The 21st Century Holmes and Watson

     While watching Hound of Baskervilles, the character relationship remains the same, but the story and personalities are different. These changes needed to be made in order to appeal to a 21^st century audience. The dynamic between Holmes and Watson remained the same. Holmes, carrying the majority of the weight while Watson is the one doing the interviewing and is the guinea pig. In the 21^st century, Holmes is quite a bit more eccentric. The way he recalls and processes information could be viewed as a mental disorder in the 21^st century, as opposed to just quirkiness. Watson has also changed in the 21^st century. In Doyle’s “The Hound of the Baskervilles”, Watson seems very timid and only faces his fears because he wants to please Holmes. In the 21^st century however, he is more outspoken when addressing Holmes. Ultimately, he is a stronger character, not just an extension of Holmes. It is interesting to see his transformation. Most surprisingly, is that he was the one who ended up shooting the “hound”, when in the original novel, it is Holmes that shoots. 
     The storyline needed revamped in the 21^st century. Some giant dog, reeking havoc on a family does not have the same frightening affect it once did. By changing the hound into a genetic experiment and ultimately into a hallucinatory drug, this definitely appeals to the 21^st century audience. Genetic experiments and drugs are more prevalent now than they ever have been. Also, the setting has changed. The updated modern home instead of the castle, and the Moor being a minefield instead of a marsh. The minefield evokes a frightening feeling because this movie’s main audience is the British and the World War II bomb droppings the U.K experienced. All in all, this movie reflects the 21^st century definition of the gothic because it incorporates aspects we hear and see every day.

The Dynamic Duo of Holmes and Watson

     When facing fear, Holmes and Watson are total opposite. This is to be expected though based upon the characters personality. Holmes is clever, confident and certain in his abilities. Watson on the other hand, is unsure of himself, spending a lot of time making notes, and never fully believes in himself and needs Holmes to step in and take control or reassure him that he is right. Holmes faces his fears head on, a prime example of this being him shooting the hound at the end. Watson, being shaky and unsure, does not have this immediate reaction, an example of this being at the end of chapter 11/ beginning of chapter 12, when it describes how scarred Watson is. Also, how nervous Holmes becomes when he learns that he will be sent to the Baskerville's home, without Holmes coming along. Their contrasting personalities is what makes the book entertaining to read.

The Spin of Latin America

            Latin American gothic contains the same classic troupes, common in all cultural variations of the genre; decay, hidden identity, oppression, isolation and transgressed love, just to name a few. As we continue to explore new cultural areas of gothic literature these same troupes are continuous but with their own little “spin”. The “spin” in Latin American gothic is magical realism. Magical realism turns aspects that are familiar into dream like, and things that are not familiar become something that we understand. The story in “The Gospel of Mark” is very familiar, but it was unexpected for the teachings to end up being taken so literally. “If you Touched my Heart” was vaguely familiar with the transgressed love in the beginning but as the story progressed, it became more horrific and unimaginable. Torture was present throughout the story, but not the same type of torture we had previously experienced. This type of torture was some physical torture, but more mental torture that only the characters would understand (although, Amadeo does not really recall why the psaltery is so painful for him). In “A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings” we see the familiar, mundane life of Pelayo and Elisenda’s combined with a dream like world of flying and a spider woman.

            While studying these three stories, the motivation for them shows through. Borges views on the how literally religion is taken shines through in “The Gospel of Mark”. We learned how to war and long-term suffering of Chile is present in Allende’s “If You Touched My Heart.” Márquez’s “A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings” is a tale of how compassion is hard to come by, and how sometimes things do not need to be identified in order to be. It seems that each cultural area has its own motivation which is what influences the “spin” that was previously mentioned.

The Cultural Infusion that is Howl's Moving Castle

     Howl's Moving Castle is Japanese genre heavily influenced by European culture. This intentional influence is what makes it appealing to an American audience. We know that in Japanese culture women are deducted down to being emotional and non functional. Sophie, although she was the damsel in distress, embraced her spell the best she could and in the end helped Howl and their family as much as they helped her. The stereotypical ending was also influenced by European culture. The happy ending of love and family is desired by American audiences and our need for all loose ends to be tied up in a pretty bow. Miyazaki however puts a spin on it because it is somewhat confusing and Sophie does not end up with prince, as she would in an American film. The true loves kiss is over the top stereotypical of American culture. We see a lot of political references to Japanese history. The war being depicted is reminiscent of the Tokyo bombings. The contrast between the country side we see at the beginning and then the polluted, industrialized, over populated town is important to note. Also, the race up the stairs, which I learned is also Japanese culture. Both Miyazaki's political and social views of both cultures are clear throughout this movie. Overall, I think the combination of cultures works for the film. They are both blended nicely and the movie is enjoyable for many different audiences.

Howl's Moving Castle

            In June 2008, freakfire-1 watched Howls Moving Castle. Freakfire begins their review by saying “This is the worst movie I have seen this year”. Freakfire must have spent the first half of the year watching some pretty great movies, because I personally enjoyed the movie. Freakfire then boldly states that he does not see any upcoming movie for the rest of the year that will “challenge this heap of garbage”. I’ll admit Howls Moving Castle is not the best movie I have seen this year, but calling it garbage is very extreme. The reviewer’s first complaint is the overall premise of the movie.  Complaining that some of the first things you see is a castle and a girl who eventually gets a spell cast on her and this is “not a good sign”. Its understandable that a damsel in distress is stereotypical, but as we learn, Sophie ends up embracing her old age as best she can, often using it to her advantage, and ends up helping Howl and crew instead of being the victim. One valid point freakfire points out is that some of the scenes are boring, although I would not go as far as to fast forward through them like the reviewer did. I found myself able to take in depth notes during the “boring” scenes and returning my attention to the movie not missing anything.

            Freakfire goes on to evaluate some of the characters, his favorite being Calcifer. It’s easy to see how Calcifer would be a fan favorite, and having Billy Crystal voice him adds to his charm. Perhaps, the sole reason I chose this critique was because his least favorite character was Turnip head. How could anyone not love Turnip Head? His loyalty and willingness to help Sophie won me over. No, he never said a word while in scarecrow form, but I found myself smiling ever time he popped back on the screen. Yes, once again its stereotypical that he turned into a prince once kissed by his love, but wasn’t the whole point of the ending, to mock the European happy ending? Freakfire ends his review by stating “The boy, Howl, and everybody else should never again grace screens with their presence. It just isn't worth the headache”. This really just leads me to believe he stumbled upon this movie expecting a cartoonish Tim Burton type film and not really understanding this is supposed to be Japanese genre heavily influenced by the European culture. The political references and the ways Miyazaki pokes fun at the cultures obviously escapes this reviewer. That is probably why he did not enjoy the film as much as me.