Motion: Raising Arizona

Raising Arizona Trailer

Raising Arizona is a film written, directed, and produced by the Coen Brothers. The 1987 comedy stars Nicholas Cage, Holly Hunter, and John Goodman among others. In the film a criminal named Hi and a policewoman named Ed get married and move into a mobile home in the desert. When they discover that Ed is infertile they decide to kidnap one of five quintuplets from a local furniture store owner. The rest of the movie is basically a struggle for the baby between Ed and Hi and Hi's criminal friends. A bounty hunter named Smalls goes after the child with the intention to sell it on the black market. In the "motorcyclist scene", Hi and Smalls fight with Smalls getting close to killing Hi, However, Hi reveals he has pulled the pin from one of the grenades on Smalls' vest and Smalls is blown to pieces.

The movie is full of symbolism, biblical references, unusual camerawork, and quirky dialogue.

Comm 3483 Final Research Paper

Think small: DDB's Volkswagen and the Evolution of Advertising

Contemporary Photography

Mann, Sally. Candy Cigarette. 1989. Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago.

Photographer Sally Mann shot a series of photographs of her children acting out social constructs, as in the picture above. For this photo taken by her rural Virginia home she used her 8 x 10 view camera to produce a gelatin silver print. Mann carefully planned her daughter's outfit, hair, and posture to look like the innocent miniature of a twenty-something bombshell smoking a casual cigarette. Her attitude is intense and defiant. 

Time Magazine named Sally Mann "America's Best Photographer" in 2001.

Ray Harryhausen Creature

BUBO Clash of the Titans (1981)

        

Clash of the Titans. Dir. Desmond Davis. Perf. Laurence Olivier and Harry Hamlin. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1981. Videocassette.

Bubo was sent to Perseus, the protagonist in Clash of the Titans, by Athena to help him in his quest to rescue the princess Andromeda. This Bubo is a mechanical version of Athena's beloved magical owl of the same name. He was forged by Hephaestus (the god of metal-working, volcanoes, and sculptors, son of Zeus and Hera). Bubo was a replacement gift for Perseus after he loses his helmet of invisibility in Calibos' swamp. Steve Archer animated the character using stop motion animation. Many observed that Bubo has similarities to the droid R2-D2 in Star Wars (1977), however, Harryhausen claimed that Bubo was created before Star Wars was released.