Moving Pictures – Younhee Burningham

1. Analyze:

(c) Character – “primary”

The character might be the type of storytelling for Moving Pictures. The story begins with new characters whom we know almost nothing about yet, sometimes, not even their names. I think it is wanting to know who they are and trying to figure out if we like the character(s) or not is what drives the readers through the book. The story doesn’t completely explain all the characters, but we do learn by the end, enough of the personalities of most characters to attempt to understand the major characters.

2. Rating: PG-13, There is a random “f” word on page 32 that really doesn’t make sense to me as to why it was used there, I guess the bare breast on the painting, “Woman Combing Her Hair” that is in multiple frames might also contribute to the rating (forgot to note the page number), there are some references to sexual relationships but no bed scenes (83, forgot to note the other page number), and sequences of a woman getting dressed without depicting nudity on page 127-131.

3. Springboard: The writer of Moving Pictures would have to have historical knowledge of this specific war time at this specific area of location, which is the World War 2 and France. The story is during the wartime when the Nazis stole much of the art collections from Europe. Upon research I found out that the Nazi stole over 2,000 individual art pieces including more than 300 paintings! I also found out that Germany “began storing the artworks in salt mines and caves for protection from Allied bombing raids. These mines and caves offered the appropriate humidity and temperature conditions for artworks” (quoted in Wikipedia). I think that last sentence is a cool fact.

4. Apply: I think I want just the little of the feel that the Moving Picture had, being set during a war time though not about war at all. I would like that very faint feeling of tense and uncertainty throughout most of the story.