funny happens that he can write about. While this may seem silly, I can relate to this method in my process with advertising. I get the best ideas when I am simply observing my surroundings. Another great piece of information was about how you need to rejoice over your failures. He told us about all of the times that he had to pitch a skit in front of 300 or so people at SNL. Sometimes you would have a well-received skit, but most of the time it was criticized and shut down. He said that he actually liked it more when he was rejected than when he was successful. It allows you to get a critical analysis of your work, and shows you what you need to work on.

Overall, this interview was pretty interesting, but lacking in real substance. I would have liked to see a bit more of a pointed argument, but it was still entertaining.

While watching Singing in the Rain and Sherlock Jr. I couldn’t help but feel good inside. Neither of these movies have very much meaning to them, and that is perfectly fine. I understand that Singing in the Rain has a love story attached to it, but there really is no deeper meaning other than an entertaining story. The fact that these stories have a simple purpose was actually very refreshing to me and made me like them even more.

In present times there is such an emphasis on a detailed story line and overly complicated characters. Movies that are created purely for entertainment get destroyed by the critics and are not taken seriously. I was very happy to be reminded the real reason that film was created and why people fell in love with the art. These films were created to make people feel good, and that is exactly what they do.

In Singing in the Rain we are presented a light-hearted story of a man who came from nothing to become a famous actor. This story takes place during the introduction of “talkies”. While we may see this new technology as revolutionary, many actors/actresses of the time felt threatened by it. They had never had to use their voices, let alone memorize/recite lines so it is easy to see where they were coming from. The film definitely plays on this change in the industry by showing us actors/actresses in the midst of the transition. The humor that comes from basing the film around this transition is gold. The character of Lina Lamont is the one most negatively affected by this change. Before the introduction of talkies, Lina was a big star on the screen. She was very pretty, but had a rather obnoxious voice. When her producer and director were thinking about her role in their new film with sound, it hit them rather suddenly how their audience would react.

This simple humor has a special place and should not be overlooked. When not having to tax your brain with a complicated story line, you are able to truly appreciate the humor that comes with a movie like this. Not only does this movie have some great humor, but it also pleases our senses with great scenes of song and dance. It is interesting to me to think that this song and dance aspect of film used to be commonplace in multiple genres. Today, we rarely see an actor break out into song or dance unless it is in a musical. But, I was pleasantly reminded of how enjoying it is to watch someone who is a professional in the art, perform a well-orchestrated dance on stage. This kind of entertainment truly showcases how film is art in many different ways. It is not always about the great dialogue between characters, or the insane plot twist that leaves you scratching your head, but sometimes it is really just about the good feelings that come from watching a simple, humorous piece of entertainment.

Jeremy Dahm