Question 3
Yukon – My understanding of the significance of Yukon is that it is the westernmost and smallest of Canada’s three territories and also very sparsely populated, the writer of the film was trying to create a sense of feeling for the Yukon Hotel as the frontier colony for all kinds of adventures hungry seekers to indulge in the various desires.
Hundertwasser – This is what I found on Wiki about Hundertwasser:
“The Austrian Artist Friedensreich Regentag Dunkelbunt Hundertwasser (born Friedrich Stowasser, December 15, 1928 – February 19, 2000) was an Austrian painter, architect and sculptor. By the end of the 20th century, he was arguably the best-known contemporary Austrian artist, though he was always controversial.
Hundertwasser's original, unruly, sometimes shocking artistic vision expressed itself in pictorial art, environmentalism, philosophy, and design of facades, postage stamps, flags, and clothing (among other areas). The common themes in his work are a rejection of the straight line, bright colours, organic forms, a reconciliation of humans with nature, and a strong individualism. He remains sui generis, although his architectural work is comparable to Antoni Gaudà in its biomorphic forms and use of tile. He was inspired by the works of Egon Schiele from an early date, and his style was often compared to that of Gustav Klimt. He was fascinated with spirals, and called straight lines "the devil's tools". He called his theory of art "transautomatism", based on Surrealist automatism, but focusing on the experience of the viewer, rather than the artist.”
Although Hundertwasser first achieved notoriety for his boldly-coloured paintings, he is more widely renowned today for his revolutionary architectural designs, which incorporate natural features of the landscape, and use of irregular forms in his building design. Hundertwasserhaus, a low-income apartment block in Vienna, features undulating floors ("an uneven floor is a melody to the feet"), a roof covered with earth and grass, and large trees growing from inside the rooms, with limbs extending from windows. He took no payment for the design of Hundertwasserhaus, declaring that it was worth it, to "prevent something ugly from going up in its place".
He felt that standard architecture could not be called art, and declared that the design of any building should be influenced by the aesthetics of its eventual tenants. Hundertwasser was also known for his performance art, in which he would, for instance, appear in public in the nude promoting an ecologically friendly flush-less toilet.”
I think the writer of the film is trying to create an “original, unruly, sometimes shocking” set for this movie by naming the street ‘Hunterwasser St.’ referring to the architect, Hunterwasser’s many unusual creations. See picture below:
Yukon – My understanding of the significance of Yukon is that it is the westernmost and smallest of Canada’s three territories and also very sparsely populated, the writer of the film was trying to create a sense of feeling for the Yukon Hotel as the frontier colony for all kinds of adventures hungry seekers to indulge in the various desires.
Hundertwasser – This is what I found on Wiki about Hundertwasser:
“The Austrian Artist Friedensreich Regentag Dunkelbunt Hundertwasser (born Friedrich Stowasser, December 15, 1928 – February 19, 2000) was an Austrian painter, architect and sculptor. By the end of the 20th century, he was arguably the best-known contemporary Austrian artist, though he was always controversial.
Hundertwasser's original, unruly, sometimes shocking artistic vision expressed itself in pictorial art, environmentalism, philosophy, and design of facades, postage stamps, flags, and clothing (among other areas). The common themes in his work are a rejection of the straight line, bright colours, organic forms, a reconciliation of humans with nature, and a strong individualism. He remains sui generis, although his architectural work is comparable to Antoni Gaudà in its biomorphic forms and use of tile. He was inspired by the works of Egon Schiele from an early date, and his style was often compared to that of Gustav Klimt. He was fascinated with spirals, and called straight lines "the devil's tools". He called his theory of art "transautomatism", based on Surrealist automatism, but focusing on the experience of the viewer, rather than the artist.”
Although Hundertwasser first achieved notoriety for his boldly-coloured paintings, he is more widely renowned today for his revolutionary architectural designs, which incorporate natural features of the landscape, and use of irregular forms in his building design. Hundertwasserhaus, a low-income apartment block in Vienna, features undulating floors ("an uneven floor is a melody to the feet"), a roof covered with earth and grass, and large trees growing from inside the rooms, with limbs extending from windows. He took no payment for the design of Hundertwasserhaus, declaring that it was worth it, to "prevent something ugly from going up in its place".
He felt that standard architecture could not be called art, and declared that the design of any building should be influenced by the aesthetics of its eventual tenants. Hundertwasser was also known for his performance art, in which he would, for instance, appear in public in the nude promoting an ecologically friendly flush-less toilet.”
I think the writer of the film is trying to create an “original, unruly, sometimes shocking” set for this movie by naming the street ‘Hunterwasser St.’ referring to the architect, Hunterwasser’s many unusual creations. See picture below:
Wikipedia. (2008). Article: Friedensreich Hundertwasser. Retrieved September 8th
from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedensreich_Hundertwasser
Another underlying interpretation of the street name could be considered as the writer is drawing a picture for the viewers in regards to the state of the society in the film. It was chaotic, conditions of life were extremely bad and the society was plagued with poverty, violence, diseases and pollution. It was the complete opposite of a utopia in another word, the state of the society could be viewed as a dystopia.
‘Miss Salome and the Snake’ – The reference that I gathered about ‘Miss Salome’. Salome, in Christian traditions, is the icon of dangerous female seductiveness. Salome pleased King Herod on his birthday by performing a dance before him and his lords, high captains and chief estates of Galilee. King Herod was so impressed by Salome’s dance and promised her with an oath to give her whatever she would ask of him. As she was instructed by her mother, Herodias, Salome asked King Herod to give her in a dish the head of John the Baptist. Although King Herod was reluctant to do so but because of his oat to Salome, he sent an executioner and beheaded John in prison. In the end, the head of John the Baptist was brought to Salome in a dish as she asked of King Herod. The film writer established a ‘Femme Fatale’ role for Zhora as drawing reference on Salome.
The Kiss – It represents ‘The kiss of Judas’ or in modern term, ‘The kiss of Death’. According to the New Testament, Judas pointed out Jesus to the people he led to arrest him by means of a kiss which eventually led to the death of Jesus.
from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedensreich_Hundertwasser
Another underlying interpretation of the street name could be considered as the writer is drawing a picture for the viewers in regards to the state of the society in the film. It was chaotic, conditions of life were extremely bad and the society was plagued with poverty, violence, diseases and pollution. It was the complete opposite of a utopia in another word, the state of the society could be viewed as a dystopia.
‘Miss Salome and the Snake’ – The reference that I gathered about ‘Miss Salome’. Salome, in Christian traditions, is the icon of dangerous female seductiveness. Salome pleased King Herod on his birthday by performing a dance before him and his lords, high captains and chief estates of Galilee. King Herod was so impressed by Salome’s dance and promised her with an oath to give her whatever she would ask of him. As she was instructed by her mother, Herodias, Salome asked King Herod to give her in a dish the head of John the Baptist. Although King Herod was reluctant to do so but because of his oat to Salome, he sent an executioner and beheaded John in prison. In the end, the head of John the Baptist was brought to Salome in a dish as she asked of King Herod. The film writer established a ‘Femme Fatale’ role for Zhora as drawing reference on Salome.
The Kiss – It represents ‘The kiss of Judas’ or in modern term, ‘The kiss of Death’. According to the New Testament, Judas pointed out Jesus to the people he led to arrest him by means of a kiss which eventually led to the death of Jesus.
Wikipedia (2008). Article: The kiss of Judas. Retrieved September 8th
from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_kiss_of_Judas
Bradbury building – Given the clue by Dr Paul Mountfort, Something Wicked this way Comes, the significance of the Bradbury building is referring to the novel by author, Ray Bradbury. The novel “is about two thirteen-year-old boys, Jim Nightshade and William Halloway, who have a harrowing experience with a nightmarish carnival that comes to their Midwestern town one October. The carnival's leader is the mysterious "Mr. Dark" who bears a tattoo for each person who, lured by the offer to live out their secret fantasies, has become bound in service to the carnival. Mr. Dark's malevolent presence is countered by that of Will's father, Charles Halloway, who harbors his own secret desire to regain his youth.
The carnival's main allure to its participants is its ability to change age easily against natural causes. Jim wants to become an adult by riding the carousel forward, and Charles Halloway initially considers riding the carousel backwards. Even Will is somewhat tempted by the offer for a free trip to adulthood.
Charles, however, quickly sees that a ride on the carousel can have unforeseen circumstances, because changing age instantly would not change the mind. "If I made you twenty-five tomorrow, Jim, your thoughts would still be boy thoughts, and it'd show! Or if they turned me into a boy of ten this instant, my brain would still be fifty and that boy would act funnier and older and weirder than any boy ever."[6]
Because of this, a person who rode the carousel would be reformed only physically, with the same sins and emotions contained inside. Moreover, his new physical form, created unnaturally, would alienate him from his family and peers, leaving him with nowhere to turn to except for the carnival.
Charles best personifies this theme; while he is middle-aged in body, he is still youthful in mind and spirit. At first, he sees the two conflicting personas within him as irreconcilable and longs to be physically young too, but his active participation in toppling the carnival proves to him that mental fitness and perception of one's age is more important than physical health.
Ironically, Will and Jim can be said to have aged prematurely in the novel; the horrors of the carnival force them to grow up fast to be able to deal with its tricks on a knowledgeable level. Furthermore, Will and Jim do take a brief ride on the carousel before Will pulls Jim off, and they are never shown reversing this process before Charles destroys its machinations. Thus, it can be stated that they in fact grow up slightly. In this case, though, Will and Jim have also matured emotionally too, having had their first encounter with evil. This enables them to grow more proportionally in both physical and emotional status” (Wikipedia, 2008).
The character, Sebastian, in the film Blade Runner suffers from a rare growth disorder; his physical appearance looks much older than his actual age. With what I read from the above article, the film writer intends to illustrate Sebastian’s desire to turn back the time on aging due to his illness by cleverly using the author’s name, Bradbury, as the name of the building.
from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_kiss_of_Judas
Bradbury building – Given the clue by Dr Paul Mountfort, Something Wicked this way Comes, the significance of the Bradbury building is referring to the novel by author, Ray Bradbury. The novel “is about two thirteen-year-old boys, Jim Nightshade and William Halloway, who have a harrowing experience with a nightmarish carnival that comes to their Midwestern town one October. The carnival's leader is the mysterious "Mr. Dark" who bears a tattoo for each person who, lured by the offer to live out their secret fantasies, has become bound in service to the carnival. Mr. Dark's malevolent presence is countered by that of Will's father, Charles Halloway, who harbors his own secret desire to regain his youth.
The carnival's main allure to its participants is its ability to change age easily against natural causes. Jim wants to become an adult by riding the carousel forward, and Charles Halloway initially considers riding the carousel backwards. Even Will is somewhat tempted by the offer for a free trip to adulthood.
Charles, however, quickly sees that a ride on the carousel can have unforeseen circumstances, because changing age instantly would not change the mind. "If I made you twenty-five tomorrow, Jim, your thoughts would still be boy thoughts, and it'd show! Or if they turned me into a boy of ten this instant, my brain would still be fifty and that boy would act funnier and older and weirder than any boy ever."[6]
Because of this, a person who rode the carousel would be reformed only physically, with the same sins and emotions contained inside. Moreover, his new physical form, created unnaturally, would alienate him from his family and peers, leaving him with nowhere to turn to except for the carnival.
Charles best personifies this theme; while he is middle-aged in body, he is still youthful in mind and spirit. At first, he sees the two conflicting personas within him as irreconcilable and longs to be physically young too, but his active participation in toppling the carnival proves to him that mental fitness and perception of one's age is more important than physical health.
Ironically, Will and Jim can be said to have aged prematurely in the novel; the horrors of the carnival force them to grow up fast to be able to deal with its tricks on a knowledgeable level. Furthermore, Will and Jim do take a brief ride on the carousel before Will pulls Jim off, and they are never shown reversing this process before Charles destroys its machinations. Thus, it can be stated that they in fact grow up slightly. In this case, though, Will and Jim have also matured emotionally too, having had their first encounter with evil. This enables them to grow more proportionally in both physical and emotional status” (Wikipedia, 2008).
The character, Sebastian, in the film Blade Runner suffers from a rare growth disorder; his physical appearance looks much older than his actual age. With what I read from the above article, the film writer intends to illustrate Sebastian’s desire to turn back the time on aging due to his illness by cleverly using the author’s name, Bradbury, as the name of the building.
