Day of the Locusts

Day of the Locusts by Nathaneal West

So I only got a few pages into the book by the time it was class time. It was the only time so far I haven't finished a reading on-time, and it was because I really needed to focus on my CA senior thesis that week.

I did make time to read the entire work the next week because the class discussion was interesting and made me want to read more. It's hard to read one book a week being an animation major as it is, so I couldn't really digest this book because I did do a lot of skimming. I guess it was better than nothing though. I love reading and I miss it when I'm at school because I never have the time to actually relax and enjoy a paperback.

I did have some trouble getting into this book, and I think it's partially because I was so distracted with my thesis, but also because of the writing itself. The .pdf file was in a terrible format too and made it almost impossible to read. I'm used to reading long, almost painterly descriptions of even the simplest details in an environment, but there's something that seems almost surreal about West's writing. It's almost like trying to read into a crazy person's mind at times.

What I did like about this book was the idea of the "American dream," and how the characters in the novel all go to Hollywood to try and fulfill theirs. And each character in turn is a typical Hollywood stereotype of that era. I think West thought the idea of the American dream was fake, a fraud. What I found really interesting was that his idea of these deluded, pretty desperate, people trying to catch someone's interest in Hollywood is still very apparent today. It may be even more them among us today than there was in West's day. Faye Greener, in my opinion, is very much an allegory for Hollywood itself; a shiny lure many a helpless chump looking to believe in instant celebrity status and their 15-minutes of fame.

What this novel does do very well is makes us hold a mirror up and examine all of our flaws below the make-up.

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Where am I "situated" in the history of film?

I feel like this is a great time to be going into the animation industry because right now there still seems to be a high demand despite the economy being what it is. The animation industry is growing and new studios are opening up, like Tradition Studios for Digital Domain is going to be hiring 200 people to start production on their first full-feature animated movie around the time I graduate in May.

I also think it's an even better time to be a woman in the animation field. Right now, there are very few female animators when compared to all of the men in the industry. There are more and more women finding jobs because of their drive and talent in what used to be "such a man's world." Now-a-days if you do good work you are recognized for it whether you're a man or a woman (or at least most of the time, depends on the company really).

For many years at Walt Disney animation, women were only given jobs at what they called the "nunnery," or rather, the Ink and Paint Department. I guess during the early years it was assumed that women would only work there until they found a husband and then would soon leave so they could start a family.

Even at such an animation legend studio like Pixar has now donned their first movie with a female lead character, as well as their first female director for their upcoming release Brave (so excited!!). Although Brenda Chapman is actually only co-directing, and I found that in a few news articles about the movie they left her name out as director and only mentioned Mark Andrews.


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American Film Timeline
Pre-1920s
- optical toys and visual tricks invented to show illusion of motion
- Thomas Edision and William K.L. Dickson developed cinema technologies
- silent film era

1900
- James Stuart Blackton "The Enchanting Drawing" (stop-motion/action animation)

1904
- narrative film becomes dominant

1907
- film-makers first arrive in Los Angeles, California

1908
- over 8,000 movie theaters (nickelodeons) in the U.S.
- first real horror film "Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde" premiered in Chicago (16 minutes)

1909
- over 9,000 movie theaters in the U.S. (typical film only 1 reel long/10-12 minutes)
- first feature-length film (in U.S.) "Les Miserables"
- NY Times coined word "stars" for leading movie actors
- 35mm recognized as international standard film

1920s
- use of sound integrated in late 1920s "The Jazz Singer"
- silent film actors found themselves out of work
- 1922: Will H. Hays formed Motion Pictures Association of America (current name)

"Golden Age of Hollywood"
- late 1920s to early 1960s
- thousands of movies released in Hollywood
- formulas: Western, slapstick comedy, musical, animated cartoon, and biographical pictures
- studios like Paramount Pictures, 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros., MGM formed to make a studio system

1930s
- Walt Disney's animation company
- depression era, people wanted happy films
- money in Hollywood, President Franklin Roosevelt partnered for national campaign

1940s
- studio system began to decline with the increased popularity of television
- number of movies being produced annually dropped

1950s
- Hollywood movie studios no longer owned movie theaters

1960s
- 1968: film rating system put into effect
- "New Hollywood": storytelling methods changing (e.g. "twist endings," and Hitchcock's Psycho)

1970s
- "blockbuster" rise (e.g. The Exorcist, Jaws, Star Wars): studio only focuses on a handful of films each year, emphasize spectacle, star power, and high production values
- studio focus on producing enormous hits
- HBO (Home Box Office) success/profitability in mid-1970s spurs cable TV growth, then satellite TV

1980-90s
- home video market rises
- premium movie channels develop: HBO, Cinemax, Disney Channel, American Movie Classics, PPV
- films failing in theaters successful in video market (e.g. The Secret of NIMH and The Shawshank Redemption)
- Quentin Tarantino and other directors able to view thousands of films to influence their own work
- independent film-making/low-cost

- Busiest Hollywood actors 1990s: Samuel L. Jackson (36 films), Whoopi Goldberg (29 films)

2000s
- highest grossing actress for 2000s: Emma Watson for HP films (2001-2009) earned $1.7 billion (domestic) and $5.4 billion (worldwide)
- explosion of 3D and IMAX films caused theater conversions to 3D format as well as ticket sales increases

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8 1/2

I wasn't as excited to watch this film, but I ended up really enjoying it because the content really strikes home with me. This is a movie that every artist can relate to because the creative process is something we all go, and sometimes struggle, through. In the art industry we're hired to create something, be it an animated scene or an oil painting, and have to keep it within the scope of what the person who hired us wanted. Sometimes it's difficult because you have your own personal style, and it's simply not what the client wants and you have to chose to let the project go and conform to their wants.