Part I: Unlike many of our authors in this class, video footage of Truman Capote abounds. Find a video of him. Post the link in the forum, and tell us a little about your perception of him. How might he have fit in 1960s Kansas, and how might the cultural differences, for better or worse, affected his ability “to get the story”?
Part II: As Truman Capote got to know many of the characters involved in the story behind In Cold Blood, his depictions were undoubtedly influenced. Select one character from the movie that you believe was portrayed in a different light and discuss why you think this character was skewed. Keep in mind that there are a lot of possibilities to consider. Capote’s own feelings could influence the work, the character may be too distasteful (for a variety of reasons), or the exaggeration could simply make a better read. Since we are dealing with a film, the possibility is also there that the change translates better to film. You are welcome to investigate this possibility as well. Please support your ideas. In this assignment, you may want to read other reports of the crime or excerpts from the book.
Part III. Grisham and Capote both straddle the worlds of fiction and non-fiction in their work. Which medium ( film or print) do you find to be more effective in getting an audience to care about the issue at hand? Which genre ( fiction or non-fiction) works best to engage an audience in this same way? Give an example that we haven’t read/viewed in class.
Submission Instructions:
Your initial discussion should be at least 200 words. It must include MLA citations – both in-text and an end citation. Citations are not counted as part of your 200 word count requirement. Please also respond to a minimum of two of your classmates’ initial posts and bring together pieces of the discussion and take those ideas further. These responses should be at least 150 words.
S tudents are expected to post on three separate days each week for average credit. During the week, read the messages posted by your instructor and classmates and join the discussion. Your instructor may ask questions, provide explanations, and include links to other resources.
To earn a higher grade on each week’s discussion, students are expected to post more frequently. To sum up: posting three times in a week will earn a grade of a C. Four posts of high quality according to the rubric will earn a B, and five high quality posts according to the rubric earn an A. Again, please check the rubric for details on this.
Remember, the Forums are our place for classroom discussion.
Classmate 1:
Part 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xxGchy14pE
Truman Capote was an American author that is most famous for his book, In Cold Blood. In Cold Blood tells the true story of the murder of the Clutter family in Holcomb, Kansas, in 1959. Two recently released convicts, seeking a fortune that did not exist, invaded the Clutter family home, tie up the four family members present and left no witnesses.Capote was forever troubled after he conducted the necessary research that was needed for his book. He was considered to be in control but quickly lost control because of drug use and alcohol abuse. He felt that he was becoming part of the crime with each and every in depth interview that he did with the two that committed this horrible crime.
Part 2
The character that stands out to me the most is probably Alvin Dewey the investigator in the case. He had known the Clutters, went to church with them, and visited them several times, so this made it very personal to him. This case soon takes up all his time. Even though he starts on the wrong foot, he soon starts to make the right decisions that take him where he needs to go to solve the case. He is considered honest to a fault. Because of his patients and training in interrogation, he gets Perry to confess to the murders of the Clutter family. Not only did Dewey take the lead investigator role in the solving of the case, he also played a huge role in the gathering of information for the book. The New Yorker did a story on Dewey and he roles that he played. “When locals were reluctant to speak with Capote, Dewey intervened on the writer’s behalf” (Keefe, 2013).
Part 3
The way that an audience captures the true story of what the author is trying to say is different with every person. As for myself, the easiest way to comprehend is to read. For some the movies or TV adaptation is easiest to understand, however, in such adaptations there is the possibility of it getting changed up for the purpose of rates or making money off it. If there is something that is unbelievable during the making of a film, it can mostly be written off as false or made up. With most, reading a book is not as easy or is more time consuming than just watching it on TV or in the movie theater. There are good points to either adaptation theory that is used.
Keefe, Patrick Radden. “Capote’s Co-Conspirators.” The New Yorker. 22 Mar. 2013. Web. 20 May 2016. <http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/capotes-co-conspirators>.
Classmate 2:
Part I:
https://youtu.be/6xxGchy14pE In some regards, Mr. Capote was without a doubt at odds with much of the “counter culture” that ran amok in the 1960’s. This interview with William F. Buckley that has a lot to do with Capital Punishment is a direct reflection of his experience with violent crimes.
Part II:
Mr. Capote was obsessed with this story in every detail. From the writing that took for years of his life, to the filming that had to take place with as much detail as possible. This also greatly changed the way in which he viewed the justice system, and how capital punishments are handed down. I have little doubt that he may actually have made the killers to be more blood thirsty than they may have been. He may also have made the family more perfect than they truly were in reality. This I believe was an attempt to change the courts to administer the death penalty in a swifter fashion with much less delay.
Part III.
As someone who loves to read, I am skewed to preferring the written word to film. The ability to delve deeper into the minds of the characters, their feelings, doubts, and assuredness cannot be described by even the best actor. To see a scene through the eyes of the author will always be superior to any film. When it comes to fiction v. non-fiction, I would have to say the latter is far more adept to sway opinion and emotions. Look at any of the headlines today, when reality is outside of the window, people would rather believe a lie than the truth. Just look at the pathetic false ramblings of Al Gore with his despotic fallacy of “Man Made Global Warming” in An Inconvenient Truth. Proven false in every sense and still accepted by those who agree with the lie, regardless of reality sitting just outside of their doors.
Classmate 3:
After watching a video of Truman capote for the first time, I found that Truman Capote was well-known for his social figure. His works in cold blood book is a master piece and he took him some time to investigate about the Kansas murder that took the life of a family. As we know most of Capote’s friend were actors, critics, authors, aristocrats, and many more. He was very open about him being homosexual at the time and people feel very comfortable to tell him things that they never told anyone before. The cold blood book was an international best-seller and makes him a pioneered for his time of a non-fiction novel. I found this video on you tube that’s talk about Truman Capote and his investigation about the murder.
I watched the 1967 version movie by Truman Capote and it was hard for me to really grasp what they were saying in the movie. After I watch it for a second time I have a better understanding about the whole movie. I feel like Dick’s was more than what Truman had portrayed him to be in the movie, as I was watching the movie Truman has put more attention to Perry as more to be a serial killer than Dicks. Dick has using Perry to help him kill the Clutter’s family for money and he knows that Perry is the best fit for the job. As growing up Perry feels like life hasn’t given him what he really deserves, and he has to get it somehow. Dick was a cold blood and he didn’t think about the consequences of his action. As I was reading a book they mention that Capote has spent more time with Perry by asking him question about his life and the murder. I believe both of them are a perfect match for each other to commit the murder and the jury makes the right decision to hang them for their actions as cold blood killers.
The first time people were able to learn more about the murder of the Clutter family it was through Capote’s book in cold blood. Capote was able to use both print and film to get the audience to learn about the murder of the Clutter’s family in Holcomb, Kansas. Because of his film I was able to watch and learn about the murder that happened a long time ago. It’s really difficult to choose which one will get to the audience, one thing I can see our generation watch more film than reading a book.
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