Ghouls, vampires, dark, and infested creatures of the night all need a song to lift their ghostly spirits and show the true meaning of Halloween to those still willing to believe. There is no better ghastly musical number to do just that than “This is Halloween” from the 1993 film The Nightmare before Christmas by Danny Elfman. First, this song is not meant to scare the young trick or treaters during this joyous and gruesome holiday, but to bring people together to celebrate a day in which fear and superstitions are welcomed just as the characters in Halloween Town celebrate Halloween. Second, in most cases, hearing the song and watching the movie is considered a tradition. Sparking the spirit of Halloween in to every festive individual. Finally,
Halloween was not supposed to be like that, it was supposed to be more like when I was a kid. Houses would be decorated, jack-o-lanterns would be sitting near doors, and
What boy hasn't wanted to chase their younger siblings around their house with pegs on all ten of their fingers pretending to be a monster/ we the movie, Edward Scissorhands (1990), scouts this captivating idea and basically turns it into a movie. The film was directed by Tim Burton, who also directed the movies, The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993), Corpse Bride(2005), and Batman 1989. The film does a great job on highlighting the main message of the movie which is Difference. It is a classic movie when it comes to the utilisation of, visual language, film codes and narrative techniques.
Even though the Day of the Dead and Halloween are both offshoots of all Saints' and all Souls' Days, their tone couldn't be more diverse. Halloween's images of skeletons and spirits emphasize on the frightening, gruesome, and ghoulish parts of the celebration. Society jolts, if delightfully, at the alleged terrifying spirits intimidating the living realm. On Day of the Dead, the focus isn't on personal menacing spooks, it's on celebrating with one's family alive and dead and recalling those who are no longer alive. It's on seeing death as another phase succeeding existence, rather being confronted with
Halloween is the time of the year when people dress up and have fun scaring people. Christmas is the time of the year full of joy and happiness. All though these two holidays are quite the opposite, some people find it hard to determine what type of movie The Nightmare Before Christmas is. There are two different sides, the people who think it’s a Halloween movie and the people who think it's a Christmas movie. I personally feel and believe that The Nightmare Before Christmas is a Christmas movie. I feel this way because after watching the movie multiple times, I’ve come up with many valid reasons that can make your mind change to stand with me on the side of people who also believe it’s a Christmas movie.Those reasons include the movie’s
Christmas Under fire is a World War II propaganda film created by the G.P.O film unit under the instruction of the Ministry of Information. It was released in 1941 in an attempt to get the isolated United States to engage Germany and the Axis powers in World War II. The purpose of the film according to the director Harry Watt was to make Americans feel “Uncomfortable while they celebrated Christmas.”(Sarah Street, 79). The film showed the Christmas of 1940 which occurred at the height of the Blitz of London. The Blitz of London was a period of intense aerial bombing of London and the surrounding area. These attacks happened in night-time raids to instill fear and destroy the morale of the British people. The government used its control over the media to maintain the appearance that life was going on as normal despite the nightly bombings. This is apparent in other propaganda films, such as “London can take it”. Which is the prequel to Christmas under Fire.
The song sets the scene for the whole movies, showing that this town is all about the Halloween holiday, it’s horror, darkness, and ghoulish characters. Jack seems to be happy, but when the townspeople are not around, he shows a different part of himself. The audience becomes aware of his sorrow through a song, sung by Jack, that “Jack, the Pumpkin King, grows tired of his crown,” (Thompson). Sally is a supporting character that, from the beginning of the story, is completely gutless, and everyone around her seems to dominate over her. According to Cameron Cubbison’s “How to Write a Coherent Character Sheet,” both of these characters are ideal because of the backstories built behind them. With Jack being the Skeleton King, and Sally being controlled by others, especially her “father” the Evil Scientist. As Jack is walking away, unknowingly to Sally, she does try to stand up for herself by telling Jack, that she understands what he is going through. She fails to get the attention of Jack, and feels sorrowful. Thompson allows for a clear opening for next scene by showing that Sally picks some Deadly Night Shade, creating suspension and foreshadowing on what she will do with
Late autumn has arrived and with it comes the dark magic of Halloween--and, of course, the
Based on a series of Brothers Grimm fairy tales, Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods (1987) focuses on fairy tale characters such as Cinderella, Jack and Little Red Riding Hood’s wish of life fulfillment. Numerous fairy tales are intertwined with one new tale in attempt to carry the childhood stories into an adult realm without ridding of their child-based sensibilities. (Knapp, 2009.) Little Red’s song, “I know things now” is performed after she escapes the wolf’s belly. It is a reflection song on what she has learnt from the experience of speaking to strangers. Sondheim cleverly integrates musical devises such as key, modulation, pitch, accompaniment, dynamics, motif and rhythm alongside language and literary devices to contribute to the development and growth of the character and story.
The Disney movie Tangled is an entertaining spin off of the fairy tale Rapunzel.The movie was released November 24, 2010.This movie really stands out from other Disney movies because it was one of the first movies to lead into the idea that girls can be the heros too. The film draws people in with the twisty plot, interesting characters and the catchy music.
The song "Brain Damage" is played as the scarecrow sings "If I Only Had a Brain."
Many people suffer from bad dreams, often referred to as nightmares, every night. It is not uncommon to experience fright filled slumber from time to time, but some people are inclined to suffer more often than an occasional bad dream. While some mental health professionals believe nightmares reduce mental tensions by allowing the mind to act out its fears, new research suggests that bad dreams are more likely to increase anxiety in everyday life. In addition to life’s anxieties, what other factors contribute to nightmares and why?
On the night of October 31 every year, millions of citizens across the United States and elsewhere dress up in costumes to walk down their local neighborhoods asking for candy or “trick-or-treating”. Strangely, Halloween was not always this way. In fact, the origins of Halloween had nothing to do with getting candy or scaring other people. In today’s society, commercialism keeps Halloween alive. Halloween accessories are in stores around September or earlier to encourage widespread purchases of various costumes and candies. In other cultures, there are spiritual celebrations that influenced modern American Halloween. Present Halloween has been influenced by spiritual celebrations of other cultures, historical events, and commercialism.
Different from other types of films, the music in Phantom of the Opera was used by all the characters, as a way to tell their part of the story. The music created a convincing surrounding for the film, guided the audiences. The music was constantly a signifier of emotion, as the characters expressed their feelings through the songs. The music score was an emotional and scary score that tied into their diegetic/non-diegetic singing, giving the main characters an identity, specifying situations and places to help connect certain points. When we hear the dark music play throughout the movie, it plays a certain theme, that theme gives the viewers a clear hint of who or what the music is talking about. Another example of signifier of emotion was in The Devil Wears Prada, where the film used either fast upbeat songs for when Andy walks all around the city, running errands for Miranda, or romantic alternative music when Andy is with her boyfriend and true friends (The Phantom of the Opera/The Devil Wears
Though Halloween has moved away from the pagan beliefs of the dead crossing over, many people remain superstitious of ghosts and forty-two percent of Americans reported believing in them (Handwerk). The changes in how Halloween is represented reflect the changing expectations and values of culture. The Celts, who lived in a world without modern medicine and survival was based on chance, believed in Samhain and magic to explain the world around them. In an era of science and strong religious influence, superstitions are still present, but are not used to explain the world as they once were. Coupled with Halloween’s commercialization and intentional campaigns to engage the youth, this explains why Halloween has largely moved away from the supernatural and more into the materialistic
Christmas to me is a celebration, which includes spending time with my family, decorating the entire house, inside and out, and shopping, for the people I love. Doing this with the people I love is what means the most to me. Spending Christmas with my family is very important to me. We usually gather and celebrate at my parent’s house, in East Tennessee. My husband, our three children, and myself travel from California. My two sisters, their husbands, and children come from a nearby town, for our celebration.