"Panic!" A Documentary Treatment

The documentary I'm making, Panic!, is about disorders that cause panic, fear, and even fainting that are passed genetically, and trying to bring awareness that these are actual conditions that have to be taken seriously. 

The beginning of the documentary starts off with interviews of people who do not experience genetic Panic disorders, asking them three questions: what is panic, how often, if ever, do you experience true panic, and what do you think it would feel like to experience panic very often or all the time. The people all had very different responses that gave very interesting viewpoints on how little people know, or how much people know, about the situation of panic disorders.

I interviewed my friend Lindsey Meyers for this video, because she experiences a disorder where every time she sees or thinks avidly about blood, she faints, and after she faints she feels panicky and fears fainting again. She inherited this from her mother, who experiences the same thing as she does. I forget the scientific name of it, but it is a real disorder that people do not take seriously. In the interview, Lindsey talks about how people laugh sometimes when she faints in public instead of giving her the help she needs and taking it seriously. 

I also had Lindsey ask me the same questions that I asked her in her interview, so I guess I kind of interviewed myself for this because I have inherited Panic Disorder from my mom, which means I get panic attacks for genetic reasons rather than situational reasons. Situations definitely can bring them up, but they are not necessarily the cause of it. Sometimes, for me at least, I get panic attacks because I'm scared of having a panic attack. It always starts off with a feeling in your stomach that is similar to when you really have to pee, so you don't know what's the difference until you pee. It's strange, I know, but that's how it is. If this feeling isn't caused by the need to pee, then I get scared even more panicky because I don't want to have a panic attack. Everything feels surreal. Everything feels fake. You become scared beyond all belief. And the worst part about all this? 

It happens two to three times a month. 

For the people I interviewed, they said they experienced panic about twice a year. Think of the difference between people who experience these disorders and people who don't, then question whether this is real or made up. There are still plenty of people who think this is just made by the person. Why on Earth would I bring this upon myself? I wish I could live a normal life.

The goal of this documentary is for me to bring awareness that Panic disorders are real problems for people who experience them, and not made up. 

(A)sexual

I decided to watch this documentary titled (A)sexual because, well, I'm labeled as an asexual. I wanted to see what others had to say on the topic, and how they could make a whole movie on it, because frankly, the subject is kind of boring. You're making a movie about people who don't want to have sex... 

I thought that the filmmakers managed to do a pretty good job at keeping the film entertaining, despite the dull subject. I enjoyed how they interviewed people on all sides of the debate. I really enjoyed that one part where they were talking about the irony of asexuals at the pride parade. That made me giggle, cause it was true. Also, I didn't know that the symbol of asexualism was cake. I'm cool with that.  :)

Towards the end it started getting kind of repetitive. I suppose that was to be expected when you're talking about a subject that doesn't really have a lot to talk about. I can sum up the movie to you in one sentence: (A)sexual is about how people do not want to have sex are discriminated against for no good reason and how they have all banded together in this group called AVEN to inform others of asexuality. If it's that easy to summarize a documentary, how good is it really?

Exit Through the Gift Shop

I love Exit Through the Gift Shop so much. It is without a doubt my favorite documentary. My dad and I are really interested in Banksy's work, so I know a lot about Banksy. I actually saw this documentary in the theaters, and it really blew me away when I saw it. Not only was it well done and intriguing, but it gave me an amazing insight on the world of graffiti. If you want to talk about filmmakers taking risks, then this is the perfect example. Thierry Guetta, stupid as he may be, was incredible brave to not only go and assist these graffiti artists on tagging some very dangerous places, but he also recorded it! It's so amazing how someone can be so courageous, yet so idiotic at the same time. First time I watched this movie, I thought it was a hoax and that there was no way someone would spend their whole life with a camera in their hands. But as the film progressed, it because more and more clear that this wasn't a hoax, and that this man really was that strange. It intrigues me, too, that Banksy's original intent was to make a documentary about himself, but he decided that Thierry was more interesting. This says a lot about Banksy, doesn't it? We try and think of these unknown people as superheroes almost. But he's probably just a regular English guy, which I think makes him that much more remarkable. I've seen this movie at least 10 times, yet it never ceases to entertain me.

I'm Psycho for Psycho

In the spirit of Halloween, I went with a couple of friends to the Angelika Movie Theater to watch Alfred Hitchcock's horror classic Psycho. Before this, I'd only seen the beginning of the movie and snippets of what's in the middle. This was the first time I ever had the opportunity to watch the entire thing at once, and I can tell you I was not disappointed. It was practically a piece of art. The shots were so spectacularly chosen. I noticed this especially in the scene where Marion and Norman were eating in his parlor, and talking about random things. The shots made sure to include shots of his taxidermy clearly in every shot. I though that this was a really good choice, because it added to the suspense, because not only was Norman Bates creepy, but you had those dead eyes staring at you. You could tell, too that every shot was planned out because they were so stunning, and had certain things in focus and other things unfocused.
In general, it was an amazing movie. Despite the fact it was made so long ago, it still managed to give me the creeps, which I love soooo much. If you haven't seen it, I don't know what you've been doing your entire life.

50 First Dates

Recently, I watched a movie called 50 First Dates. It's about a girl (Drew Barrymore) who had been in a bad accident, and cannot remember anything that happened after the accident, so everyday is the day of her accident in her mind. There's this guy (Adam Sandler) who falls in love with her, and has to work around the fact that everyday she will forget who he is.

This movie really wasn't the best, but it wasn't the worst. It's just a cute little chick flick: amusing to watch, but there's no real analyzing to be done. It wasn't filmed incredibly, it didn't have the most spectacular storyline, it was just a generally decent film. I personally dislike Adam Sandler, because he just is not the most skilled of actors in my opinion, so I have a hard time watching his movies. On the other hand, I really love Drew Barrymore. She's adorable, a pretty decent actress, and she made that movie bearable. Overall, I give it an "Aw, that was pretty cute" rating.

It's a Jungle Out There

My favorite TV show of all time has to be Monk. If you don't know why, then you've clearly never watched it. It is beautifully made. The shots are so carefully taken, and even though it is a comedy show, you find some way to bring depth into it. One way they bring depth into this show is, well, with Adrian Monk. He is such a complex character. At times, you think he is just plain stupid. But then you understand why he's the way he is, and then you feel a deeper appreciation for him. Just his backstory alone is enough to keep you intrigued in the show, but then you have that dark past mixed with the comedy, and it just equals close to perfection, in my personal opinion. I understand that this show isn't everyone's cup of tea, which is only to be expected, but I love how it's a normal detective show with such depth to it. I haven't found that anywhere except for here, and that's why I love it so much.

Lilo and Stitch

So, recently Netflix added one of my FAVORITE Disney movies: Lilo and Stitch. It's so simple, yet so sweet. I really never get tired of watching it. I've watched it three times this week, yet it's still so wonderful. I love the fact that it's not focussed on romance. Yeah, thats nice for a lot of movies, but sometimes you get tired of seeing boy meets girl kind of movies. This movie talks about friendship, something that means a lot more to people in general. Everyone can relate to a story about friendship: not everyone can relate to a story about romance. Don't get me wrong, I love a good romantic movie every once in a while, but it just gets old. And watching the friendship between Lilo and Stitch, who are both outcasts like me, really hits a chord in my heart. I really empathize with Lilo, so that's probably why I love this movie so much. I also love the fact that it takes place in Hawaii. I thought it was a really neat twist on a Disney movie. Most Disney movies take place in fanciful forests or magical places of the sort. This is just such a real place for it to take place in, and I like that.

I'm also not sure if this is true, but I'm just going to tell you a theory I heard about Lilo and Stitch. In the beginning, Lilo is swimming in the ocean, feeding a peanut butter sandwich to Pudge the fish, who controls the weather. It has been theorized that Pudge the fish represents an old Hawaiin legend about a God that controls the weather, and because Lilo's parents died in a car crash because of bad weather, she feeds Pudge the fish every Thursday to make sure nothing will ever happen between her and Nani. It makes a lot of sense, and really warms my heart to think if this is true. Just some food for thought.

Claire Zimmerman

This blog belongs to Claire Zimmerman.

Friday the 13th

The most recent of movies in my horror movie marathon was Friday the 13th. This movie is one of the most well-known horror movies of all time, but I was surprised how little I knew. The version I watched was the very original, the first one, before Jason had a hockey mask, and when "he" was the boy's mom. I must say, I liked that movie more than I expected. I'm typically not a slasher film kind of person, but I liked the plot twists and the surprises they threw into it. Like the part where the boy is just relaxing after having sex with that girl, and Jason stabs him from underneath the bed. I really did not see that coming. I expected Jason to come and stab him, but not like that.
It was parts like that and when the boy popped out of the lake that really made me like this film. I want to watch the other ones, too, just to see what they decided to do with the rest of the films. The cinematography was pretty basic in this movie, but it worked well. The shot towards the end where the girl was dragged in the lake was beautiful, and really well done. Over all I enjoyed it, and I would suggest to watch it, after you've watched The Silence of the Lambs and The Shining, of course.

The Silence of the Lambs

As the article title suggests, recently I watched The Silence of the Lambs. This movie was, to put it lightly, brilliant in every aspect. It appealed to all of your senses. It had some comical parts and some parts where you had your eyes opened the entire time because you were scared to blink.

The best part of this movie, without question, was Hannibal Lector. Gosh, what a brilliant character he is. One of the deepest and most interesting characters I've ever encountered in a movie. The way he plays with Clarisse's mind is just remarkable. You almost forget that he's a cannibal, or you don't believe that he really is. He seems so... sane. You think "Oh, he would never eat anyone. He was framed." Then you see him eat that guy's throat and it's like... Oh... He does eat people...

Clarisse is also a very interesting heroine. Most of the time, the female protagonists are very wimpy and stupid, but she was sharp as a tack and though as nails. I loved having this in a main character. It was wonderful. I can't think of too many movies where the female protagonist is not afraid to shoot and kill a man. She didn't even hesitate, it was just BAM and he was dead. I respected that, because it was more realistic.

It really made me want to watch the sequel, Hannibal, because I loved the character so much that I wanted to know more about him. I don't know anything about the movie, but it's most likely going to be the next movie I watch.

Anyways, I give this movie 5 stars. I've watched it about 3 times now just in a week because I loved it so much. It's now in my favorite movies.

Avante Garde

So for my avante garde, I want to film my everyday life, but have one of my friends read the introduction to Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. It's really a funny piece, but it makes you think a lot about the universe and how small we are. I want to have snippets from just normal life playing to let it put into perspective how living in this massive universe is for something so small. (Notice I didn't say insignificant. We are all significant.)

The Shining

So, I've been on a horror movie rampage, and the most recent one I've watched was The Shining.

I am a HUGE Jack Nicholson fan. He is such a wonderful actor, and in every single one of his films he completely immerses himself into the character until he pretty much is the character. Jack from The Shining is a perfect example. I couldn't tell that  He was acting. Well, obviously I assumed he was (or at least hoped), but it wasn't blatantly obvious like it is with a lot of other actors. The way that he did the gradual spiral into insanity was brilliant. It was small things at first, then it got to be more prominent things, then it was extremely noticeable things like chopping down a door with an axe and saying "Here's Johnny!" (That scene was amazing!!! <3 )

The other actors in the movie were good to. The little kid did a great job, even though he was only four or five. He's a better actor than I'll ever be. And I love Shelley Duvall in this movie. I thought she was perfect for the role. She didn't really do a lot after that, but honestly, she didn't need to. She was probably set for life after this movie.

Going into this movie I didn't really know what it was about. I only knew "Here's Johnny!" and I thought that he was possessed by the ghost of the guy before him. In a way, I guess he was. But it wasn't possession. His own mind was going that way. Ah, this is hard to explain, so I'm just going to move on.

I absolutely loved the ending, with the picture from the 1920's where he was in it instead of the previous guy. I thought it was a brilliant touch, and just really ended it with the ease and perfection it deserved.

This movie was incredible and amazing and every good adjective in the dictionary. Watch it now.
Watch it.

One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

This weekend I watched an incredible movie called The One Who Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. It has Jack Nicholson in it, and it's about his character who goes to an insane asylum pretending to be crazy to get out of going to jail. 

This movie has some really funny parts, like when he's trying to teach a supposedly deaf dumb person how to play basketball, or when he takes all the people in his ward out on a fishing trip without permission. 

But when it gets really sad and intense towards the end. This movie took me on a roller coaster of emotions. It's a three hour long movie, and during those three hours you really get attached to the characters. You realize why they're all there, you realize their experiences and what brought them to that place, and the way it was made was just beautiful.

It was really interesting how the nurse was antagonized. Most of the time it's the crazy people who are always made the bad guys in this movie, or the criminals, like Mac. But the nurse was seen as the bad guy who was trying to oppress them and try to "help" them by doing unspeakable forms of treatment. 

It was a beautiful movie, and I absolutely adored it. The shots taken were simple, but affective. The music choice was very smart, because most of the time the music was playing on loud speakers for the patients. I loved everything about this movie, and it really showed how Jack Nicholson has a knack for playing crazy characters. I would definitely, 100% recommend this movie. It's worth sitting there for three hours to watch it, and that's coming from someone who's hyperactive and has to move. It kept me entertained the entire time, so I feel like it would keep you entertained as well.