Sherlock and the Psychology Behind It...

Yay for me going easy this week!

Last week we watched a movie called "Sherlock Jr." by Buster Keaton and it lasted for only one hour. The movie is about a guy who's trying to impress a girl to go out with him but then someone else tries to take the girl for himself.

In the beginning, we see the guy working at a cinema and he was hoping for some cash to buy some chocolates for the girl of his dreams. After some missed opportunities in getting cash, he had no choice but to get the less expensive box of candy. Later he went to the girl's house but then another guy dressed in a suit was also interested in the girl. While inside the house, something occurs as the man in the suit took a pocket watch and pawn it for cash. He took the cash and bought the most expense box of chocolates. When he got back to the house, he took the receipt and placed it in the other guy's pocket. Soon a man came claiming to have his watch sold and it was then that "Sherlock" decided to question the people in the house. The man in the suit said to check the guy's pocket and then he was discovered to be the thief. The girl's father(I think he is.) kicks him out and to never come back again. Sad and confused, 'Sherlock' knew something wasn't right and decided to follow the other man but failed. In the end, after a long 'Ha, I solved the case!', imagination while sleeping in the projection room in the movie theater, the girl came by to see him. It was during his sleep that she discovered who the true culprit was by going to the pawn shop and asking the shopkeeper. She apologized to him and he was happy again until he did the same things from watching the movie until he didn't know what to say about a future family.

I thought the movie was really good and kind of clever from certain parts like escaping the house through the window while at the same time dressed in a dress to disguised as a old woman. The only part I thought was a bit off was the random scenes in the movie within the movie. I thought that it wasn't necessary and it didn't make sense.

We also had to read something that relates to making movies and about how our vision see it. The reading was "The Psychology of the Photoplay" by Hugo Musterberg and he talks about the way we see movies from our own eyes. He discusses through depth and movement, attention, memory and imagination, and emotions. When we watch movies, we see what our eyes can see like a trick with the movie within a movie. An example from Keaton's movie was the dream sequence.

I honestly read through half the reading and I got lost. When we had the discussion about the reading I understood it better but it wouldn't hurt to ask it in more detail. I kind of forgot some points.