death of a salesman vid

I thought it was very interesting how involved Arthur Miller was with the actual filming and stage direction of the movie. I've never heard of a playwright or screenwriter having that much say in how a film was put together.

Also, it was just as surprising to see how much influence Dustin Hoffman had on scenes. I know he is a great actor, but I thought there was something called directorial control?

It was interesting how they intentionally made it look like a play instead of adapting to look more like a movie, I thought it kept a nice level of integrity.

One thing the video showed was how hard it is to make a movie for everyone involved. It truly is a neverending saga, at least until the movie's debut.

Fences

I really enjoyed this play. Although I guess I can't say from personal experience, I feel like August Wilson did a great job portraying some of the bitter realities African-Americans faced just before the Civil Rights Era. Troy experiences several of the same struggles as many African-Americans did during that time, like homelessness and incarceration, but what I thought was interesting was how Wilson juxtaposed the origins of Troy's greatest achievement with a place usually considered rock bottom. But then again, learning to play baseball may not have been so great for Troy after all because, in the end, it caused him so much more grief than success.
Wilson did a great job using Troy to embody many of the negative stereotypes of African-American males during post-Civil War Era, like infidelity and absentee fatherhood, while also keeping him human enough to still root for. Maybe not passionately cheer for, but I empathized with him over his struggles to cope with his Cory's potential athletic success. He was so hung up on the humiliating treatment of black athletes, and probably African-Americans in general, that he was reluctant to let his son go down the same path.
I liked the fence metaphor. It seems like it was probably pretty representative of how African-American mothers and wives felt about their families. The war had taken many of their husbands and sons, and lives of vice took some of what was left, so I can imagine black women were willing to do anything to keep their families together.

Fences

This play was very depression. I do not see any reason why I should sympathize with Troy. He seems to be bitter about the past and is taking it out on his love ones, which is selfish and cruel. If this play was meant to make me feel pitiful towards Troy, I do not at all. I think that Rose was a beautiful woman, and I felt a lot of pain for her while reading the play. I also really sympathized with Corey similar to how I sympathized with Biff in Death of a Salesman, although, at least Willy was loving and selfless, unlike Troy. I really didn't get the moral of this story either. I am anxious for class discussion to gain some new insight.

Death of a Salesman movie

I really enjoyed the Death of a Salesman movie. It is always interesting to see the background of a play production rather than just the production itself. There is so much detail that goes into the performance. Not only the acting, but also the set, the music, the pauses, and the costumes. Everything has a purpose and those who create the art take much pride in it. I also really appreciated The actor or Willy. I really observed his talent and the passion behind his character. The same goes for the other actors as well. I would like to say that I would enjoy seeing this performance live, but I think it would depress me. The plot of this play hits very close to home and it is emotional for me to witness similar family problems to my own. However, it was a very well put- together documentary and I really enjoyed it. 

Death of a Salesman Video

Death of a Salesman Video

I LOVED the movie on the making of Death Of a Salesman. It was so interesting seeing the real personalty of Dustin Hoffman, and how he acted on set. I loved seeing how much of a perfectionist he was, and how hard he worked to capture that perfect moment on film. It was also interesting to see the differences and similarities that have occurred in film since the time Death of A Salesman was filmed.

Fences

I had a really hard time getting through this play. I found it dark and depressing. There was no point that gave me any hope, or reason to want to connect or feel engaged with the characters. I believe that Troy Maxon was symbolic of human nature's reluctance to recognize or accept social change. However, I found it upsetting that this once talented young man went down a path where he turned to crime for his income, killed a man, spent years in prison. I felt that the play lacked any hope, or real message or lesson. There was far more bad than good in his life. Even his house, which he was proud to provide for his family, was  unfinished (the fence) and unkept, and provided through his brother's disability checks.