Still Shot Analysis :: L.A. Confidential/Double Indemnity

In both still shots, the camera is shooting from a medium long shot. As you can see, both shots also have this whole triangle thing going on. Two characters at the same height and one at a lower level. In both, the character on the left has the most power. In Double Indemnity, Keys has a very good idea of how Phyllis's husband died and he is bringing in people to help get closer to the murderer. In L.A. Confidential, Bud is on a steep hill that makes him taller than Edmund. Bud is also stronger and in this scene they start brawling, clearly Bud would overpower Edmund. Each still shot is really a statement of power.

Stitches :: Dream :: Who Am I? (Identity)

Contrast:

- David has finally come out of the dark pages of his life and can enjoy the white pages. Hence why the last chapter has a white background and all the others before had a black background.

Question:

- Is the house a metaphor for David's own self?

Journal: In Stitches, David has never really had an identity from what I can see. His parents have always told him what to do, how to act, and what to say. He has never been able to express himself. The surgery only made it worse, because after it he couldn't talk which didn't help his cause of finding his identity. As an act of trying to find who he is, he draws. It is his only thing that he can do that no one can really control. In the last few pages David has a dream where his mother is wanting him to follow her into the building with his grandmother. He decides not to. This is David's way of breaking away from what his parents want, and doing what he wants. 

Stitches :: I Was Fifteen :: Fate Vs. Free Will

Parallel:

- On page 308, David has to visit his mother in the hospital, because she is very ill. He starts to roam the hospital. He goes to where he saw the baby floating in the glass. This is paralleling page 39 when he was six and lost in the hospital halls. 

Question:

- Does David's mother regret how she treated him?

Journal: 

- "Geography is destiny"

I think after everything that's happened, David chose his identity. He chose to run away and become a struggling artist. He chose to do what he wanted to do. He didn't let the fact that he had cancer, and now no vocal cords affect him. He dealt with what he was given and made the best of it. 

Stitches :: 3 1/2 Years After The First Diagnosis :: Images

Parallel:

- On page 181 David is under anesthesia and is in a dream state. During his dream he says "ACK?". On the next couple pages, page 184. His right vocal cord had been taken out and all he could do was say "ACK?". This time the page was just zoomed in on his mouth. 

Question:

- Why does David's mother have so much hatred towards him?

Journal:

- On page 167, David had just woke from surgery. His family had come into his room. In the frames I notice how in the foreground, David's dad is the only one looking him in the eye and talking. It seems very odd cause he is so enthusiastic and sympathetic, and he is usually never like that. In the background his mother and brother are keeping distance and trying to look him in the eye. They don't even say one word to him. As we find out later in the chapter, they knew he had cancer. Hence, why they were acting so odd. 

Stitches :: I Was Eleven :: "Words, words, words..."

Contrast:

- In this chapter a growth is found on David's neck. His mother repeatedly says that they don't enough money and that it cost too much through out the whole chapter. His dad gets a raise and instead of using it for the surgery on the growth, his mom and dad go out shopping every weekend for a while. They could care less about David's growth.

Question:

- Will David's parents realize that they are spending too much and not paying attention to David?

Journal: 

- From pages 138 - 147, the use of words in each of the frames is non-existent. In this book David feels as though a lot of the images really explain themselves. We as a reader don't need dialogue or narration on every page. Also, he wants us to think about if there was dialogue, what would we think it says. I think his choice to do this so far in the book, has really been effective. He encourages the reader to be more visual.

Stitches :: I Was Six :: Frames

Parallels:

- On page 87, David is helping his grandma make his bed. In a single frame there is a picture of Jesus on the cross. David asks his Grandma what it means. It looks as though it is looking at David in the scene.

- On page 104, after David's grandma scolded his hands with water for not eating. He goes to his bed. In the dark room he notices the cross above his bed again and Jesus is looking right at him. They give this scene one whole frame on the page. In his imagination, he is being judged.

Question:

- Why are David's parents splitting up and taking one child each?

Journal:

- On page 96, David had just had his hands scolded by his grandmother. There are only three frames on the page. One big one on the top that takes up half the page and two others side by side right under the top frame. In the top frame, David is sitting alone in the bathroom curled up and crying. It is the biggest frame because it shows him at his most vulnerable and fragile state. The two bottom ones aren't as big because he is just reflecting on what had just happened. Frames in this book vary page to page. Some pages have a whole row of small frames and some have just one big frame. The author organizes it like this to really bring out the important parts of the story.