1) Music played during the film: How is music used in the film to help develop the mood for the viewer? Examples?
The music in the movie I think played a fair amount on effecting how the viewer’s mood was. I noticed when a lot of background music just when things got sad there would be a sad tone of music in the background very light, or when Sam was mad or Lucy it would kind of get quicker in the background. They also played music when Lucy would keep escaping her room and walking to Sam’s house in the middle of the night and I think there when they played music it was more or a time filler. Another thing they did in the movie was Sam’s a big fan of the Beatles and all the songs in the background were by the Beatles but the one song they didn’t play was “All you need is love” which I found weird because Sam and Lucy both say lots in the movie “All you need is love” so I found that a bit strange.
2) What comparisons can you make between the film and the book, “Stellaluna”?
Things I noticed between the book Stellaluna and the movie I am Sam is that Sam and Lucy read the book together in the movie and it also related to their situation kind of, because the bat grows up with the birds and has to learn how to adjust to the way they do things and Lucy kind of has to do that with Sam because in most ways she’s smarter than him and she’s had to teach herself to live with Sam’s disability and it seems at some points she wishes Sam didn’t have his disability just like how the bat sometimes wishes that he could be like the birds or that the birds would do things his way but he has to learn to live with the way the birds do things and he works his life around that just like how Lucy has learnt too.
3) Dynamic Characters are the ones who grow / learn and understand new things throughout the story. Is there evidence of any characters growing in the movie? Examples?
Characters I thought that grew throughout the movie and understood new things was defiantly Sam Dawson, he started understanding Lucy better and knowing more of what she needs and trying his best to give her everything he could. Also when Sam started getting involved with the court he started understanding how court works towards the end of the movie and when they were harassing him with questions in court he handled it very well because before at the start of all the court he couldn’t answer a simple question that well but he ended up surprising everyone and answering questions he was being asked very well said and explained and I think it might have shocked/surprised some people. I also thought Lucy grew throughout the movie as well because it has shown her growing up and how she adjusted to Sam’s disability and she knows when he gets embarrassed about his disability and she try’s to make him not feel bad about his disability and she try’s her best to make him feel safe and happy and that takes a lot for a 7 year old so I think that’s a way she’s grown because she’s grown up to be one of the smartest 7 year olds I’ve ever seen! Also Rita Williams in my opinion grew throughout the story because at the beginning when she first met Sam she was almost embarrassed to talk to him in front of people and seemed annoyed by him but she ended up feeling sorry for him so she helped him and throughout the process they became sorta close and more like a friend to Rita then a client and Sam also made Rita realize that she has all the time to spend with her son but she chooses work instead when all Sam is trying to do is spend time with his daughter and she learns something from Sam without Sam even having to do anything. All 3 of those characters grew throughout the movie but in my opinion Sam growth was the strongest along with Lucy’s.
5) The movie centers around the questions about Sam’s abilities and mental capacity, but there are times when Sam proves to be more insightful than other mature characters. What examples do you notice of this while watching?
A lot throughout the movie I noticed how Sam was more insightful than other more mature characters even with his disability. For example when Lucy was presenting a project at school for the parents and students and she got stuck and forgot what she was supposed to say and Sam told her something like “Those are hard to remember it’s okay” and then because she knew he wasn’t mad and she had his support she felt calm and she remembered what she was supposed to say a few seconds after. Unlike a different dad who looked mature and looked like he was a professional business man or something along the lines of that and when his son messed up and forgot what he was supposed to say or forgot how to pronounce certain words the man said something like “C’mon we went over this my goodness” in an angry voice and gave him the answer, unlike Sam who told Lucy it was okay and then she ended up remembering.
6) Rita’s life parallels Sam’s; this means his lawyer’s life has many similarities to his own. Can you identify these parallels?
In the movie I noticed a few ways how Rita and Sam’s life have many similarities. One thing I noticed was Rita told Sam he had to try harder and harder and Sam replied with something like ” I am trying my hardest, you don’t know what it’s life because I try and try and try and I fail, and you’re just perfect” and Rita started tearing up and she told Sam that she’s not perfect how she wishes she looks different and doesn’t like her appearance and that how her husbands cheating on her and that her kid hates her, and so in this scene I think I learn that Sam and Rita both saw that they both have big but different kinds of problem’s in their life, this scene started off kind of rough but towards the end it became more of a “heartwarming” scene. Another part in the movie that I noticed was that all Sam is trying to do it keep Lucy and see Lucy as much as he can and while he’s doing that all Rita is doing is worrying about work and lots of the time her kids home alone because his dad has “work” or so he says and his mom has work, so Rita’s worrying about her job a lot more then her child and towards the end of the movie she starts to realizes that.
7) Camera angles can influence the way a scene is interpreted by a viewer. Watch for any particular angles of the camera that are used to sway your perspective?
One thing I noticed about the camera angles was that the camera doesn’t just sit there and let you watch what’s happening, it kind of follows the actors around, like when Sam was working in Starbucks when it was really busy and he was running around collecting cups and giving people there drinks the camera was going along with him and for me it kind of made me feel almost like in the movie with Sam at the moment. Another cool way I noticed that they did with the camera’s is that the screen turned blue and red sometimes and blue meant being judged and and red meant acceptance. I thought personally what they did with the camera’s was a cleaver and cool thing to do.