How my cultural background effects my response and behaviour after

In my family we often watch films together, when i first watched Like Crazy it was just a friday night where me and my mum decided to watch a film together, i heard it was really good and interestingly created so i thought i'd watch it. We both instantly fell in love with it, as it was on a TV it may have caught are attention more to it being online or another devise. I automatically ordered it on Amazon afterwards as i connect and identified with it straight from the start. I've always loved the uniqueness of small British made film productions, they are much more intimate and detailed in some ways. The storyline could be so simple yet captivating. I am a strong believer in love and it's power and i completely fit the brief of their desired target audience and i'm quite sure my response of sympathy and tears is what was wanted. As i would normally watch this when i feel the need to sympathise or feel a little down this would be the time to watch it but as for watching it recently i didn't connect so much with it as i recently have done in the past. This doesn't mean i don't love it any less but that i didn't crumple up and burst into tears with passion for it. I strongly suggest Like Crazy for everyone, it is a different take on a love story with hits and punches of reality which is needed to make a difference in the film industry now days.

What I gained from Like Crazy: Identification and reactions

When the first scene starts out i instantly identify myself with Anna as she writes in her letter to Jacob and ends it with "please don't think i'm a nutcase" this is one of my favourite quotes from the film but it is exactly the kind of thing i would say to some one is could be seen as thats classic "British humour". One of the biggest filmic pleasures that i gain from Like Crazy is the scene where Anna reads to Jacob, this is my absolute favourite quote as it captivates me, this may just be because i am a fanatic about literature and an doing English Lit A level or just because it is a truly beautiful quote.  The quote is in the photograph below.  

I think realised that i identified with the part where they are being childish and writing notes to each other, the chair scene as thats what me and my boyfriend do, we can be really childish at times. The chair scene in many analysis's minds would be the most important, it has the name of the film on it and symbolises Jacob's love to Anna. Anna then says "I'm not going to leave, I promise" which does indicate that she will eventually leave but then again i identify myself with her gaining that filmic pleasure again of having that same experience, not wanting to leave in a certain moment. Once Anna decides to stay in America she says that "we can stay in bed all summer" Me personally am devoted to my bed, i'm blogging in bed as you read this so instantly there is this identification, this part is one of my favourites as is is me in a nutshell, i love being in bed and thats why the next gif is my favourite part. After the collection of images the last one is with Jacob in bed alone. It just makes my heart sink, i can just feel it happening within my self. spending all that tie with someone just have them disappear in my mind is heart breaking.

Best part 

  The next big thing is when Jacob is talking to his colleague about the UK and how him and Anna are now "just friends" it's that part in the movie where you just scream NOOOOOOO! Surely they'll realise that their love is destiny and is what they have so far lead the viewers to believe? Yes... They do eventually become a couple again, that everlasting love comes about around and hits them both in the face just as a new relationship starts, considering this is based over a 5 year time frame they both keep secrets from each other. This is another part where their relationship is tested... it's one of those awkward conversations that must happen, you need to be honest and open about it to get past it. 
 


They get over this next bump like the previous corals to this one, she gets her chair back to show that everything is back to normal, i have hope here, this is one of the many things is love about Like Crazy, there is always a different emotion according to each scene. I connect with Anna a lot once again in this scene as when she realises the chair is back she squeals which i do when i'm overjoyed. Even though this scene is full of love and excitement it hits a down fall again in the train scene, they are together one moment and then she is alone of the train, alike the bed scene. Ripped apart from one another. 




  



They then realise that marriage is the answer, in my eyes i feel a bit uncomfortable as in my mind they are just getting married for the sake of it thinking that it will be the solution to happiness when it isn't in the long run for them. No one is there apart from their parents which i find odd as it's a celebration, it doesn't feel like one, however they still reform back into that "perfect paradise" phase of love.    




Once again the up and down fall has occurred, they are back to being alone for 6 months she she can re-enter the USA to live with Jacob, but during this time they both get into relationships and Anna's boyfriend replaces the chair, another NOOOOOO! moment, you feel for Anna and Simon, he was only trying to help her out and make her feel good but Anna gets my sympathy overall as she has the last part of Jacob being torn from her. Simon stops Anna from drinking and her parents realise themselves that Jacob is the one. Anna doesn't know what to do with her self so she plays "Simon Says" and then, DUN DUN DAHHH... he proposes and everything in their relationship falls to pieces. After a while of being alone, and texting Jacob about missing him the answer to her prayers has happened, her VISA is accepted back in to the USA. They make amends which is of course the happy ending we have all been waiting for and she flys over to go and see him. when Anna arrives she comes to realise that he has been doing well without her, i hate this part as it's so close to the end and everything starts to slip away again. The last scene is the shower scene, it's beautifully heartbreaking.The music and flash backs are amazing, Anna's flash backs are right on the beat however Jacob's are not showing how they are now out of sink with each other, BEAUTIFUL. The symbolism is so so clever and in depth. I think the ending is needed in many ways as it's realistic but still isn't a full ending. There could still be an up point even though it could be a rather ridiculous story. This is what real relationships are like in the real world and pinning it down this is the thing i love most about Like Crazy, it isn't over exaggerated. 

They thought they understood each other, that the could grasp one another... Not really. 

Applying previous theories to Like Crazy

I watch this film as a spectator and always come away from it feeling that special warm feeling after watching one of your favourite films however disappointed with the ending. Justifying the point of how i feel about the whole film would be that the love that they feel for each other over time, and as to how far they are a part from each other physically, i can understand how she wants to be free and be independent from him and also how they eventually fall apart as nothing last for ever. Like Crazy starts off making you feel the warm feeling that i mentioned earlier but then ends with an anti climax.  

When applying the previous theory's i have blogged about to Like Crazy i realised that i haven't been such an active film watcher as i should be (in the cinema) I think in terms of the hypodermic needle theory it does apply to it as after watching Like Crazy you do feel empowered by love and you want to feel how they feel when everything was "perfect" as it's so close to reality you seem to connect and relate to it more. 
I love this film to pieces and i feels what i am supposed to feel watching it, maybe  bit more or less in some parts. I'm the perfect target audience wanted (16 years old just with a love for films and drama) and i do feel a serious connection with it. Uses and Gratification wise i tweet about it when i watch it, i watch it with loved ones and friends. However in terms of convergence culture i am a fan of the film but i don't go to conventions or make fan pages for it. 

Identification Theory

The main pleasures of watching a film is our reaction, interaction and identification with the characters. Do we like them , do we want to be them, feel sorry for them or see our selves in them. When i applied this to Like Crazy i thought that my reaction to it is sorrow and joy through out but at the end I still can't put my finger on what i feel. Maybe it's disappointment because of the ending, relief, emptiness or even the expectation that maybe there would be a sequel even though everyone knows it isn't that type of film. 

Murray Smith, 1995 attempts to break down the audience pleasure and examine how the process takes place. Here are the steps:

. Who? Recognition: Refers to our emotional engagement with the characters the ability of naturally and imagination project yourself into another persons perspective, in order to understand what they are experiencing this will depend on your identities and reception theory.

. How? Alignment: refers to what techniques are used to help us to form a respect and recognition of a character. Allotted screen time and film language tools help us to empathise or align with a certain character. These films use lots of point of view shots. 

. Why? Allegiance: Why do we choose a certain character to align with when given a choice? Smiths theory claims that "to become allied with a character as representing a morally desirable (or at least preferable) set of traits in relation to other characters within fiction. 

Murray Smith is not alone in making this claim, Noël Carroll makes similar assertions "it is because we perceive... characters as virtuous- that we cast our moral allegiance with them" Carroll 1999 

Often film makers shift our alignment and allegiance away from one character to another, perhaps in the course of a single scene. This particular scene may involve some careful choices about staging, framing, sound and cutting to make you shift. 

In Like Crazy i have a huge recognition with Anna, it's as if i feel the same emotions as her at the same point in the film (not the whole way through) I align my self with both Anna and Jacob, i think that the reason why i align with both of them because they shift roles throughout the film, just like the paragraph above, one moment it feel more alike Jacob and the next Anna. It's sometimes difficult to align with just one character. When Jacob is in bed with his new girlfriend Samantha i feel for Anna as she is texting him and he is hardly taking any interest in her as he is with Samantha even though Anna too, has a new love interest her self, Simon. Maybe i would say my main and most fluent character identification is with Anna played by Felicity Jones as i am a fan of her before hand. I relate to all the characters in most cases because of what they experience and have to deal with. In the last scene i align and sympathise with both of them once again. 

Samantha-

End scene-

Spectator Position

Our spectator position is very important when reading and interpreting film. These include;

. Weather or are alone or with company. If you watch a film with a parent you may react differently to when you watch it on your own because of content or that they dislike your film taste. 

. Where you are, if you watch it on the tube on the way to work watching a rom-com you won't cry the way you would sitting on the sofa under a mountain of blankets. 

. Depending on what you watch it on, if you watch it on your mobile it will not have such an impact on you as it would if you saw it in the cinema. 

. Sometimes watching a film or before we will do research on the background, watch the trailer, this will effect or views and opinions of the film before we see it. This also depends on the reception theory too. Many films can influence us to do things afterwards. 

When I watch "Like Crazy" i am normally watching it on my laptop in bed with a cup of tea and tissue at the ready. I don't normally research into a film however i do watch the trailers before hand. I remember i was on the tube and i kept seeing posters for Like Crazy and just the one image drew me straight in.I didn't first see it in the cinema but now i really wish i did because i would of fallen in love with it even quicker. I personally do not think i could ever fully enjoy watching a film on my mobile, it doesn't have the same draw to me that a cinema, tv or laptop would do. 


David Lynch said that "playing a movie on a phone... you won't experience it" 

He also that you are being cheated into thinking of having the experience of a film while watching it on your phone. 


I completely agree with Lynch because something that small can't hold your attention, it can't capture the beautiful essence of film like bigger devices can. 

Reception Theory

Stuart Hall believed that no text has one simple meaning. Instead, reception analysis suggests that the audience themselves help to create the meaning of the text. We all decode texts that we see, depending on our mood, place or time. 

There a few different ways of reading media texts: 

Preferred and dominated reading: This is when the audience take exactly what the producers wanted. For example you feel sympathy for Ariel from The Little Mermaid when she gets tricked by the sea witch, Ursula.

Oppositional reading: Audience members from outside the target audience may reject the preferred reading, relieving their own alternative message. An example of this could be that you interpret Like Crazy as a doomed from the start relationship that will never work out or you could see it as their paths not crossing at the right time or even that their relationship just burnt out. 

Negotiated reading: The third way is one which the audience acknowledge the preferred reading however modify it to fit their own values and opinions- this is how most people read. 

There are certain things that determine how we react to text: 
. Gender 
. Class
. Age
. Personality  
. Genetics 
. Filmic, social and historical knowledge
. Religion 


Relating this theory to Like Crazy i think that i am half preferred reading and negotiated reading as in many ways, yes the ending is an anti climax but in my eyes it's good that it ends with them both knowing that it isn't what it used to be. It's circular structure brings us back to the beginning in many sense, they are together yet still alone. I think that this feels realistic, it isn't a fairy tale movie, the dramatic closeness and them being part symbolises and represents the human life style. i think that in some people's eyes it could be a warning to long distance relationships however, i feel that it's not a warning it's just simply showing how powerful love really is. No matter how far or restricted you are the love is still there. 


The ending isn't exactly clear to what happens to their relationship but in my head, i think that their relationship has slowly deteriorated and now is on the rocks. There still could be hope in many ways but the last scene is them reminiscing back to all the times where they were happy signifying  that that isn't the matter now, the feelings that were there are not any more. 

Like Crazy

For our next section in Critical Approaches we have to choose a film to critique and consider the terminology and theories we have learnt before to this section. We need to consider most importantly our own reactions to this film. The film i have chosen is Like Crazy that came out in January 2012 the main plot is a British college student who is studying in America, falls in love with an american student only when they become separated due to being banded from the USA as she over stays her student visa. The film follows with them through their love story including the major ups and downs. 

What attracted me to this film was the overall concept and one of my favourite actresses, Felicity Jones. There is a really beautiful quote that gets to me every time when one of the main characters Anna shares a poem with Jacob for the first time "I thought I understood it, that I could grasp it, but I didn't, not really. Only the smudgeness of it; the pink-slippered, all-containered, semi-precious eagerness of it. I didn't realize it would sometimes be more than whole, that the wholeness was a rather luxurious idea. Because it's the halves that halve you in half. I didn't know, don't know, about the in-between bits; the gory bits of you, and the gory bits of me." I find this film beautiful and captivating. It never fails to make to cry but never the less i always enjoy committing time to devour into the story.