In Class Assignment - Jim Jarmusch Film Similarities

• Most are Black and White
• Slow blocking in action
• All films are coming-of-age dramas
• The man of good intentions forced to do evil deeds based on their differing situations
• All period pieces, normally in rural areas
• Long, static shots of full coverage. Doesn't shoot for normal coverage.
• Multiple main characters - parallel editing until they finally meet
• Tone: Rough, Edgy, out-of-place, 
• POV / Theme: Leaving the conformist world to find the eventual goal
• Lots of cigarettes and alcohol

Adaptation: Costume Designer for Chinatown

Roman Polanski's "Chinatown" follows Gittes, a private detective hired to investigate a case regarding adultery, and instead finds corrupt, greed and murder. Set in 1937, Polanski revisits the narrative style of Film Noir.

As Costume Designer, I'd like to start with J. J. Gittes, a former-policeman trying to make an honest living. I can picture him in a black suit with a fedora of the same color. As he goes through trial and tribulation, the audience gets to know Gittes on a more personal level. By the end, I would make his color pallet change from black to a navy blue. He smokes cigarettes and drinks, just like any classic noir detective.
Duffy and Walsh are a team of lackluster detectives who do nothing but argue with one another. Because of this, I'd like to dress them similarly. Duffy's suit would be a darker tan while Walsh wears more of an oak tan.
Evelyn Mulwray is the female lead who is running from the very beginning. She's been through non-consensual incest with her father, defaming scandals and is constantly on the run after the half-point. As she gets tougher and tougher, I'd like her color pallet to shift from pale pinks (innocence) to a radiant red (fights back).
Ida Sessions, the sneaky woman who posed as Evelyn is the mini femme fatale in "Chinatown". I picture here as a sensual woman, trying too hard to look like she's the farthest thing from a threat. She should have long blonde hair and a semi-revealing dress (we don't want to make it too obvious now do we?)
Noah Cross is the hidden antagonist throughout the entire film. I picture him in a slick dark-gray trench coat symbolizing his apathy towards others, i mean, he killed a man.
Mr. Mulwray was the hardest to conceptualize, for his neutrality between Gittes and Cross. I decided he'd look good with a dark green suit. This implies a sickness to him- a poison. He's only got so many pages to live.

World Building - "The Book of the Dead"

Topic: What are the precise strategies that are used by its creator to convey the world to us and us to the world?

Edwidge Danticat adds subtle background information to the conflicts occurring in "The Book of the Dead".

On the first page, our inciting incident is Ka, a Haitian-American art teacher and our hero, is waiting in an office at the hotel she and her missing father are staying at. There, Ka gives bits and pieces of what she hears and sees: the hotel manager has a Spanish lilt to his voice and that the police officer is Floridian. Within the first page, the readers already know that we are in a Spanish-section of Florida.

Later in the story, we figure out who Ka is giving selling her statue to: a famous Haitian-American named Gabrielle Fonteneau. Here, we now know the time period. If a Haitian-American is successful and wealthy, our timeline is passed the Civil Rights Movement. I'd say around the 70's to the 80's.'

The Yellow Wall-Paper - Writing Assignment

Set in the early 1900's, The Yellow Wall-Paper is about a woman assumed to have a false disorder called hysteria and is entrapped in an airy, cringe-worthy room prescribed by her physicist husband. Throughout the story, our protagonist slowly goes insane, seeing a woman trapped behind the piss-yellow wall-paper. The subtext of this story implies that this woman is trying to save herself.

The question for discussion: How are relationships between men and women are portrayed in this story?

The physicist, John, is the true antagonist from the first page. He decides who goes where and what happens, even with his sister who assumes her "natural female job" as a house-maid. John has convinced our hero she is insane when, from reading the first couple pages, seems quite normal. Because of John's forceful nature and entitlement to being right and more intelligent, the woman becomes insane due to the situation she is put in.

What I'm trying to get at here is that woman in this era are taught to be submissive towards men and not to question the expectations of what a woman can and cannot do or feel. They are in a constant cage of limited activity, which was contextualized to the T with our hero gaining intrigue in assisting a helpless woman behind the wall-paper. It's really her, trapped in a male-driven world.

A Female Heroin Design

Today I will be designing a female heroin in a world that is a quite dramatic version from our own.

I would like to create a heroin that fights for women's rights and inspires the young generation to break the stereotypical profiles that are brought upon them. Being skinny, submissive and a caretaker are only some prejudices that must be eradicated for women of the world to truly branch out and be whoever they want to be.

Imagine a country where women are enslaved to men. As the caveat for this repulsive life style, a rebellion was formed called "Unity" made up of women and men with common sense. It informally seceded from that nation, Divicious, and constantly attempts to take down that government, but has been having issues doing so. Divicious has the numbers and the technological strength, but their flaws aren't something one can see, it's in their human right standards and life style (clearly). Women who are enslaved to caretake and reproduce only need the inspiration to break from the prejudice they have of themselves and fight back against the oppressors.

Our female lead, Jeffra, was a brainwashed Divicious native that was a trusted secretary and spy for the Vice President. At first, she believed in the oppression, thinking it's where she belonged. After having to "teach a lesson" to a reproductive workforce on strike and then being sexually assaulted by the VP as a "thank you", Jeffra realized how terrible her actions have been for her own gender. She needs to make up for it and make a difference.

This world doesn't have superpowers, but Jeffra's skills are the closest thing to it. In her old days, she would spy on the women workforce's leaders and act accordingly. With this experience, she knows exactly how to blend in a crowd, even a crowd of men.

Jeffra has found herself personally at Unity and quickly skyrockets through the ranks. She's quick, diligent and innovative, but has suppressed aggression that usually always gets her into some trouble during the missions in Divicious. Though, her charisma and kindness trumps her flaw at the last second, therefore being able to give anyone a second chance, because she was given one as well.

Jeffra has never been interested in anything sexual and doesn't identify with a sexuality. This makes her crossdressing very useful when she infiltrates Divicious's governmental meetings. Physically, she is not skinny nor overweight, but that doesn't matter. Her muscles are helpful but not prominent. Jeffra has a business-like fold in her hair on the left side and it only goes passed her ears.

In this story, Jeffra's goal is to redeem her past by being the strongest force to take out Divicious and help create a new, equal community for all: gay, straight, male, female, black, white, and so on.

- Daniel G. Gorham (2/12/17)

Writing Assignment #2 - True Grit

When Western books and films are usually stereotyped as male-influenced, over the top and has a lackluster story quality, Charles Portis' "True Grit" breaks the mold by having a dominate female lead and a strong narrative structure.

Charles Portis has a lot to say under Mattie and Rooster's vibrant dialogue. To me, there's a direct contrast between both these characters. Our hero Mattie is an assertive teenager hell-bent on revenge while she follows the law everywhere she goes. On the other hand there's Rooster, the wild-card archetype which usually supplies the brawn...and no brains. While Mattie is the wise and careful character, Rooster basically acts as her sword and, specifically in the end, savior. With that said, does Portis mean the best way to achieve to one's goal is to have balance?
LaBoeuf, the Texas Ranger, made me question my previous theory. Maybe he represents that balance. For example, he had his guard up and was an ass towards the beginning, but then after all the conflict, learned to eat his pride and appreciate Mattie for her maturity and self-sufficiency and gained a right mind to help Rooster when he needed it most, just like when the roles were turned. It may be over-reaching, but for half the novel, LaBoeuf was bad, and the other good.

On another note, "True Grit" reflects greatly on the ideas of Western mythology. Classic Western tales from hundreds of years still have an effect on modern-day reality: how people act, it's popular in literally every medium and is a successful source for advertising.  Usually, a story revolves around a western male, or "cowboy". They tend to be a self reliant outsider, unwilling to conform to society. Cowboys also prefer friendly intimacy with comerads over women while they live on the wild side. Some more characteristics are intelligent and experienced in conflict and combat, fit and handsome, unable to be domesticated and usually have a heavy disdain for authority.

Rooster clearly fits this hero-type...minus the handsome part. Our hero, Mattie, doesn't quite fit this cowboy role, but is more intact with the "Child Savior Myth". This myth is essentially innocence teaching experience.

Prologue About Me

Hey everyone! My name's Daniel G. Gorham, a film senior at Ringling College of Art & Design. I was born and raised in central New Jersey.

In my childhood, I played a lot of soccer starting from the recreational level and worked myself up to join the top club team in my town. I usually played left wing even though I'm right-footed.

In middle school I picked up my first camcorder: a digital JVC with standard definition. I made embarrassing shorts with my friends (looking back at it now) and called the YouTube channel "Top Hat Productions". When I entered high school, I deactivated my account and created a new one: "DanG Films". Recording ping pong trick shot videos, air soft games and more narrative shorts, I gained up to 450 subscribers locally. I even worked with the school to make some videos to broadcast for HSPA testing and the annual "Spirit Week".

In my junior year, I directed a short film called "Ghost" about an unstable young man who blames himself for the death of his brother, and because he's prescribed too much medication, he sees glimpses of his brother throughout the film. I was awarded a scholarship from JK Design.

When I began furthering my education at Ringling, I decided to drop my YouTube channel so I could focus on classes. As the years went on, I found myself more and more fascinated with developing something out of nothing: story. How life influences could effect ones writing, how much one word could describe a thousand through subtext, and how much emotion an audience member or reader receives from viewing it. I want to make my audience feel pain, nastolgia, despair, happiness, and most importantly learn from the mistakes I've made, which will most undoubtingly be lined underneath everything I write.

As an audience member, I enjoy all types of film, from thirty-minute sitcoms to forty-five minute dramas to feature-length psychological thrillers. As a screenwriter, I wish to wet my feet in every genre to see what I'm best at and what's the most enjoyable. My middle goal is to become a staff writer for television like "Rick and Morty" and / or video games like "Game of Thrones: A Telltale Games Series" and my end goal is to become a screenwriting professor at the undergraduate level.

I've wanted to be a teacher since I graduated high school. I was never the best student. I had a short attention span and I could never really wrap my head around problems that were too big. To add, I have a large amount of anxiety. In short, I was limiting myself. Now as a senior, I've worked passed what I thought was the impossible and want to assist students that have the same difficulties as me. Seeing the next generation prosper and make even stronger content then us and our elders would be such a beautiful sight. I want to be apart of that push.