Corrupt Childhood: Drugs and Mental Illness in Alice in Wonderland and Winnie the Pooh

I am a big fan of Alice in Wonderland. I have read the book and have seen the Disney animated version and the Disney live action version. I like the way that they are both done and I think that they are a great adaptation from book to film. I have always noticed from reading the book to watching the movie that there seems to be a lot of drug references in the film. We all know the story about Alice where she disappears down a rabbit hole and falls into this bizarre place where she goes on many different adventures and runs into a lot of strange characters. There are the famous characters such as the white rabbit, the Queen of Hearts, the Cheshire cat, and the Mad Hatter. “Alice drinks potions and eats pieces of mushroom to change her physical state. The caterpillar smokes an elaborate water pipe. The whole atmosphere of the story is so profoundly disjointed from reality” ("Is Alice in Wonderland Really about Drugs?").  There are a lot of characters that seem like they are in a psychedelic state and on drugs. “Carroll wasn't thought to have been a recreational user of opium or laudanum, and the references may say more about the people making them than the author” ("Is Alice in Wonderland Really about Drugs?"). “The mushroom is "magic" only in the context of the story. And the caterpillar is merely smoking tobacco through a hookah” ("Is Alice in Wonderland Really about Drugs?"). In the films the drug references used give Alice certain abilities when she eats something she gets bigger or smaller. The caterpillar also is smoking tobacco hookah during the movie. Alice is talking with talking flowers at one point and it gets even crazier from there.
There are images of Alice in the movie where Alice is taking a lot of sugar in her tea to make it seem like she is taking a lot of cocaine. The rabbit is always running late and worried about being on time. The rabbit always appears very on the go like he is on speed. The forest that Alice goes through has some psychedelic images to make it appear the she is on LSD. The Cheshire cat appears to be on Nitros Oxide. The Mad Hatter is crazy in all ways and appears to be on crystal meth. A lot of the characters especially the smaller animals like the mice appear to be drowsy and appear to be smoking marijuana. There is another scene where Alice is eating mushrooms. The caterpillar is smoking the tobacco hookah in the movie. Then the walrus is smoking a cigar that is nicotine. It is hard to imagine that someone would come up with a grinning cat and Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum and a Jabberwocky without drugs ("Drugs and Writing: Was Lewis Carroll High When He Wrote Alice in Wonderland?").
I am also a big fan of Winnie the Pooh and like Alice in Wonderland there has been controversy that Winnie the Pooh has the characters reflect a lot of mental illnesses. the two childhood favorites are corrupting children from an early age even if they do not know it yet. There are a lot of similarities with Alice in Wonderland like in Winnie the Pooh there are drug references in Alice in Wonderland and mental illness disorders shown in the characters in Winnie the Pooh. These two childhood favorites are closely researched to show the drug and mental illness references in the movie and television series for children. It has been noted that Winnie the Pooh has ADHD, which is Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder  and an eating disorder. He also obsessed with honey. Making him have Impulsivity with obsessive fixations ("The Mental Disorders of Winnie-the-Pooh Characters" ). He takes risks in order to get the honey. He grabs the honey whenever he can no matter if he gets stuck or in a sticky situation. He also always feels sad and depressed after he eats all of the honey like someone with an eating disorder would like bohemia. Piglet has a generalized anxiety disorder because he has suffered from a self-esteem injury in the past, which causes him to have a lot of stress, anxiety, and general nervousness ("The Mental Disorders of Winnie-the-Pooh Characters"). Piglet also has a speech impediment, which relate to his anxiety. The owl has dyslexia and is a narcissist ("The Mental Disorders of Winnie-the-Pooh Characters"). Owl will often spell things wrong and make spelling errors. Tigger has ADHA, which is Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder  because he cannot control his hyperactivity ("The Mental Disorders of Winnie-the-Pooh Characters"). The kangaroo also like Piglet has an anxiety disorder, but it is social anxiety disorder ("The Mental Disorders of Winnie-the-Pooh Characters"). 
Rabbit has OCD, which is Obsessive-compulsive disorder ("The Mental Disorders of Winnie-the-Pooh Characters").  he over organizes and is obsessed with order. Which for a male character he behaves very feminine which also direct towards his homosexuality. Eeyore has depression because he is always a downcast and has a negative outlook ("The Mental Disorders of Winnie-the-Pooh Characters").  Then Christopher Robin has Schizophrenia because he often manifests himself with his imagination and hallucinations ("The Mental Disorders of Winnie-the-Pooh Characters").  

Alice eating mushrooms 

A look over Winnie the Pooh characters and the mental illnesses they display. 

Source-"Drugs and Writing: Was Lewis Carroll High When He Wrote Alice in Wonderland?"

Source-"Is Alice in Wonderland Really about Drugs?"
Source-"The Mental Disorders of Winnie-the-Pooh Characters."

Racist Oscars?

I of course am a huge movie fan and so therefore I love to watch the Oscars. I love to go out and see all of the movies that are nominated and then watch the winners be reveled on Oscar night. It was talked a lot about this year 2015 that the Oscar nominations lacked diversity. The Academy is primarily white men over the age of sixty-five and it has been talked a lot about if the Academy is racist. Levinson from Variety has said, “There are those who say a black woman, who directed “Selma,” was overlooked because ofracial bias, and the actor who played Martin Luther King Jr. was alsooverlooked because he was black.” The film was nominated for Best Picture but that was it and none of the actors or actresses was nominated for the Best Actress and Best Actor category. How can it be that there were no nominations for the individuals where the movie is nominated for Best Picture?

Levinson makes another point that there is a voting system that the Academy has and there are eight films that get nominated for Best Picture. A lot of controversy is not that the Academy is racist it is that the Academy favors certain directors and certain actors and actresses then others. It is a popularity contest and if you rub the Academy the wrong way you might never get an Oscar. We can learn a lot from Leonardo Dicaprio. I agree with Levinson that if some of the Academy members are racist well we will never really know that a very small percentage of actors and actresses are black, Hispanic, or Asian. However ’12 Years a Slave “ won for Best Picture and supporting actress Lupita Nyong’o and the screenwriter also won who is black. The voters are always accused of being old and white and do not want diversity in the Oscar winners.

A point made by Levinson was that, “It is interesting that “too old” is not a discriminatory comment, but I’ll leave that for others to debate.” It is ok to call someone a racist, but calling him or her old is not discriminatory. It is saying someone is racist because they are old and white is just as bad as saying they are racist. Being old and white does not mean you are racist. I think that there are race issues in America that need to be looked at and the lack of diversity in Hollywood is clear.  It is known by all that “Selma” got snubbed with only two nominations for Best Picture and Best Song.

Gary Susman from Moviefone.com makes a point to say, “It has been noted that this year is the first since 1998 that no actors of colorhave been nominated.” People want to blame the Academy because they vote, but there have been films in the past and actors and actresses that have won and have been of color. The real problem is with the movie industry and they are not producing films with people of color and not casting a lot of diversity in films. Also some years other films are just stronger then other ones. Some films just stir up more attention then others. The Academy is 94% white, we all know that. But the problem is not the Academy, it is that Hollywood lacks diversity. The Academy does not have a lot of diverse films to pick from because Hollywood does not make as many diverse films.

 

Director Spotlight: George Lucas

I have chosen to write about George Lucas for my directors pick. George Lucas has influences the film industry with Star Wars and Indiana Jones. The film series have been a hit since they first came out. George Lucas is a favorite director of mine. George Lucas has said “I’ve always tried to be aware of what I say in my films, because all of us who make motion pictures are teachers — teachers with very loud voices” ("George Lucas About George Lucas"). Directors are teachers and teach the audience very important morals and lessons to learn by. Star Wars for example Lucas teaches us to battle the forces of evil. “Star Wars revolutionized special effects, forged new frontiers in sound design, and brought audiences to movie theaters in record numbers” ("George Lucas About George Lucas”). Star Wars and Indiana Jones movies are some of the most popular movies ever made. From an early age Lucas loved to write and became an English major and then a friend suggested he go to The Cinema School at the University of Southern California ("George Lucas About George Lucas”). Lucas always did well at student film festivals and his first feature-length sensation was American Graffiti ("George Lucas About George Lucas”). After the hit American Graffiti Lucas started developing a series of science fiction movies known today to be Star Wars. “Star Wars was first movies to take advantage of the advances in special-effects technologies” ("George Lucas About George Lucas”). The movie created this fantasy world for people to make decisions with good versus evil. Then in 1981 Lucas went in another direction and started production of The Raiders of the Lost Ark ("George Lucas About George Lucas”). “Then in the late 1970s Lucas formed the production company, Lucas Films Ltd. In Northern California, Lucas’s 2,700-acre state-of-the art production center and “think tank,” Skywalker Ranch, is home to the empire” ("George Lucas About George Lucas”). Lucas Films Ltd. has a very significant influence on films today. Star Wars has set box office records and with the new series coming out from Disney it will be even more popular then ever. We can learn a lot of filmmaking tips from Lucas because he has been so successful. “Lucas has been a guiding force in the transition from film to digital, which also puts him in the middle of the argument over what might be the end of film in filmmaking” (Beggs). Lucas has changed the way films are made today with digital filmmaking and CGI.  He has put a lot of money into new camera technology and using new tools (Beggs). Lucas is always trying to push himself to new limits because he has so much technology to work with. New technology means having a lot more options for making films (Beggs). Lucas always asked for help from other talented people who worked on his films. He has worked with Stephen Spielberg. Lucas created an entire universe and made his movies so likeable. George Lucas has said "Everybody has talent. It's just a matter of moving around until you've discovered what it is" ("George Lucas”). George Lucas has impacted film and technology in motion pictures.  People have to figure out their talents in order to know what they are good at. Lucas has certainly found his talent in filmmaking. Francis Ford Coppola saw Lucas’s talent in film school when he made mock documentaries and American Graffiti ("George Lucas”). George Lucas is one of the greatest film animation innovators of all time ("Nine Ways George Lucas Changed Movies Forever”). “2002’s Attack of the Clones was the first major motion-picture to be shot on high-def. digital cameras, which Lucas swore gave resolution equal to traditional film stock” ("Nine Ways George Lucas Changed Movies Forever”). A lot of filmmakers were seeing how effective high definition cameras were and how they could make movies even better.  Star Wars had such groundbreaking effects and was the first of its kind ("Nine Ways George Lucas Changed Movies Forever”). It did not change so much how movies were edited there are not a lot of cut scenes ("Nine Ways George Lucas Changed Movies Forever”). “Now known the world over for its beloved animated features, Pixar began in 1979 as a small subdivision of Lucasfilm” (Lambie). Pixar was working closely with LucasFilms. “Then in 1986, Apple founder Steve Jobs provided an injection of cash, and The Graphics Group became an independent corporation called Pixar.” (Lambie). Pixar began working on CG filmmaking with certain projects including Toy Story which was the first full length computer animated movie and a historic moment in film making.” (Lambie). 

Director George Lucas talks about his techniques

Source-Beggs

Source-George Lucas About George Lucas

Source-"Nine Ways George Lucas Changed Movies Forever."

Source-Lambie

Source-George Lucas

Alison, "The Interview"

We all know how controversial the film was and how much media attention it got. It was on the news almost every day and was making a lot of waves on other outlets of social media. I recently watched the film and I have to say that I am not impressed. I have seen a lot of films with Seth Rogen and James Franco before and they have been really funny, but The Interview wasn’t at all. I was pretty bored throughout the movie. The beginning was very slow and the entire film could have been a lot shorter.

Maybe if they cut the movie shorter and made it straight to the point it would have flowed better as a film in a whole, but overall it was garbage. I think the main point of the movie was just to get attention from the audience and get attention from the movie. They wanted to make a joke of a movie just to poke fun at the media who make such a big deal about films. In my opinion, all of the fuss surrounding The Interview was all a part of a plan to see if Americans are really that gullible so as to be easily influenced by the media. Matt Rozsa makes a lot of good points about the film. At one point he says, “At its core, The Interview has a remarkably insightful thesis about human nature and politics—namely, that people respond more to theatricality, sensationalism, and emotional appeals than they do to facts and reason.” All the film does is make a lot of bad jokes and uses a lot of toilet humor. I mean this is expected for Rogen and Franco, but it does not make the movie any better in my opinion.

There are a lot of points the film does try to make. In one scene Skylark (Franco) gives false journalistic advice, which feeds more into the notion that the film plays on media and society in general. Further into the film Skylark and Kim Jong-Un become friends. Another interesting point Rozsa makes is that “The Interview evolves into an exchange of facts: Skylark mentions that 200,000 North Koreans are imprisoned in concentration camps, that 16,000,000 are starving, that the country spends $800 million on nuclear weapons, while Randall Park’s Kim Jong-un rebuts—not inaccurately—that America has imposed crippling economic sanctions on his country and has more incarcerated people per capita.”  I think it is a good because it attempts to give a lesson in politics. I agree with Rozsa that all Kim Jong-Un wants is to have and maintain power for his ego. I couldn’t agree more with him.

Whatever critics or the general public might have to say about the film, the fact is that it has made history and will surely be talked about for years to come. In my opinion, the film was not intended to be good, but was solely made to get a lot of attention from the media and of everyone else around the world. The film was proof that here in America we have something called the First Amendment, and anyone can make a movie, whatever his or her intentions may be.