When East Met West Wong Kar Wai’s In the Mood for Love as an Influence on Sofia Coppola’s Lost in Translation - Literature Essay Samples

The quietly devastating works of Wong Kar-wai, the auteur from the east, have influenced the filmography of contemporary American directors, including Sofia Coppola. In the Mood for Love, in particular, is a reigning force of this influence. The resonance of Kar-wai’s tiring fixation on the worn and ordinary, and his dependence on a limited, but warm color palate to create both a tranquilizing calmness and urgency in fashioning the worlds in his films, creates an aesthetic that carries a depth without ever appearing contrived, and holds an indelible presence in the visual style and camerawork of Coppola’s Lost in Translation. As a viewer, being able to discriminate and identify this influence is a testament to the nature of cinema as an organic collective of works that are not limited by or characteristic of the lands or culture (for example, East versus West) in which they are produced; they’re alive and ever-changing. Even though both films maintain a character driven narrative and isolate their two lead protagonists into warm frames of open composition that oversee moments of personal discussion between them, in atmospheres reiterating a gloomy warmth and comfort that allows them to grow closer despite the troubles that quell them, the narratives of the two films couldn’t be more dissimilar; the former follows Mr. Chow and Mrs. Chen, two neighbors who have to come to terms with the knowledge that their spouses are having an affair with each other, a process that eventually fosters a romance between the two that they wearily brush aside, afraid of being no different or better than their partners. Lost in Translation, on the other hand, is a story of a week-long friendship that blossoms between Bob, an aging actor who has outgrown the hassles of his famed lifestyle, and Charlotte, a young woman who doubts her marriage and is search of a purpose, after they find each other on the foreign soil s of a Tokyo Hotel and regularly begin to meet downstairs for a drink or two. The characters of Coppla and Kar Wai’s abovementioned works reside in two of some of the most densely populated cities in the world, an attribute of the films settings that is constantly reiterated through establishing shots that find their respective characters wandering amidst hordes of crowds, starkly juxtaposing the sense of loneliness that prevails their narratives. However, interior shots filmed within the confines of domestic locales, such as the tight, narrow apartment building that serves as Mr. Chow and Mrs. Chan’s apartment building, or the hotel bar where Bob and Charlotte meet by chance for a drink, are approached with very similar compositions in regards to the way the characters are staged and shot on set in respect to the individuals they speak to; when Mr. Chow knocks on the Chen’s apartment door to have a word with his neighbor, we are denied a complete inspection of Mrs. Chen’s husband, and instead presented with a long, tight, close-up on Mr. Chow as he chats away in the narrow hallway of the building. In this scene, a disregard to the visual inclusion of the man his wife is sleeping with serves to reinforce his depiction as a someone, who is, in all totality, alone and by himself, a feeling perpetuated by the rejection that must swell within any man in his place. Coppola’s approach is somewhat more inclusive of the other characters that Bob, one of the two lead protagonists, speaks to; in the opening act, Bob is at the bar with a cigar in his hand a drink by his side, lost in his own thoughts, and content with the escape this setting provides from the agents and fans that tail his every step, however, gradually, the voice of two men in front of him grow audible and declare that they recognize him as ‘The Bob Harris’, the big Hollywood star everybody knows and recognizes. Coppola doesn’t break the frame by incorporating the sources of these voices. She is patient, and allows Bob’s disconcerted reception of this recognition to germinate. Bob initially feigns an indifference to these voices, before eventually giving in and responding with a forced halfhearted, but polite reply, which is also when Coppola pans across to the men to allow us to register their faces. There is a reason why Coppola afforded this lenie ncy in the presentation of these men, one that escaped Kar-wai; in simple words, these men were just fans, and didn’t sleep with Bob’s wife. Their visual exclusion would have treated them with a greater relevance and weight than they demand. The man who is having an affair with Mr. Chow’s wife, however, understandably occupies a deeper role in Chow’s narrative, and warrants a treatment that demonstrates a greater role in illustrating Chow’s sense of loneliness. Notwithstanding the nature of the narrative or characters presented in Todd Hayne’s Carol, the same visual cues, composition, and organic, grainy texture have been employed in the presentation of the protagonists in their interaction with other characters. Consider the following scene, where Carol occupies the center of the frame in a long take, as the more alluring of the two women, confidentially navigating their talks while her counterpart is reduced to a silhouette before her.This overt display of prioritizing focus on one lead at a time may be difficult to establish as an influence of the aforementioned films, but an understanding of how they interplay in Lost in Translation and In the Mood for Love gives greater weight to their employment in works such as Carol, especially when the filmmakers involved in Carol too haven’t swayed away from discussing the role of Kaw-wai in shaping their works. A viewing of In the Mood for Love, Lost in Translation and Carol is perhaps a class in itself for one who feels the need to understand the influence that films borne out of different cultures and filmmakers have on something made worlds away. It is challenging to summarize the extent of such influences through a dependence on a comparison of few scenes alone, and the importance of being able to see them in totality, if not to simply experience them for the art they are, cannot be stressed enough.

Preparation for Pregnancy Essay - 550 Words

Preparation for Pregnancy (Essay Sample) Content: PREPARATION FOR PREGNANCYMany at times people view pregnancy as an event that does not need to be discussed. The saddest fact is that even the educated elites of the society do not see it necessary to plan and discuss when to get pregnant. Pregnancy makes a woman very delicate hence it should be well planned for. The following are among the relevant preparations necessary prior to a pregnancy.To begin with, women who are on contraceptives should stop taking contraceptives. Hormonal contraceptives, when taken over a long period of time would lead to hormonal imbalance. This is the last body condition that a pregnant woman would want to have. Hormonal imbalance may impair the absorption of nutrients and ions across the digestive system making the mother and the unborn infant prone to malnutrition.Therefore, a woman who is preparing for pregnancy should stop taking hormonal birth control pills at least three months prior to the pregnancy to give the body time to complete ly wash out chemicals emanating from the pills. This also provides enough time for the body to recover its normal hormonal balance. Examples of foods that can help speed up recovery of the body include kales, cabbages and other green leafy vegetables which contain high amounts of magnesium that aid in hormonal balance.Secondly, women of reproductive age (age 12-45 years) undergo menstruation which leads to loss of blood. This happens every month hence leading to loss of a large amount of iron in blood. Iron is a very important mineral in the body. One of the main important functions of iron is the formation of red blood cells. Iron helps in the formation of hemoglobin -a pigment used in the transportation of oxygen in the blood-. Therefore reproductive women are always at the verge of iron deficiency.Hence reproductive women are strongly advised to take iron supplementation pills which increase the amount of iron in their bodies. The taking of this pills is recommended to all women who are of reproductive age regardless of whether they are planning to get pregnant or not. Iron supplementation before pregnancy will help provide the much needed iron for the formation of red blood cells in the body of the fetus. Lack of enough iron in the motherà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬s body makes the infant and the mother prone to anemia. During delivery, enough iron in the motherà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬s body prevents her from hemorrhage.ÂThirdly, folic acid supplementation is very vital for the growth of the fetus. Folic acid supplementation pills are given to women to increase the level of folic acid in their bodies. During the first month of pregnancy, the nervous system is developed. Folic acid aids in the development of the same ...