Since I am not writing about a film in my research paper, I will go ahead and analyze the Temple Grandin film stills that were given to us in class. Looking at "Still #1" there is a lot going on when looking at it. We first notice that Temple is on the ground and inside some box, while pulling down on a string. She is looking directly at her roommate who had just walked in to find Temple doing something which she considered to be "strange." Judging by her face, it looks as if Temple is at peace with herself while inside the 'squeeze machine' that she has invented. Because I have seen this film before, I know that in her eyes, what she is doing is normal because it is helping her get the sensation of a hug whenever she is in need of one. However, for the roommate and the rest of the college, it is very difficult for them to understand without judging.
Moving on to "Still #2," we notice right away that Temple is the only female in present in a room filled with males. In her meeting with the men, she is showing them her blueprints for her design to make slaughterhouses more human. Despite she herself being very focused while looking out at her design, the rest of the men in the room are instead looking straight at her, with expressions in their faces that may indicate that they cannot believe the words that are coming out of her mouth.
Finally, in "Still #3," we see the faces of everyone in the crowd looking directly at Temple. This happens as a result of Temple standing up to say how she was a person living with Autism who was fortunate to become highly successful. We see that room is filled with people; many whom before listening to Temple speak, were listening to an individual in the back holding his hand on his mouth. The people's emotions seem shocked in disbelief, as many could not believe how a person with Autism managed to become so successful and and overcome it.
When doing this exercise, what i manged to get out of it was that we tend to miss a lot of small details when we are looking at a film in real time. If you were to pause a certain part, especially that might be an important part to the film, you start to notice little things here and there, and begin to question why they're there. Directors know why they put certain things in a certain part, why the lighting during the moment might be light or dark, etc etc. These stills therefore allow us to question and try to come up with conclusions towards these questions.
