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Observation Analysis Notes

Assignment OneMatthew Schenck, 2016.

Observation One
Wednesday, February 3, 2016.
Darren Aronofskys, Requiem for a Dream
0:00-25:00 Minutes

Relevant Background Information: This observation takes place in various
locations throughout New Jersey in 1978. Several important sites include Mrs.
Goldfarbs apartment, Harry and Marions apartment, and the market when Harry
sells the TV. It is important to know that this movie is based off of the novel by
Hubert Selby Jr. It is also important to know how this movie was shot. It is very fast
paced and switches constantly between the lives of each character. This gives a
better effect on how their lives change over the course of a year.

Actors:
Harry or Harold Goldfarb: Is the main character of the movie and his actions play a
major role in the plot. He always knows the right thing to do but has been brought
into a world that led him down the wrong path. Every time he suggests the right
thing to do he makes an excuse or someone makes an excuse for him. Harry, as well
as the other characters, never seem to be able to catch a break.
Tyrone: Serves as Harrys best friend. He plays a major role in the plot and plays a
role in the ideas that they come up with throughout the movie. Tyrone has a really
soft personality and just wants the best for everyone.
Mrs. Sarah Goldfarb: Serves as Harries mother and could be considered part of
Harries downfall. She always let Harry do what he pleases and made excuses for
him. She also has a downfall herself due to her lack of self-control. She has an
obsession with TV and her ability to get addicted to things, even TV, is a big part of
the plot.
Marion: Harries girlfriend and a major character in the movie. She has a wealthy
background through her family but never felt love from them. Harry has been the
only person she has felt passionate about and it made her weak to fall into drugs.
Her love fore Harry causes her to get addicted to drugs which ultimately leads to her
downfall.

Artifacts:
Addiction: Addiction is the ultimate reason for everyones downfall in the movie.
Mrs. Goldfarbs addiction to weight loss led to her addiction for prescribed weight
loss medication and downers. This addiction put her in a psych ward. Harry, Marion,
and Tyrones addiction for heroin led all of them to do unthinkable things that led
them to their downfalls.
Red Dress: Mrs. Goldfarbs Red dress that she wore to Harries graduation
symbolizes two things. One thing that it represents is her loneliness by wanting to fit
in it so bad to look good for other people and for a reason to wake up in the

Samuel Johnson 2/18/2016 12:32 PM

Comment [1]: I would expand on this, I
don't understand what you mean here, and
I've seen the movie. Why is it important
that it's an adaptation? And be more
specific on how the movie was shot, those
rapid-cut shots to show shooting heroin
were iconic, but don't really come across
here.

Kristopher Uy 2/16/2016 12:18 PM

Comment [2]: I think this a good
description of this character, but I think
you should explain how her personality
affects other people besides Harry.
Kristopher Uy 2/16/2016 12:35 PM
Comment [3]: Try choosing a more
specific addiction as an artifact. Using just
an addiction can be too broad/general.
Maybe try Mrs. Goldfarb's addiction
instead and further explain that and it's
effects within the show.
Samuel Johnson 2/18/2016 1:59 AM
Comment [4]: I would say keep addiction
as an artifact. Addiction was the key
theme of the movie, showing how
addiction in its various forms destroyed the
lives of 4 people, but carefully making sure
to not limit it to addiction to illicit
substances. Narrowing the type of
addiction would pull away from that.

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Observation Analysis Notes
Assignment OneMatthew Schenck, 2016.

morning. It also causes her addiction, she wanted to lose weight so bad to fit in it
that she got addicted to speed.
Juice(TV Show): This show is repetitively playing throughout the whole show in
Mrs. Goldfarbs house. It relates to her weight loss because it a show about weight
loss because it is a health show and it relates to her need to be on TV because it is a
TV show. As the movie goes on and her hallucinations become stronger and stronger
the show seems to be a big part of them.


0:00-3:00mins- The movie opens up with Harold Goldfarb stealing his mothers,
Mrs. Goldfarbs, T.V. set. Harold trys to guilt his mother into giving it to him. It is
obvious that this isnt the first time he has done this because this time she has a lock
on it. Even though she locked it up this time she cannot go through with keeping the
T.V. and slides the key under the door she locked herself behind. The scene ends
with Mrs. Goldfarb talking to herself or dead husband saying that this incident didnt
happen and that everything will be okay in the end.

3:00mins- Outside the apartment waiting is Tyrone, Harolds best friend. Tyrone
addresses Harold as Jim and continues to do this throughout the movie. They
proceed to wheel the T.V. across New Jersey to a shop that seems to be mart of a flea
market. After they get the money for the T.V. they immediately get some heroin and
get high. As they are high they make mix music and begin to talk about the idea of
cutting and selling heroin. The scene end when a cop comes and sits down next to
them at a refreshment stand. Harry daydreams about taking the cops gun and
teasing him with it and then snaps out of it.

8:00mins- Mrs. Goldfarb shows up at the market where Harold sold the T.V. and ask
the salesman for her T.V.. They address one another by name showing that they
have obviously been through this plenty of times before. When the salesman ask
Mrs. Goldfarb why she doesnt call the cops on Harry she refused and said told him
that Harry is all she has. When Mrs. Goldfarb gets back to her apartment she turns
the set on and the reoccurring show Juice is on. This show is shown throughout the
whole movie. The next scene introduces Harrys girl friend Marion when they
proceed to break into an apartment complex just to hangout on the rooftop.

10:00mins- The scene cuts back to Mrs. Goldfarb as she is receiving a phone call
from a company that chooses contestants for T.V. shows. She is immediately
intrigued by the idea of being on T.V. and wants to try on her favorite outfit. She
goes to her closet and tries on a red dress that she wore to Harolds graduation. She
cannot fit in the dress and ask a friend to help her put it on. Her friend suggest she
drop a couple of pounds. Then the scene cuts back into Harold and Marion having a
conversation about her life. Harold asked her why she does what she does when her

Samuel Johnson 2/18/2016 2:03 AM

Comment [5]: Good observation, I hadn't
noticed that when I watched the movie. To
me it just represented her obsession with
being on TV. I would expand on exactly
how and why it brought on her addiction.
ALso it was diet pills, which are similar to
but not the same as speed.

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Observation Analysis Notes
Assignment OneMatthew Schenck, 2016.

parents give her plenty of money. She tells him that even though they give her
material items, they dont give her love. Then Harry brings up her clothing designs
and opening a store for it. She turns it down saying, when will I have time to
hangout with you?

19:00mins- A new scene opens up with Mrs. Goldfarb eating her first breakfast on
her diet. Her appetite obviously is fulfilled and she begins talking to herself saying
that she can do it. She begins to watch T.V. and the show Juice is on once again. The
show is about dieting and losing weight. Every time the show mentions something
she shouldnt eat, she wants to eat it even more. She is fed up with it and decides to
go outside with her friends on the sidewalk. They talk about the diet and one friend
mentions how her daughter lost 50lbs by going to the doctor and getting some pills.
The mailman shows up and she approaches him asking if her application for the T.V.
show has came in. The application came in and all of them get very excited. The
scene cuts over to Tyrone and Harry and they have just discovered that they will be
able to score the heroin they need to cut. When Tyrone leaves to go get the heroin,
Harry cannot stop pacing and then he has a vision. He is looking out his window and
he sees a lady standing at the end of a pier in a red dress. He begins running toward
her and its Marion.

Observation Two
Saturday, February 6, 2016.
Darren Aronofskys, Requiem for a Dream
25:00-66:00

25:00mins- Harry and Tyrone finally got the drugs they needed to start selling and
Tyrone suggest they try it. Harry explains to Tyrone very seriously that they cannot
use all the drugs instead of selling them. Tyrone agrees and just said they should try
it to see how much they should cut. The scene cuts to Mrs. Goldfarb who is now
having visions of food because she is craving it so badly. She breaks and calls her
friend about the doctor who can prescribe weight loss pills.

28:00mins- A new scene opens up and Marion is on a date with her therapist. She is
on this date so she can take his money and make sure that her parents still think she
is seeing him so they wont cut her off. The scene cuts to Mrs. Goldfarb while she is
at the doctors office. The doctor doesnt pay her much attention and just writes her
a prescription without asking her anything. She begins taking the medication and
states that her pills are her meals for the day. When she takes the pills you can
immediately see the effects because she becomes very busy and jittery. Meanwhile
Harry and Tyrone are selling their drugs and are very profitable and Marion is
making clothes. Everyone is happy and thinks they are going in the right direction.

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Observation Analysis Notes
Assignment OneMatthew Schenck, 2016.

33:00mins- Tyrone bought some new mirrors showing that he is making money and
as he looks into them he has a vision of when he was a little kid. The vision was of
him and his mother talking. Tyrone told her that one day he would make it and his
mother told him that he didnt have to make anything, he just had to love her. His
girlfriend interrupts his vision and he quickly hops in bed with her. Meanwhile
Harry is telling Marion about how he wants to give his mom a T.V. as a present, she
thinks it is a great idea. The scene cuts over to a time lapse of Mrs. Goldfarbs day,
she is cleaning, sweating, grinding her teeth, and eventually falls asleep watching
T.V.. This deeply showed the effects of her new prescription. The next day she tries
on her red dress and can zip it up a little. All her friends can notice her weight loss
and she thinks everything is going great.

38:00mins- Harry shows up as his mother is hanging outside with her friends and
she is very excited to see him. Harry notices her excitement and it annoys him
because he cannot tell her what he wants to say. When he finally tells her about the
present he can hear her grinding her teeth and immediately asked about what pills
she was on. She tells him they are weight loss pills but he knows that it is a drug
called an upper or speed. He tries to explain to her that they are not good for her
and he wants her to stop. She rebuttals with a sad excuse about how it is a reason to
wake up and that she is going to be on T.V.. Even though he knows they can kill her,
he sees how happy she is and he cant say anything else about it. When he leaves he
begins to cry about it.

47:00mins- A new scene opens and Tyrone is a car with one of the king pins in drug
trade. The kingpin is complementing Tyrones work and is offering him a higher
position when the partition begins to roll down and the driver starts shooting at
them. Tyrone begins to run away and his caught by a cop and taken to jail. The scene
cuts back to Mrs. Goldfarb as she is on the phone with the doctor about the pills. She
explains that they are not giving her the same effect and the nurse explains she has a
tolerance now. When she hangs up she takes two pills instead of the prescribed one
pill and begins having visions.

50:00mins- Harry bails Tyrone out of jail and it cost most of their cash they have.
Harry explains to Tyrone that the street are going to be dry of heroin because the
Mafia is killing all the other drug dealers and hoarding the drugs in Florida. Tyrone
then mentions a guy named Big Tom that has heroin but only gives it to females that
give him sexual favors. The scene cuts to Mrs. Goldfarb as she now takes three pills
at one time. The scene ends with Mrs. Goldfarb pacing in circles, Marion mentioning
dipping into the funds and saying everything will be okay, and Harry noticing a bad
sore on his arm where he injects.

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Observation Analysis Notes
Assignment OneMatthew Schenck, 2016.

53:00mins- The scene opens up with Mrs. Goldfarb visiting the inattentive doctor.
She tries to explain her side effects and that she is not well but instead of listening
he just prescribes her Valium(downers) contributing to her addiction. The scene
switches to Harry and Marion arguing about having no money or drugs, Harry
becomes furious and heads to Tyrones house to dip into the funds. Tyrone explains
some good news and bad news to Harry. The good news is that a shipment of drugs
are coming in but the bad news is that they are doubled in price. Since the prices are
doubled Harry ask Marion to go get money from the therapist but she explains to
him that she will have to have sex with him. She does it.

63:00mins- Harry and Tyrone are going to the meet the mafia to get the drugs. As
they are waiting in line a junky starts a fight and the mafia began shooting and they
were left empty handed. Harry suggests that they drive to Florida to get some drugs.
Meanwhile Marions addiction is taking over and she is scavenging to find some
heroin.

66:00mins- Mrs. Goldfarb takes four pills and is having awful visions. Her house is a
mess and so is she. She looks very sleep deprived and her hair is very ugly.

Observation Three
Monday, February 8, 2016
Darren Aronofskys, Requiem for a Dream
67:00-97:00

67:00mins- Harry faces Marion and tells her they didnt score. They get into a huge
fight and Harry tells her if she needs a fix so bad that she should call Big Tom and
then storms out. The scene switches over to Mrs. Goldfarb who is now picturing
herself on TV. The people on TV were in her house and making fun of her. They were
talking about how dirty her place was and how bad she looked. She began making
excuses for herself and was so scared that she left her house.

74:00mins- Harry and Tyrone are headed to Florida and Harrys arm is really
infected now and they have to go to a hospital. The scene switches over to Mrs.
Goldfarb who has arrived at the TV Company. She asked them why they havent
contacted her and they explained it was long process and sent her to a hospital.
They labeled her as crazy and sent her to the psych ward to detox. Meanwhile
Marion cant control her addiction and forced herself into calling Big Tim.

80:00mins- Marion shows up at Big Tims and does what she had to do to get the
heroin. Big Tim tells her that Sunday night he is having a party and that she could
get some more then. Tyrone and Harry arrive at the hospital and they are thrown in

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Observation Analysis Notes
Assignment OneMatthew Schenck, 2016.

jail. Mrs. Goldfarb isnt responding to any of the drugs they are giving her so they try
electric shock on her head.

85:00mins- Marion talks on the phone with Harry and then goes to the party and
does something I dont think are appropriate for this assignment so you should get
the idea of the lengths she went to, to get some drugs. Tyrone and Harry are in jail
and they are with drawing really bad. They have to line up and see who can go to
work and who cant. Tyrone is forced into working and Harry physically cant
because of his arm. Harry is sent to the hospital while he is asleep and wakes up
without his arm. Marion returns home from the party and crys herself to sleep. Mrs.
Goldfarb is sent to a psycho ward and is visited by some of her friends. They cannot
stand to see her in this state and they begin to cry for her. Mrs. Goldfarb lays down
and still has a vision of herself being on TV.




Analysis:
A.
Throughout the movie there were several examples of conventions being
portrayed. The conventions mainly revolve around drug users and how they go
about their everyday lives. One convention that stuck out in the opening scene was
Harry stealing his own moms TV and everyone being okay with it. In a normal world
this would not be okay and Harry would most likely go to jail. It also showed how
Harries mother needed him so much due to her loneliness. Another convention used
throughout the movie was the use of excuses. Every time someone argued about
someone using drugs, they always made up an excuse to use them and then every
thing was okay. For example: When Harry tried to get his mom to stop taking the
weight loss pills she fed him some long excuse and he just let her keep taking them.
Another example of a convention in the movie would be when Marion used her
therapist for money and everyone was okay with it. She did this a couple times
throughout the movie. The worst time she did it was when she had to have sex with
him to get the money.
B.
- The need for more and more drugs was common among all characters
throughout the movie. Their need for drugs also led them to sell drugs.
Ultimately the drug use was leading them to their downfall and even though
they knew this they continued to use them.
- Marion has always grown up wealthy and has had anything she ever needed
and more. Although this is true she still decides to do drugs and hang out
with Harry and not abide by her parents. Materialistic items are a lot
different than emotions and its obvious that Marion was more attached to
Harries love than her parents money.

Samuel Johnson 2/18/2016 12:40 PM

Comment [6]: I think this is overly
delicate and vague. While you certainly
don't have to give the sordid details, I'd
think it would be much clearer if you
describe it as "sexual exhibitionism," "sex
acts," or anything like that it'd be easier for
the reader to understand. It also detracts
from the seriousness of the situation to
dance around it like that.

Kristopher Uy 2/16/2016 12:51 PM

Comment [7]: I like this analysis of the
movie. You did well by linking realism to
the movie. It makes for a good comparison
between the fictional world and the real
world.

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Observation Analysis Notes
Assignment OneMatthew Schenck, 2016.

- When Harry and Tyrone get high they always seem to just sit around and
stay inside. They clearly enjoyed doing that but nothing they did when they
were high was productive. This would be very bad for your health mentally
and physically. With this being said, it is evident that the drug use causes less
activity.
- Mrs. Goldfarbs loneliness has a huge affect on her lifestyle. Her loneliness
has caused her to let Harry do what ever he wants and follow the wrong
paths. He was the only thing that she had and knew she could never turn him
in. It also caused her to go down the wrong path by obsessing over TV, being
on TV, losing weight, and trying to be accepted.




Search Terms Sources I Can Access Based on Search Terms
- Heroin
Addiction

Heroin Addiction. http://www.addictions.com/heroin/

-Parents that
Staff. Why Parents Should Not Spoil Their Children.
spoil their kids http://www.professorshouse.com/family/children/articles/why
and the
-parents-should-not-spoil-children/
outcomes
- Social Effects Social Effects. http://www.heroinadvisor.co.uk/heroinof Heroin
effects/social-effects.php
Addiction
-Negative
Hara Estroff Marano. The Dangers of Loneliness. November 20th,
affects of
2015. https://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200307/theloneliness
dangers-loneliness


Propose:


Inevitably, drug addiction will cause some sort of downfall in your life
whether you see it coming or you dont. Darren Aronofskys, Requiem for a Dream,
portrays that exactly. At several points in the movie leading up to the climax and
downfall you can see the effects of drug abuse. Some of the effects you see are
depression, loneliness, and addicts doing obscene things to get their hands on a fix.
Even though this is a movie, it represents what can happen in reality.

Kristopher Uy 2/16/2016 12:57 PM

Comment [8]: These seem like they
would be very good areas of research!

Samuel Johnson 2/18/2016 12:46 PM

Comment [9]: I have literally no idea
what you are proposing to research.
Everything you say here is correct, but I
don't see it leading anywhere. Are you
researching the effects of addition? The
link between addiction and the collapse of
the lives of those effected? It's not at all
clear.