Week VII

Friedman and Buckland:

Excerpts discussed in another entry.

Gordon, Andrew; "E.T. as Fairy Tale":

Summary:

Gordon begins by giving a surface comparision of the ways in which Close Encounters and E.T. are alike: childlike heroes, scientist villains, and benevolent extra-terrestrials with "magic" powers. However, Gordon also finds that the faults which make the first movie unforgiveable are entirely excusable in E.T. This, Gordon decides is largely attributable to three factors:
1. The characters in E.T. are fully developed.
2. E.T.s sense of sentimentality is balanced with a sense of humor.
3. The film is presented from a child's-eye view rather than through the eyes of an adult acting like a child.
Gordon goes on to ruminate on Speilberg's three "suburban fantasies: Close Encounters, Poltergeist, and E.T.. He concludes that of these films, all of which transform suburban settings into fairy tale habitats where the extraordinary interacts with the everyday, E.T. is the most commercially and artistically successful. The creature of E.T. specifically fits many categories of the fantasy hero: he is a "Frog King", an animal which becomes a human being, the eternal child which embodies elements of both child and god, the mentor which helps Elliot, the archetypal neglected, friendless fairy tale child find his hidden powers, and a symbol of phallic power which must resolve the Oedipal crisis.
Ultimately, Gordon concludes that E.T. is more satisfying because each of these complexities, in both narrative and character, give it a far-reaching appeal.

Thoughts:

The aspect of this article I liked the most was the part that was focued on least: how Spielberg creates fantasy stories in ordinary worlds and how ultimately successful or unsuccessful he is in doing so based on the different methods he uses in each of these "suburban fantasies." Regardless, I liked the exploration of the character of E.T. in order to obtain an explanation of why we find him so endearing.

Bick, Ilsa; "The Look Back in E.T.":

Summary:

An article focused on how E.T. explores three (mostly Fruedian) themes: the negation of the phallus via the absence of male role models, the role of the mother and her presentation as both childlike and overtly sexualized, and a (non-Fruedian) examination of presentation of reality and the invention of the past.

Thoughts:

I understood next to nothing in this article. The language was unclear and the concepts confusing. the things I liked, such as the examination of how adult characters are presented, was done in the context of theories that either didn't make sense or didn't convince me. Nope. I just don't get it.