I found this short video online and thought it was a interesting way to tie in some of the previous font discussions we’ve had- especially since it’s specific to movies. (And horror movies get special mention 🙂 )

http://blip.tv/file/538349

And I totally agree…but why do they all use the same font?  Maybe there’s some kind of psychological reasoning behind it….like we’re more apt to pick up or go to see movies with that font, or we associate that font with a good movie?

Last year, I took an intro graphic design course at Baruch which focused on typography and layout, the two basics of graphic design.  The main premise of the class was that certain fonts and the way they are placed can evoke certain emotions and convey particular messages.  For example, italics can give us a feeling of being rushed or pressured if placed in straight line, or put us in a dreamy state if placed in a non-linear fashion.

So what really confuses me is why designers would use the same font for thrillers, drama, and romance, sci-fi, etc.  Anybody have any ideas?

ps- side note- Notice the background music when he talks about maybe it’s time to try new fonts…It’s the “movie music!”  I found that hilarious!

At 1 a.m. last night I decided it was time to watch Marathon Man, which isn’t a brilliant idea to begin with. Watching a movie late at night is one thing. Watching a sadistic, twisted, and graphically violent film like Marathon Man is entirely a different endeavor.  I knew the film was about paranoia but a Joseph Mengele dentist/murderer on a rampage against anyone who could possibly rob him I was not prepared for.  Honestly, how many times did “Is it safe” need to be asked? Also, was the drill really necessary? I literally found myself dialing people in middle of the night and forcing them to stay on the phone with me until the evil man was done. I felt myself cringing throughout the movie and this kind of distracted me from the plot. I wasn’t the only one, since according to imdb the torture scene was cut short due to extreme audience disgust.  I did manage to grasp the plot in between scenes I nearly blacked out in and I was truly impressed.  There were, however, a few way too obvious moments:
1. The American brave official was in reality a bad guy.  Always got to turn on the American government, don’t we?
2. Babe didn’t end up killing Dr. Szell.  Szell just jumped after his diamonds.
3. Elsa was working for the bad guys.
Besides for the 3 points above, I found the movie overall very entertaining and well made. It really spoke to the paranoia genre since Szell caused all the chaos due to his paranoia of being robbed. He could have just shaved his head, strolled down to the bank, picked up his diamonds, and bounced.  Instead, he recruited the “Division,” killed Babe’s brother, nearly tortured Babe to death, and even killed a poor, innocent Auschwitz survivor. Paranoia ultimately led to the entire story plot.
For comparative purposes, I have inserted a link to a website about Joseph Mengele.  The Dr. Szell character is mimicked after Mengele.  Szell was known as the “White Angel,” and Mengele is infamously known as the “Angel of Death.”  Similarly, Szell tortured Babe and Mengele tortured countless victims of the concentration camp.  Mengele’s “experiments” included adding chemicals to eyes in an attempt to see if they changed color, sewing together the hands of two children to create Siamese twins, forcing twins to undergo extremely painful and pointless procedures, and many more sadistic routines.  Just a warning: Content is extremely disturbing.

http://isurvived.org/drMengele.html

Also, http://isurvived.org/2Postings/mengele-AUSCHWITZ.html