A Scanner Darkly - Movie Post

1.) Reaction shot of Max the dog when Charles sprays the insecticide.
2.) Zoom shot on Charles when he was talking on the phone, used to build the tension.
3.) Close-Up Shot of the Aphids inside the jar.
4.) Close-Up Shot of Fred inside the scramble suit.
5.) P.O.V Shot of Fred looking out of the scramble suit looking out to the crowd during his speech.
6.) Over the Shoulder Shots between Charles and Barris at the diner.
7.) P.O.V Shot through Charles at Bob's house.
8.) Reaction Shot of Bob looking into the mirror after waking up from the gunshot, notices what he has become because of the addiction.
9.) Dolly Track Shot going around Fred and Hank when looking at the new holo technology.
10.) P.O.V Shot of Bob looking at the Ernie and Jim as Aphids, shows the affects of substance D on his mind.
11.) Over the Shoulder shots between Donna and Bob when Bob goes to visit Donna's home.
12.) Close-Up of Hank and Fred when confronted about his addiction.
13.) Dolly Track Shot of when Fred Joins "New Path" and is being introduced to the other drug addicts.
14.) Establishing Shot of the New Path farm at the end of the movie after find out Substance D is made by the same people who try and "cure" the addicts.

A Scanner Darkly - Post 5

A Scanner Darkly - Pg 226-275
5 Strong comments on characters or plot
- Hank is actually Donna.
- Donna has been working with the police the entire time trying to crack down on Substance D.
- Fred was sent to New Path for his Substance D addiction as a police officer.
- Fred's name was changed to Bruce when he arrived at New Hope.
- Fred was sent to the New Path farm where it is discovered that New Hope, a drug rehab center is actually creating Substance D.

4 Insightful Questions
- Do the police know that Substance D is being made by New Path?
- Does every drug addict sent to New Path get sent to the farm?
- Why would New Path create this cycle of death and drug addiction just for money?
- Why was Donna ramming the Coca-Cola truck?

3 Vocabulary Words and Definitions
- Quasars (pg 244): a starlike object that may send out radio waves and other forms of energy; many have large red shifts
- Monk (pg 244): a male religious living in a cloister and devoting himself to contemplation and prayer and work
- Forlorn (pg 255): marked by or showing hopelessness

2 Examples of Literary Terms
- Metaphor - "A small figure on foot facing an infinity of oncoming lights" (Dick 238).
- Anaphora - "Mountains, Bruce, Mountains,... Mountains, Bruce, mountains" (Dick 273).

1 Summary Sentence
- Fred is sent to New Path where he discovers that Substance D comes from the very people who claim to cure it.

A Scanner Darkly - Post 4

A Scanner Darkly - Pg 168-225
5 Strong comments on characters or plot
- This was declared rather suddenly that Luckman choked and died on a piece of meat.
- It would be very interesting to know what these foreign words meant.

- Charles Freck's suicide attempt sounds horrible, where it leads to a hallucination of a monster that lists all of his sins he committed.

- Those foreign messages from Chapter 11 could be the German sayings that Bob whispered to himself.
- Fred's mind is splitting into two distinct combative entities.

4 Insightful Questions
- In what languages are these random phrases?
- Does Substance D also cause the abusers to kill themselves from hallucinations?
- Did the hallucination eventually kill Charles Freck?
- Is Bob having sex with other women other than Donna?

3 Vocabulary Words and Definitions
- Transducer (pg 174): an electrical device that converts one form of energy into another
- Scrutiny (pg 182): a prolonged intense look
- Perpetually (pg 186): in a perpetual manner; seeming to never end

2 Examples of Literary Terms
- Metonymy - "And for this s*** there are no take two's" (Dick 184).
- Simile - "Then you hollow out a section and put a wind-up motor like a clockworks in it..." (Dick 193).

1 Summary Sentence
- Fred begins investigated Bob Arctor through the holograms and also Charles Freck tries to kill himself.

A Scanner Darkly - Post 3

A Scanner Darkly - Pg 112-167
5 Strong comments on characters or plot
- It looks like this book is going into depth of how Substance D causes your brain to split apart, just mid sentence.
- It sounds like the Young Black Boy was trying to swindle Barris came in with the bike asking about the gears.
- It seems like people are willing to pay anything to get drugs.
- This city is drowned in drugs from all over the world.
- I don't understand how they make Fred investigate Bob Arctor when Fred is Bob, and was created by Bob because of the investigation.

4 Insightful Questions
- What is Jim doing with a mountain bike?
- What makes Jim think that the bike was a 10 speed, and not originally a 8 speed or whatever?
- Why is Jim calling them "colored" people instead of black or white?
- What did Bob Arctor have his hand on?

3 Vocabulary Words and Definitions
- Chasm (pg 115): a deep opening in the earth's surface
- Frigid (pg 158): cold;sexually unresponsive
- Latent (pg 159): not presently active

2 Examples of Literary Terms
- Hyperbole - "You're too stoned to drive ten feet" (Dick 153).
- Simile - "What's hash sell for now?....Christ! As much as smack" (Dick 154).

1 Summary Sentence
- Donna and Arctor get more personal time together.

A Scanner Darkly - Post 2

A Scanner Darkly - Pg 56-111
5 Strong comments on characters or plot
- Bob Arctor the Substance D dealer is also Fred the police officer.
- An undercover narcotics agent greatest fear is not death, but being poked and hooked to some drug like Substance D or heroin.
- Substance D is more than a drug, it is like it's own economy because of how much people buy it.
- I don't understand what these holo-scanners do.
- It sounds like all of Bob's personalities are beginning to clash and go out of control.

4 Insightful Questions
- Why would Jora's own brothers get her hooked on Substance D?
- Do the police know that Bob was Fred?
- Is Jim Barris making the Substance D?
- Why is Barris talking about flushing out all their stashes?

3 Vocabulary Words and Definitions
- Nebulous (pg 56): cloudy: lacking definite form or limits
- Shuck (pg 72): remove from the shell
- Stoically (pg 106): without emotion; in a stoic manner

2 Examples of Literary Terms
- Sarcasm - "Sometimes I wish I knew how to go crazy....'Maybe there's an instruction manual on it'" (Dick 56).
- Metaphor - "This change i him as Fred was an economy of the passions" (Dick 58).

1 Summary Sentence
- Fred turn himself in to the police which leads to the investigation towards Bob Arctor.

A Scanner Darkly - Post 1

A Scanner Darkly - Pg 3-53
5 Strong comments on characters or plot
- Jerry sounds like a mental patient, or a drug addict.
- The story is narrated by a 3rd person omniscient narrator.
- It seems like the narration of this book is changing back and forth between 1st Person and 3rd narration.
- Donna looks like a very powerful woman who can take care of herself.
- The relationship between Fred and Bob Arctor is still very confusing to me.

4 Insightful Questions
- What is a "buy call?"
- What does Substance D help with?
- How come police aren't more serious about cracking down on Substance D abuse?
- Shouldn't cops be more vigilant when on duty then trying to pretend to read a magazine?

3 Vocabulary Words and Definitions
- Indignation (pg 12): a feeling of righteous anger
- Lanky (pg 18): somewhat lank; tall, slim, and rather ungraceful
- Serotonin (pg 37): a neurotransmitter involved in e.g. sleep and depression and memory

2 Examples of Literary Terms
- Simile - "Ahead, one of those giant shopping malls surrounded by a wall that you bounced off like a rubber ball" (Dick 10).
- Hyperbole - "...maybe seven or eight hundred pounds--hell, lots more. What does a dump truck hold" (Dick 47).

1 Summary Sentence
- It introduced the characters Donna and Charles/Bob as well as explained Substance D and what it does to people.