Part I. The Plot

Sequence 1       A young, Black woman wakes up to start her day. Through narration, we learn that her name is Jay and she is college student who is very active on her campus.

Sequence 2       Immediately after waking up, Jay turns off her alarm and checks her phone. She scrolls through Tinder and Groupme, updating herself on what has happened overnight.

Sequence 3       After getting out of bed, Jay continues checking her social media while getting ready for her day. Leaving her room and heading to class, she listens to “Act Up” by the City Girls.

Sequence 4       After class, Jay walks to Paresky to do work. While sitting in Lee’s, her friend approaches her and shows her a meme that she has already seen. They laugh.

Sequence 5       Next, it is time for Jay to do what she does every day–surf the web.

Sequence 6       At a meeting for her group project, Jay and her friends discuss how digital technologies reinscribe and/or eliminate distinctions of race. Jay mentions how there could be a special curator deciding what we see, which we then use to learn about different races and cultures.

Sequence 7      After her meeting, Jay returns to her dorm room and gets ready for bed. As she is in bed, she scrolls through social media on her laptop one last time.

Sequence 8       While she is sleeping, the camera that has been watching her all along zooms in on her face.

Sequence 9        Next, an unknown person watches Jay’s day unfold on screen.                                                                                                             (256 words)

 

Part II. Scene Selection & Analysis (7:10)

In this frame, we see an unknown figure watching Jay as she walks from class to Paresky. The camera, while filming from behind, is shooting the scene from eye-level which allows for audience members to see exactly what the mystery man (or woman) is seeing from the same perspective. Due to the camera’s positioning, we can only see that there is a person, but we cannot tell who they are.

Right before this scene, Jay speaks to her friends as they work on a group project. They speak about whether or not digital technologies affect our understandings of race to which Jay says that they do and that there could possibly be someone watching what we do to determine what it is that we see on social media. The current scene displayed above addresses just that. The  person watching Jay throughout her day could be perceived as the curator of Jay’s social media content. As he or she is watches Jay navigate the spaces of her school, they use her interactions with those around her, as well as past data from her social media activity, to craft what Jay will see the next time she is on her phone. What Jay then sees will determine how she understands the world around her, but especially race.

On the other hand, with the camera’s orientation as is, the identity of the anonymous viewer is open to interpretation and could be assumed to be a random person who is watching Jay and actively surveilling her. Considering cameras everywhere and almost all social media platforms allow us to record, the anonymous viewer could have received this footage from anywhere. While, the information collected from watching Jay will not be used to construct her timeline, it encourages the viewer of our multimedia narrative to be wary of what they do and post because there is always someone watching. While this is unsettling, it reveals the dangers of today’s digital technologies.                                      (325 words)

 

Part I. The Plot

 Sequence 1      Animal rights activists break into the Cambridge Primate Research Centre to free the monkeys. A scientist intervenes and warns them about “rage.” Someone opens the cage anyway and is bitten by one of the monkeys, releasing the virus.

Sequence 2      Jim wakes up in the hospital. He walks around a deserted London, eventually walking into an abandoned church where he comes in contact with some infected people. As Jim is being chased, he is rescued by Selena and Mark.

Sequence 3      The trio travel to Jim’s house where they find that his parents committed suicide. Jim is attacked after lighting a candle and watching videos. Mark is bit by the infected and Selena kills him.

Sequence 4      Selena and Jim continue walking through London when they see an apartment flashing Christmas lights. With help from Frank, they fight off the infected and spend the night in the apartment.

Sequence 5      Without water, Frank decides that it is not best to stay put. He plays the Major West’s broadcast to the group and they set course for Manchester.

Sequence 6      While driving through a bridge and over wreckage, a tire pops. Hannah works to change the tire as the infected begin to run to their location. Hannah is successful and the group escapes.

Sequence 7      While stopping for gas, Jim walks inside a shack where he encounters his first infected alone. It is here that he makes his first kill of the movie.

Sequence 9      They arrive at the 42^nd blockade. Frank becomes infected and a group of soldiers shoot him as he changes.

Sequence 10    The soldiers take Hannah, Selena, and Jim back to the compound. Outside, Jim speaks with Major West who gives him a tour while the soldiers joke around in the background. West introduces Jim to Mailer, a black soldier who has been infected.

Sequence 12    At dinner, a group of infected make their way onto the grounds. The soldiers kill them and retreat to the house where Jim fights off Mitchell to protect Selena.

Sequence 13    West reveals his plan to use the girls to repopulate Great Britain. Jim grabs Hannah and Selena and attempt to run away.

Sequence 14    The soldiers hold Jim (and the Seargent) prisoner. They are taken to the woods where Jim avoids being killed.

Sequence 15    Selena feeds Hannah pills to calm her down. Jim rings the siren to get the soldiers’ attention and frees Mailer who attacks the soldiers. After searching the house and avoiding West, Jim finds and rescues Selena. Hannah meets them and they run to the exit.

Sequence 16    West, sitting inside the car, shoots Jim. Hannah reverses into the house, feeding West to Mailer. Selena and Jim enter the car and Hannah drives off of the property.

Sequence 17    Twenty-eight days later, Jim, Hannah, and Selena try to get the attention of a pilot flying over their “help” sign.

                                                                                                                              (485 words)

 

Part II. Scene Explanation

In this frame, we are provided with a close up of Mailer, an infected solder who is now being used by West as a science experiment. Thid is the first time that we are introduced to Mailer, who will later have an important role in helping Jim defeat the rest of West’s troops. This moment, in particular, occurs following Mailer’s collapse onto the ground after profusely vomiting blood. He is now staring up at Major West and Jim who have entered the yard. Lying in the dirt with red eyes, red lips, and dirty clothes, Mailer appears almost primitive—very similar to the monkeys in the research center at the beginning of the film.

While Jim and Major West are not pictured in the frame, it is apparent that Mailer is staring at them. However, we, the viewer, are also provided with the illusion that he is staring at us. The frame, shot from above, allows us to look down at Mailer from the same perspective, and in the same manner, as Jim. Due to his clothes and skin being the same color as the dirt he is laying in, our eyes are immediately drawn to his face which, with this angle, we are able see as Jim sees—infected, but also humanlike. He is a man who, with the help of the camera angle, dirty clothes, and trembling body, appears to be helpless and, according to Major West, futureless. From this frame, it is obvious that Mailer is a monster and his actions, as well as the noise he makes only enhance this image; yet, because of this angle, he does not appear threatening, instead he looks to be suffering.

However, this is not the way that he is portrayed throughout the entire scene; he behaves as a typical infected: growling, snarling, and jumping at Jim as he enters the yard. Jim, not knowing that Mailer is chained to a post, is immediately scared of the potential dangers that the infected man poses to him. Nevertheless, Jim, a white man, has the upper hand over Mailer, a black man/monster. Not only is Jim uninfected, but he is also free. Mailer, despite being a dangerous being, is at the mercy of Major West and the other soldiers, who, with weapons and free rein, can do anything they want with him.

This image of a vulnerable black man being subjected to violence at the hands of a white man is reminiscent of black men being whipped and tortured during slavery and the hundreds of years following. Mailer’s dark skin, which appears to have been darkened with mud, red eyes, and red lips, only further aids in this connection to slavery and racism as he looks similar to a blackface doll (pictured below for comparison). Just as black men have been depicted as monstrous, so has Mailer. The only difference is that Mailer’s blood is infected with a virus, while the blood of real-life black men is only believed to be infected/contaminated.

                                                                                                                              (500 words)

Part I. The Plot

Sequence 1 Asmiov’s “Three Laws of Robotics” are presented one by one. In between each law, the camera cuts to images of two people trapped in separate cars. One car contains Spooner who is saved by the robot. Next, Spooner awakens and the nightmare ends.

Sequence 2  We are introduced to a futuristic Chicago in the year 2035, where humans and robots share the streets. Spooner arrives at his grandmother’s house where she informs him of the robot lottery. This is where we learn of Spooner’s distrust of robots. When he leaves, he sees a robot running with a purse and chases after it, accusing it of stealing. He was wrong and at work, he is teased him about it.

Sequence 3   Spooner receives a call from Dr. Lanning’s hologram. At the scene, he finds Dr. Lanning dead. He speaks with Lawrence who does not question the death being a suicide. Spooner remains skeptical and begins to search the facility. He is introduced to Viki, USR’s supercomputer, and looks for surveillance footage. Finding none, he enters Dr. Lanning’s room where he finds and fights with Sonny.

Sequence 4   Spooner and Susan arrive at the robot construction facility to find Sonny. Sonny attacks him and leaves the building where he is captured and detained.

Sequence 5   Spooner questions Sonny who denies killing the doctor. He, instead, mentions that Dr. Lanning has taught him human emotions. Lawrence, calling Sonny an anomaly, orders for him to be destroyed. Later, Spooner searches Dr. Lanning’s home where he is almost killed after the demolition time suddenly changes. He tells Susan, but she does not believe him.

Sequence 6   Susan learns that Sonny can dream. Next, Spooner is attacked by robots that were summoned by Lawrence. We learn that one of Spooner’s arms is robotic.

Sequence 7   Susan learns about the accident and Spooner’s robotic arm. Spooner proposes that Lanning gave Sonny a way to keep secrets. They visit Sonny who draws a picture of one of his dreams.

Sequence 8   Spooner visits the location in Sonny’s dream and finds the new robots killing the old ones. Meanwhile, Susan is “destroying” Sonny while Lawrence watches.

Sequence 9   The robot revolution begins and Susan and Spooner sneak into the USR, with the help of Sonny, to end it. They walk to Lawrence’s office to override the system and find him dead. Here, they learn that Viki is in charge of the revolution, so they work to kill her.

Sequence 10 Sonny retrieves the nanites, causing Viki to send robots after Susan, Spooner, and Sonny. At Viki’s brain, Susan and Spooner fight off robots. Sonny enters with the nanites. He saves Susan (because Spooner tells him to) as Spooner jumps down to inject the nanites into the “brain.” Viki dies.

Sequence 11 The robots return to normal and are called to be stored away. Spooner and Sonny settle their differences. Last, we see Sonny standing on the hill from his dream surrounded by other robots, fulfilling the prophecy.

                                                                                                                              (493 words)

 

Part II. Scene Explanation

            In this scene, Susan has learned about Spooner’s relationship with Dr. Lanning—the man who attached Spooner’s robotic arm after he lost it during the car accident. She is amazed by how real it looks and takes it upon herself to feel the arm. She squeezes and touches Spooner’s left arm, beginning with his hand and ending at his shoulder blade.

In this frame, particularly, the director provides us with a close shot of Spooner’s chest, with a specific focus on the area where the robotic arm meets Spooner’s shoulder blade. The position of Susan’s hand place emphasis on what appears to be veins, but are actually wires that connect the human and the mechanical parts of his body. This reveals how closely related Spooner is to the beings he hates. Although he is not a complete robot, one of the most central parts of his body is and is the only thing that allows him to appear and behave as a “normal” human being. Had he not received this prosthetic arm, he would have probably lost his job, however, a piece of robotic equipment has allowed him to live his life as he had before the accident. Nonetheless, despite Spooner experiencing firsthand, the wonders of robotics—including being saved by one—he remains skeptical of them and continues to detest them.

Additionally, the way that Susan touches Spooner’s arm serves as a way of humanizing him, even after we have learned that he is part robot. With dark lighting, Susan’s white hands bring light to Spooner and his mechanical arm, showing that the arm, although not real, is not a bad and scary thing. This is contrasted with the first time we learned about Spooner’s arm; he was fighting a robot and punched the ground. As a viewer, we expected his hand to break, but it did not, highlight the damage and dangers of the mechanical arm. This scene, on the other hand, shows that the arm is just an extension of a human Spooner. The cameras angle serves to make Spooner appear less threatening as a black man; the frame is shot from below, cutting off the heads of both Susan and Spooner and making them appear closer in height. The height and build of black men is what has been used in the past to describe them as aggressive and menacing, but now the camera angle and Susan’s hands are telling the viewer that Spooner is good—he is safe.

Contrarily, the frame also others Spooner in a way. It is slightly reminiscent of a slave auction in which auctioneers and prospective slave owners felt and squeezed the arms of male slaves to gauge how strong they were. This reminds the viewer that Spooner is black and that even though he is a human, he is still different and not necessarily, in a good way.

                                                                                                                              (478 words)

 

Part I. The Plot

Sequence 1  Janie walks back into Eatonville barefoot. As she enters town, the men and women gossip about her, saying that Teacake has used her for her money and left.

Sequence 2   Janie is hanging up clothing in her grandmother’s yard. While completing this task, she sees Johnnie Taylor, who she runs to and kisses. Nanny, upset that Janie is beginning to partake in sexual actions, tells her that Janie that will be getting married. Upset, Janie runs to the lake where she “watches God.”

Sequence 3  Nanny tells Janie how to take care of a home before sending her to be with Logan. Janie works the grounds and takes care of Logan’s home. When Logan leaves, she asks to go with him, but he reminds her that her place is in the home. It is while he is away, that we meet Joe Starks.

Sequence 4   Janie travels with Joe to Eatonville where he becomes mayor. As everyone prepares for the lighting of the streetlight, the women make Janie a dress. Joe puts Janie in a more expensive dress, telling Janie that her other dress is not fit for a Mayor’s wife. While at the ceremony, Janie hears the women saying how Janie thinks that she is too good to wear the dress. Amos asks Janie to speak, but Joe dismisses the idea, stating that he did not marry Janie for her speechmaking skills. Later, he tells Janie that she ought to be glad to be Mrs. Mayor.

Sequence 5   Joe sees Amos touch Janie’s hair, so he makes her wrap it up. In the house, Janie wraps her hair and begins her life as Joe’s “proper” wife. For the next twenty years, she only leaves the house to bring Joe his meals. One day, she gets into a fight with Joe and she moves in with Phoebe.

Sequence 6   Joe dies and Janie feels free. She then meets Teacake, who allows Janie to be herself. However, the other residents begin to speak ill of her, calling her a fool. Janie leaves with Teacake and the women say she’ll be back before she knows it.

Sequence 7   Janie moves to Jacksonville, where she marries Teacake. One morning, she wakes up to find Teacake and her money missing. He comes home, tells her that he gambled it away, and Janie forgives him.

Sequence 8   They move to the Everglades, where Janie and Teacake work in the bean fields.

Sequence 9   Everyone except Teacake and Janie leave town as the hurricane approaches.  During the hurricane, Teacake is bitten by a dog trying to protect Janie.

Sequence 10 Teacake becomes deranged and pulls a gun out on Janie. Janie responds by pointing a gun back at him. After letting him pull the trigger three times, Janie shoots back. He dies in her arms.

Sequence 11 After telling Phoebe her story, Janie runs to the water to “watch God.”

                                                                                                                              (499 words)

Part II. Scene Explanation

In this scene, the camera captures a wide shot of Janie standing on the porch of the general store, watching the men play checkers, while Joe sits inside and watches. She is very close to the center of the shot which causes us, the viewers, to focus more on her, her positioning, and her actions. Her much lighter skin, in comparison to the other actors, also draws our attention towards her. It is at this point in the scene, that Janie is telling Amos that the move he is making is a good one. However, as a proper woman and wife, she is not supposed to fraternize with men that are not her husband or know how to play checkers because, at the time, it was considered a man’s game. Thus, her position next to Amos, and reactions to the game causes Joe to become suspicious of her actions. The camera, itself, is shooting from the left to place Janie closer to Amos than she appears to be in subsequent shots.

Slightly left from the center of the frame, we see Joe sitting at his desk at the general store. This positioning tells us that our focus should be on him as well. We cannot see the expression on his face yet, but from the dark lighting, we can tell that he is not happy. The blurriness allows us to imagine whatever expression we want, but the darkness of the room lets us know that whatever expression we imagine, it should not be one that shows happiness. The darkness also makes it appear that Joe is menacing and he is dominating the scene even though he is not the primary focus of the frame.

Although Janie immediately captures the attention of the viewer, she is not the only woman on the porch. There are two other women standing near Amos’s opponent. They are also watching the game, but they do not face the same consequences as Janie. This is because Janie is held to a higher standard. She is the mayor’s wife and, according to Joe, cannot do what other women do. Later in the film, Joe tells Janie that she is better than the other women in Eatonville, but even before that scene, his reaction to her behaving as a “common woman” informs us that she is different. Any interaction with men other than Joe undermines his authority which he demands that everyone respects, including and especially Janie.

The scene displays the controlling aspects of Joe’s personality that Janie did not see until after this scene took place. Additionally, this scene marks an important change in their relationship as it is at this time that their marriage began to spiral downwards. Janie wanted to be free, live, and love, but Joe wanted her to be the proper wife—seen and not heard. He did not like how outspoken and carefree she was, so he took it upon himself to cover her and keep her in the house, where the woman “belonged” during that time.

                                                                                                                              (500 words)

 

Disclaimer: This structural analysis was completed on a frame from Their Eyes Were Watching God as to aid me in analyzing the film for my Dossier project.