Blog Entry 4.1: Update

       Last night, I watched 'The Goonies' again. It was so much fun even thoguh I watched it for the assignment. Watching the movie, I wrote several important symbols, symbolic gestures, and archetypes. For example, the number of crime family is three which has significant symbolic meaning. A wishing well and a pair of scales of One-Eyed Willi seem to be one of the important symbols in the movie. I already finished writing the plot as well as the introduction. I am going to copy and paste the draft below.

      I am going to keep working on finding symbols and interpreting the movie. The final project seemed to be hard at first, but I find it fun since I selected my best movie.  :) 

--------------------- Introduction and Plot ----------------------------

(I'm going to the writing center after the Thanksgiving Day so please excuse me for the errors in the text)

           Treasure islands, pirate ships, exciting adventures, or stories of hero or heroine always appeal to children. ‘The Goonies,’ a movie about hidden treasure and four children who are seeking the treasure, has been still one of my favorite adventure movies since I watched it when I was younger. I recorded it on video tape and watched more than twenty times, but the movie never gets boring. ‘The Goonies’ was directed by Richard Donner and came out in 1985. Richard Donner also directed several superhero movies or supernatural films such as ‘the Omen,’ ‘Superman’ and ‘Lethal Weapon.’ It is interesting that Steven Spielberg wrote the story of ‘the Goonies,’ and the screenplay was written by Chris Columbus who also worked on ‘Gremlins,’ ‘Home Alone’ and ‘Harry Potter’ series. What else can you expect? It is no wonder that ‘the Goonies’ is such an exciting and well-organized adventure family movie. This movie shows ‘the hero’s journey,’ ‘monomyth,’ very well and I am glad that I have a chance to interpret ‘the Goonies’ since this is one of my favorite movies.

            The setting of the movie is a quiet and small village by the sea in Oregon. It is the last week for Mikey and his elder brother, Brand, to live in the village. Their house is going to be demolished by developers who are planning to transform the neighborhood into a golf course. Mikey, the leader of the Goonies, and his playful friends, Mouth, Chunk, and Data, happen to find a 17^th century pirate treasure map of ‘One-Eyed’ Willie. The four children, Brand, Andy, and Stef set out to find the hidden treasure. Meanwhile, a crime family, the Fratellis, just escaped from jail and hide in an isolated restaurant in the same village. The entrance to a secret cavern, coincidently, is under the restaurant where the Fratellis just occupied. The Goonies managed to sneak into the cavern, but Chunk was captured by the Fratellis and let the crime family know the hidden treasure.

            As the Goonies seek for the hidden treasure, they go through several traps which were set by One-Eyed Willie. The Fratellis confine Chunk in a basement room and start chasing the Goonies through the hidden cavern. Chunk is placed in the room where the Fratellis placed their brother, Sloth, who has a deformed face because Momma Fratelli dropped him when he was younger. Chunk and Sloth become intimate soon since they have one thing in common that they both love eating. The Goonies finally discover the One-Eyed Willi’s ship which is filled with treasure, but the Fratellis also find the Goonies and force them to put out all the treasure and leave the ship. The Fratellis are caught in a trap and triggers the collapse of the cavern. In the end, Chunk and Sloth save their friends and the Fratellis are arrested. Mikey and his family find jewelry in his marble bag and celebrate that they do not need to leave their place any more.