Kathlyn Gomendoza
EG102
Professor Amy Chastain
14 July 2016
Walter Mitty: A Fun Film For Following Dreams
“Stop dreaming. Start living” (“The Secret Life of Walter Mitty Taglines”). The tagline for the 2013 movie, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, may repel some moviegoers before they even see it. From the beginning, it is clearly a find-yourself kind of tale. For those who do not enjoy the movies in that genre, which can often ring like self-help books smattered with cerebral existential questions and a brutal take-home message that the average human is wasting his life in everyday humdrum, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty’s initial premise may be a turnoff. Useful as such reminders may be, the average moviegoer attends the cinema for entertainment. As Mick LaSalle, a critic for the San Francisco Gate, so aptly put into words, “Why shouldn't we grasp the chance to show just how beautiful and sensitive we truly are? Alas, the harsh answer to that question is that nobody wants to see it” (LaSalle). Optimism for the human condition makes for interesting discussion, but does it make an entertaining movie for the general public? Usually, not so much. However, in spite of its obvious message, The Secret of Life of Walter Mitty stands out amongst the movies of its genre. With a blend of a charming main
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Yes, it is definitely a find-yourself, feel-good type of film; the live-your-dream themes expected of a movie are undeniably present. However, it is one that does not take itself too seriously. It is a humorous, enchanting, and surprisingly exciting movie that sets itself apart from others in its genre with a lovable main character, an engaging plot, and beautiful cinematography. As such, it is a movie that people of many demographics can enjoy, not limited to people who enjoy drama stories with the theme of self-actualization. In the end, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is a fun film about following
In the story of Walter Mitty by James Thurber, Walter Mitty is a static character and in the movie Walter Mitty by Ben Stiller, Walter is made a dynamic character so that the movies is more exciting than the book. In the story Walter stays a boring character who doesn’t do much at all, while in the movie he becomes the adventurous character he has dreamed about. In the end of the story Walter was happy about “facing the firing squad”. Since Walter never had the life he wanted he just wanted to die, unlike the movie where he had done so many things that he got himself a date when he was the most happy. In the story Walter kept dreaming throughout the day being triggered by little things to go off into his own world, but in the movie Walter
Thurber, James. “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.” 1942. 21 Great Stories. Ed. Abraham H.Lass and Norma L. Tasman. New York: Mentor, 1969. 272-277.
In the short story, “ The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty” written by James Thurber, it describes a man who while in the midst of everyday life, floats off into daydream that often cause him more trouble than it is worth. His wife, Mrs. Mitty, on the surface does not seem like a well-rounded character. It always seems her life’s mission is to demean Walter and to always use her overbearing nature to nag him. However, there may be more to this character than what meets the eye. I believe that Mrs. Mitty is actually a well-rounded character in the fact that she only acts the way she does only for her husband and his well-being.
Name of serial killer: My serial killer is named Richard Chase. He was also known as the “Vampire of Sacramento” or the “Dracula Killer”.
The secret Life of Walter Mitty was both an intriguing short story and film that contained symbolism all throughout. Although the short story and movie were quite different in terms of the story, the symbolism that was shown delivered the same effect. In the movie, symbolism was shown in the scenery, beards and images. While on the other hand, the short story used the Over shoes and gloves, Walters actions and sounds to direct the authors message. Walters’s imagination is the one constant in each respective piece, which helped deliver the same message in the two, but very different, stories of the Secret Life of Walter Mitty.
Life is about finding yourself, each other, and being true to one’s self. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is an extremely original and creative story written by James Thurber. The movie, The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty, starring Ben Stiller, conveys a daydreamer escaping his typical life by disappearing into a realm of fantasies filled with heroism, romance and action. In both the movie and the book, the title character retreats into fantasy as an escape from his mundane reality because in the real world, he is ordinary, insecure, and passive. In the short story, Walter simply retreats into his daydreams and tolerates his domineering wife, while in the movie he actively pursues finding himself.
Classic narrative cinema is what Bordwell, Staiger and Thompson (The classic Hollywood Cinema, Columbia University press 1985) 1, calls “an excessively obvious cinema”1 in which cinematic style serves to explain and not to obscure the narrative. In this way it is made up of motivated events that lead the spectator to its inevitable conclusion. It causes the spectator to have an emotional investment in this conclusion coming to pass which in turn makes the predictable the most desirable outcome. The films are structured to create an atmosphere of verisimilitude, which is to give a perception of reality. On closer inspection it they are often far from realistic in a social sense but possibly portray a realism desired by the patriarchal and family value orientated society of the time. I feel that it is often the black and white representation of good and evil that creates such an atmosphere of predic...
Have you ever stopped for a moment to contemplate where you are in life? If you haven’t, then take a moment right now to imagine where you are and where you would like to be. All of the actions you have taken, thoughts you have had, and the persona you convey have created the life you have lived thus far. In the movie The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, the main character Walter Mitty has a habit of daydreaming to escape his mediocre life for a more “enhanced” life where he fantasizes about a richer and more rewarding existence. Throughout the film, Walter is able to foster
The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty - Character Study of Walter Mitty & nbsp; In the short story, "The secret life of Walter Mitty," a man by the Walter Mitty goes into town with his wife to get some things done. Throughout this story Walter Mitty shows that he is very forgetful and a a really stubborn man with a vivid imagination. He is constantly being distracted, and starts to day dream often. & nbsp; There are a few hints in this story that show Walter Mitty is very forgetful. Most of this is probably caused by his constant day dreaming.
What would be the consequences of living vicariously through another person? The life of an individual who does not live every day to his or her fullest extent is a restricting one. Humorous author, James Thurber, in his short story, “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,” shares the tale of Walter Mitty, a man who lives an unhappy life in the city obeying his wife’s every wish and command, daydreams to escape the sad constricting reality of his life. In Ben Stiller’s story-based film, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Walter Mitty takes real-life action to find love, adventure, and respect from a demeaning boss who takes the lead position of remodeling Life Magazine from a physical to an online magazine. Ben Stiller and James Thurber utilize allusion,
‘The Secret Life of Walter Mitty’ is about a boring man who has a lot of daydreams. It was originally a short story by James Thurber, but was also made into a movie. The way that the story is presented in both is a key factor in either’s success, and when compared, the two are very different. For example, in the short story, Walter has little to no character development, but in the movie, nearly the entire production is him being put through a lot of situations that let us see more of the true character of Walter Mitty. This example and others is what makes the movie adaptation of ‘The Secret Life of Walter Mitty’ better than that of the short story.
The film The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, directed by Ben Stiller, thoughtfully explores the timeless theme of identity: through Walter (played by Stiller), Stiller reminds that adversity is necessary in one’s life in order to bring about growth and change. Through the detailed presentation of the minutiae of Walter Mitty’s day, the viewer understands that he is a man stuck in a rut of existing rather than living. The film opens with images of Walter’s apartment: nothing out of place, nothing with colour, even Walter, himself, is dressed in black and white. Despite this mundane opening, there are elements of humor (an error sending a wink on a dating site and dreams of super-human rescue missions), and this accurately depicts Walter’s internal
“The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” expresses the theme that satisfaction is harder for those who are not normal. With all of Walter Mitty’s daydreams in between everything that he does, it shows that his actual life is lacking something that he desires.
In conclusion, I believe that if Walter Mitty didn't have a nagging wife, then he would've had a way better life. As we see throughout the story, we can tell he was on those missions because of his wife and he wanted to get away from her. The short story, “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” was a good short story to read and it taught me a lot about how his life went and what he did to change it. It had a lot of different elements of literature, but the best one I saw was
middle of paper ... ... Another theme James Thurber includes in his work is the life of a married couple. Thurber has accomplished many great short shorties in his life, but “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” is his most popular work. He has learned to live his life through his short stories, expressing his feelings in his writings.