Globalization and Post modernism

One element of The Yiddish Policeman's Union that can be identified as postmodern is the way that Chabon places the Jewish culture in Alaska and incorporates the two different cultures into an everyday way of life for the characters (ex.: Berko Shemets is one character that is half-Jewish and half-Tlingit.). The mobility presented in the novel of being able to completely move one ethnic group almost completely around the world is an excellent example of globalization. Globalization is literally making something that was once bound to an area a piece of the global culture. Another element of the novel that I found to be a phenomenal example of post modernism is the changing of World War II history in the novel. The world of Chabon's novel is very extreme, and it could not have possibly existed in today's world.
Last semester, in another English course, we had to endure reading and watching Children of Men. The story is set in England, a little further in the future than today. However, people can no longer have children. That's the basic premise. Immigration is an extreme problem, because for some reason that I was not able to grasp, everyone wants to get into England. Anyway, while I was reading The Yiddish Policeman's Union, I was somewhat reminded of Children of Men by P.D. James. James presents a dystopian, fragmented world deeply strained by the globalization of people, the decreasing health of the environment, and the fact that people are no longer able to reproduce. The world that Children of Men takes place in is a distorted reflection of our world today, with a few of the minor details changed around. In the novel, all countries (including the United States) have fallen into complete shambles, and the slogan "Only Britain Stands!" is found in many places throughout the film. While the two different novels really don't seem to have much in common, the ideas of globalization and an altered history are what I found epitomized post modernity throughout the works.

Lost in Translation

Often times, when a novel is scripted to become a film, a lot of key elements are lost in the adaptation process. Certain parts of the plot are omitted, some explanations are left out, and the suspense built up from characters' inner monologues are lost amongst all the action taking place on screen.

In the novel The Godfather, Johnny Fontane's character is a much larger part of the story than as depicted in the film. The novel discusses his drinking patterns, struggles within the music industry, his ex-wife and children, as well as his problems with women. In the film, he is simply Vito's godson who encounters a problem with director Jack Woltz. Another character who plays a minor role in the film is Lucy Mancini, but in the novel, a large portion of the plot is focused on her relationship with another unnoticed character, Dr. Jules Segal. Dr. Segal is the man who performs surgery on Michael's face, Johnny's throat, and also performs a cosmetic procedure for Lucy.
One of the memorable sayings from the film The Godfather is "going to the mattresses." Viewers of the film understood that it meant going to war, but many of them do not understand why such a saying has that connotation behind it. In the novel it is described as when the families were at war, each family would find an abandoned apartment and lay mattresses all over the floors so that the button men would have a place to sleep.
The scene in which Michael kills Sollozzo and McCluskey is one of the most memorable in the film. In the novel, author Mario Puzo goes into detail about the thoughts racing through Michael's head just before he pulls the trigger. However, in the film, director Francis Ford Coppola opted instead to use audio during this moment. There is the sound of a train which grows louder and louder as the close-up of Michael comes in closer and closer. This was used to simulate the "rattling" of thoughts in Michael's head.
There are two main colors used throughout the film that are prevalent--orange and black. Coppola's use of black was to set the tone of a dark underworld in which the mafia thrived. His use of orange was simply aesthetic. Orange shows up well on black, so Kay had an orange suit, characters eat oranges like crazy, and there are bowls of oranges on almost every coffee table or desk. To the best of my knowledge, Puzo makes little, if at all, reference to the citrus in the novel.
Many of the changes that appear in this film, as well as other films adapted from novels, are to make the film flow better. The novels are often so detailed and lengthy that some elements need to be eliminated in order for the movie not to be too long or so that the focus of certain scene can be directed at the characters rather than minute details.

Assignment Two

While reading The Big Sleep, I was reminded of the movie “The Black Dahlia” as far as setting is concerned. The movie is set around the same time as the novel, both are based around solving a mystery, and while the novel is much better than the movie, I couldn’t help but picture the same sort of scenes featured in “The Black Dahlia” while reading the novel. Some of the plot was the same, such as the porn ring that is uncovered in both. They are both from the same genre (film noir is the term, I think). The costumes and color schemes used in the film are what I pictured the book to look like. There aren’t really any bright colors most of the time, everything is pretty basic, and when things are really going down, it’s almost as though everything is sepia toned. Also, there is a crazy girl in each one. Carmen is most definitely off of her rocker, and in the film, the girl who was murdered, Elizabeth Short, is just weird. She gives off a very odd vibe in the film. The Big Sleep and “The Black Dahlia” both take place in Los Angeles. “Bucky” and Marlowe are somewhat alike as well. They both get very caught up in their work and become obsessed with solving their cases. They way that they speak is similar as well, as far as how they view women. It has been a while since I’ve seen the movie, but the whole time that I was reading this book, I pictured everything happening as if it were set in “The Black Dahlia.” The way Marlowe describes himself is quite similar to the character that Josh Hartnett portrays in the film. The costumes worn, the cars used, the landscape and setting of the film all sound exactly like what Chandler writes about in his novel. While some of that may just have to deal with the fact that both are set in the same time, I couldn’t have helped these similarities jumping out at me.

Assignment One

My favorite crime or mystery novel is The Godfather. To me, the book shows how a family defends honor and traditions. Respect is what the characters thrive on. The drive for power, money, and honor is the fuel for each of the character's fire. Victor Pugo does a phenomenal job depicting what I would consider an up-dated version of some sort of Roman historical account of betrayal, corruption, and supremacy. Another important aspect of the novel is the importance of family, which I think is one of the things that makes the novel so popular. At the end of the day, all that is left is the family. It is where one's legacy lies and also where one's reputation begins. The movie is really good too, even though a lot of the novel is excluded from the movie. Not to mention, a young Al Pacino is my most favorite thing to watch!