Ada Loo
Ms. Barklow
Monsters and Misfits
02 December 2018
The Nightmare Before the Statement
For my source, I decided to choose The Nightmare Before Christmas by Tim Burton (1993) directed by Henry Selick. The source material explores the cultural fear of being taken over. In the film, Jack Skellington is considered to be the face of Halloween in his realm, he soon discovers other realms containing other holidays. He comes to the realization that there are other holidays besides Halloween and decides to explore Christmas. There he sees the different types of traditions and decor. After being entranced by the concept of Christmas, he then decides to take over the holiday and attempt to be Santa. I believe that this correlates to how when people discover another culture they don’t appreciate it but rather take over it as their own. There are many instances of this happening throughout history and those who are native to the culture are often dissed. Those that are taking over have a monstrous aspect to them as while those being taken over are considered to be misfits in the now confusing world. In my adaptation, I want to emphasize how invasive people can be towards other cultures as I believe that they should rather respect them. I want to show how monsters can create misfits.
I really enjoyed the use of stop-motion animation, I thought that it was really intriguing and fascinating. I loved the design of the characters, it set the mood of playful but spooky all at once. I also enjoyed the story line, I thought it was well written. I thought it was interesting that it showed how the humans fought the unknown with violence immediately after discovering. There wasn’t much that I disliked, I would have enjoyed if they incorporated some of the other holidays in it. I do understand that if they were too then it might be a little too overwhelming for one film. I wouldn’t change it but, it would be interesting if they made a sequel with the other holidays. It would also be fascinating if they discussed the relationship of the holidays to the humans or how the holiday's relation to each other. It would have been cool in the movie but, it would have most likely taken away from the plot.
I doubt that changing the setting would do much to the story as the characters and their action have a bigger effect on the story. The change in the time period may affect it as, in the more present time of 2018 people are more skeptical and curious as well as dangerous. I feel like the characters would be captured and dissected, people would fight about whether this was ethical or not. If they changed how the humans reacted or Santa’s reaction. Then Jack Skellington wouldn’t have had the reflection of his characteristics. I feel as though the moral of the story would change to maybe a more negative aspect. A sequel or prequel wouldn't change the message but it might provide more incite. For example, if a prequel were to be added, it would give more insight into why Jack Skellington behaves the way he does or how the holidays came about. A sequel wouldn’t do much as it might show the aftershock of the humans or maybe show much more of how the characters behave as well as discuss the origin of the holidays.
In my adaptation, I would like to show the unity of misfits and fight the monsters. I want to talk about how society treats those that are considered to be different. As well as emphasizes societies monstrous behaviors that humans have created. I want to show how destructive humans/ society can be towards others and their cultures. I want my audience to start to see how monstrous the society we are born into is dangerous. As well as see how we fuel the beast and know how we can change it.
Ms. Barklow
Monsters and Misfits
02 December 2018
The Nightmare Before the Statement
For my source, I decided to choose The Nightmare Before Christmas by Tim Burton (1993) directed by Henry Selick. The source material explores the cultural fear of being taken over. In the film, Jack Skellington is considered to be the face of Halloween in his realm, he soon discovers other realms containing other holidays. He comes to the realization that there are other holidays besides Halloween and decides to explore Christmas. There he sees the different types of traditions and decor. After being entranced by the concept of Christmas, he then decides to take over the holiday and attempt to be Santa. I believe that this correlates to how when people discover another culture they don’t appreciate it but rather take over it as their own. There are many instances of this happening throughout history and those who are native to the culture are often dissed. Those that are taking over have a monstrous aspect to them as while those being taken over are considered to be misfits in the now confusing world. In my adaptation, I want to emphasize how invasive people can be towards other cultures as I believe that they should rather respect them. I want to show how monsters can create misfits.
I really enjoyed the use of stop-motion animation, I thought that it was really intriguing and fascinating. I loved the design of the characters, it set the mood of playful but spooky all at once. I also enjoyed the story line, I thought it was well written. I thought it was interesting that it showed how the humans fought the unknown with violence immediately after discovering. There wasn’t much that I disliked, I would have enjoyed if they incorporated some of the other holidays in it. I do understand that if they were too then it might be a little too overwhelming for one film. I wouldn’t change it but, it would be interesting if they made a sequel with the other holidays. It would also be fascinating if they discussed the relationship of the holidays to the humans or how the holiday's relation to each other. It would have been cool in the movie but, it would have most likely taken away from the plot.
I doubt that changing the setting would do much to the story as the characters and their action have a bigger effect on the story. The change in the time period may affect it as, in the more present time of 2018 people are more skeptical and curious as well as dangerous. I feel like the characters would be captured and dissected, people would fight about whether this was ethical or not. If they changed how the humans reacted or Santa’s reaction. Then Jack Skellington wouldn’t have had the reflection of his characteristics. I feel as though the moral of the story would change to maybe a more negative aspect. A sequel or prequel wouldn't change the message but it might provide more incite. For example, if a prequel were to be added, it would give more insight into why Jack Skellington behaves the way he does or how the holidays came about. A sequel wouldn’t do much as it might show the aftershock of the humans or maybe show much more of how the characters behave as well as discuss the origin of the holidays.
In my adaptation, I would like to show the unity of misfits and fight the monsters. I want to talk about how society treats those that are considered to be different. As well as emphasizes societies monstrous behaviors that humans have created. I want to show how destructive humans/ society can be towards others and their cultures. I want my audience to start to see how monstrous the society we are born into is dangerous. As well as see how we fuel the beast and know how we can change it.