How does the film 'Witness' show the clash between Amish culture and Modern American culture?
Guillaume Wright 10C2 English Media Coursework 14/12/00 How does the film 'Witness' show the clash between Amish culture and Modern American culture? Witness is s film made in 1985 and is primarily concerned with the wide gulf between Amish culture and modern American culture. The film doesn't really belong to any individual genre, but instead is incorporated by the several sub plots that take on their own themes and genres, which gives the film a unique and varied style. The film starts with a young Amish boy and his mother travelling into Philadelphia where the boy witnesses the murder of an undercover police officer. Detective John Book is brought in to investigate the situation and protect the boy, but when he uncovers a conspiracy leading all the way up to the top ranks, Book retreats with mother and son, back to the humble Amish community in the Dutch Pennsylvania countryside, but it doesn't take long for the villains to catch up with him. One of the foremast themes that runs through the film is the disparity between the two independent cultures, and although this concept is well hidden beneath the outer plot of the film, it is still prominent in the general purpose and aim of the film. The Amish are a distinctive community that hold certain beliefs and morals that govern their
Audiences experience cinema as a form of illusion. Discuss in relation to the fact that certain films shown within this module explore both their own materiality and the cinematic apparatus itself.
Clayton Lewis Audiences experience cinema as a form of illusion. Discuss in relation to the fact that certain films shown within this module explore both their own materiality and the cinematic apparatus itself. 'The experience of the avant-garde film can be disorienting. Film has only an eighty (now over one hundred) year history and so does not exhibit ruptures with dominant codes as does the history of most disciplines, including painting, and physics, among others. One is therefore less prepared for the unfamiliar in film than other areas.' 1 The most common and well established of all films is the feature-length, commercial, entertainment film. It assumes that film is mass entertainment requiring certain levels of production and marketing to sustain it as such. These films are produced for the pleasure of the masses. The film makers skills can rightly be compared to those of the magician and illusionist in so much as they create imaginary realities that the audience are absorbed into for the length of the film, even in some instances, for some time after. The improvement of sound, colour and wide-screen have been viewed as essential decoration to a product of an industry that continually seeks to increase its audiences. Film appreciation in general has supported this type of film making by bestowing it the importance it enjoys today while attempting, in the process, to
Baz Luhrmann and Moulin Rouge
'Genre' is a French term meaning 'type' or 'kind'. From this, we can immediately ascertain that, whatever the theories and thought processes surrounding the institution of genre, its primary purpose is to group its subject according to type or kind. The musical is amoungst the most distinctive genres in Film; and although many would argue that the chief differentiation, that of the music itself, is more of a stylistic variation than a generic, it is undeniable that there is a set of codes and conventions great enough to justify the inclusion of the musical as a separate genre in its own right. When Baz Luhrmann first had the concept for Moulin Rouge, his stated aim was to "Reinvent the Musical for the 21st Century" Previously to Moulin Rouge, the last commercially successful musical film was Grease, in 1977; Woody Allen's 1996 Everyone Says I Love You, although regarded by many as a seminal work for the genre, did not achieve any kind of commercial acclaim. So Baz came into what many thought was a stagnant genre, fresh off the back of Romeo and Juliet, and determined to bring it back to life. In order to do this, he would have to pick and choose carefully which conventions needed keeping and which needed reinventing. Collins suggests, "There is a tension between live musical acts and film presentation..."1 And it is this tension to which he attributes the charm of the
Film NOIR
Film Noir essay Lecturer: Brendan Student: Emma Spain Student no: 2806707 Question : “The major period of (film) noir production is usually taken to run from The Maltese Falcon in 1941 to Touch of Evil in 1958”. Describe the major stylistic characteristics of the cycle paying particular attention to moral ambiguity, the noir ‘look’, gender, violence and the city. Film Noir the term used to describe Hollywood crime drama, Classic Film Noir Production wore between the early 1940’s and the later 1950’s, An era associated with low key back and white visual style films with most teams embraced around the depression in the united states during the depression. Film Noir or black film when translated first applied to Hollywood movies by French critic Nino Frank in 1946; numerous plots embraced Film Noir from the central figure being a privet eye in The Big Sleep (1946)(director Howard Hawks) to a Tough Cop who takes on a politically power crime syndicate in The Big Heat (1953)(director Fritz Lang) Or as is Double Indemnity (1944)(director Billy Wilder) An Insurance rep lets himself be talked into a murder/insurance fraud scheme that arouses an insurance investigation… (image from The Big Heat) The Characteristics of film noir are much the same in each film, Along with unsettling narrative themes of ambiguity and violent death’s; certain stylistic
Film Review on MILLION DOLLAR BABY
Film Review on MILLION DOLLAR BABY If you're expecting the typical sports movie cliché of all is good in the end, think again. This is by far one of the greatest movies in the sports genre and is an outstanding come back for 75 year old Eastwood. Although the title is not exactly one of the best for the boxing world and the name itself doesn't grab your attention the film definitely will, its overwhelming high and low moments will have you gasping and the ending will certainly have you hanging off the edge of your seats. Clint Eastwood, plays as gym owner and boxing manager Frankie Dunn grumpy old man who lives a very private life and takes his profession in boxing very seriously and knows all the tricks of the trade, Morgan Freeman, as former fighter and gym manager Eddie "Scrap Iron" Dupris acts as the back bone of the relationship between Maggie and Frankie, always there to lend a helping hand when needed, also the voiced narrator throughout the film, reading between the lines for the audience seeing that everything is understood, as in Frank Darabont's Shaw shank Redemption, where he took on the same role as narrator. They both deliver their best performances. Hilary Swanks knockout interpretation of boxer Maggie Fitzgerald is exceptional. Swank has certainly taken a huge leap from her extraordinary lead role in 1999 teen romance Boys Don't Cry. Her character who is
A Kind of Loving.
Media Coursework Assignment A Kind of Loving 'A Kind of Loving' is regarded as a milestone in British cinema because it focused on gritty social realism, and not idealized life shown in many films of the time. The film was open-minded and first of its type. This meant that the audience was able to relate to this film unlike other films. It focuses on ordinary people and their ordinary lives. Personally I really enjoyed the film. It kept me engaged, mainly because the issues explored are similar to the ones today and there is still a contemporary relevance. Although I do think that it's fairly dated and old fashioned, it is still enjoyable and thought-provoking. I didn't particularly like the ending because your feelings as an audience are ambivalent. UK's first edition of 'A kind of Loving' was a book written by Michael Joseph in 1960. It was later filmed in 1961, directed by John Schlesinger, produced by Joseph Janni and script by Willis Hall and Keith Waterhouse (taken from the novel by Stan Barstow) it mainly looked at the new social realism. A 112 minutes long film starred: Alan Bates Vic June Ritchie Ingrid Thora Hird Mrs. Rothwell (Ingrid's' mother) 'A kind of loving' has also been produced as a radio play, audio book and a stage play. `A Kind of Loving` is the story of a young man who has a physical infatuation for a girl, which eventually
Although in Paris, Texas and Two-Lane Blacktop mainly diegetic sounds are used, these sounds (in Two- Lane Blacktop especially) play a vital role in our understanding of the films narrative as well as their overall message.
‘Sound by its very nature necessarily implies a displacement or agitation, however minimal’ (Chion, 9-10). Taking into consideration Chion’s claims about the ‘audio-visual contract’ in film (e.g. empathetic/anempathetic effects, the temporalization of the image), examine in detail the relationship between the perception of sound and the perception of movement in any TWO films we have watched, and discuss how this relates (or not) to the films’ investigation of movement in general. A road trip through the United States of America, a country of unlimited possibilities – many people’s dream of feeling (care-)free, independent and adventurous. The idea to travel along the highway in a car or motorcycle, feeling the winds blow and/or the various landscapes pass by while driving from A to B stands for a journey of a lifetime. Hereby the soundtrack, hence the music, one listens to appears a vital element for the success of such a journey, as it completes the prejudiced American image of a road trip. Many films have portrayed exactly this kind of picture and to some extent glorify the concept of the American Dream. But what if movies focus on a different point of view in mentioned road trips and have the audience experience a rather alienating, more reality suggested feel to it, in which the sound might imply “a displacement or agitation, (even if) minimal.”?
This paper is mainly a comparison of Sigmund Freuds Mourning and Melancholia and Lars Von Trier's movie Melancholia
Ashley Glover Masters of Suspicion November 1, 2012 Sigmund Freud Mourning and Melancholia and Lars Von Trier's Melancholia This paper is mainly a comparison of Sigmund Freud’s Mourning and Melancholia and Lars Von Trier's movie Melancholia. Melancholia is swaying in the descriptive psychiatry. Melancholia occurs in various clinical forms, however, the abstract form seems assured- an assurance that serves as a reminder of somatic rather than psychogenic affections[1]. Melancholia is a deeply painful depression where a person shows no concern towards the outside world. There is a loss of the ability to love, reticence in any activity and decreased sense of self-esteem that manifests itself in self-criticism and self abuse and will wait until the delirious punishment. Melancholia is not so much the end of the world as it is about people's reaction to it. And that is not a lie. In Mourning and Melancholia, Sigmund Freud (1915) references two remarkable syndromes, melancholia and mania, both too "normal" for everyone to understand within the actual experiences in relationship[2]. A puzzling feature of depression, it is that the worst is in the morning, around the time of awakening, during the evening, the depression tends to subside. The material is limited; apart from the impressions in which each observer is at their command, to a small number of cases whose
European cinema - major movements, directors and films.
European cinema log book By Ziyang Chen (Nigel) 092093101 French New Wave The social political context of the movement and other influences French new wave is a term coined by critics for a group of French filmmakers in between 1950s to 1960s. In that period, World War II just finished about 10 years; European countries were in chaotic situation, especially in finance. American decided to support France, but in return, France had to open for US imports. At this time, American culture influenced French culture, and it also influenced French film. French new wave also influenced by Italian neo-realism, they have similarities in many aspects. Marylyn Fabe wrote that ‘no film movements has a pipeline to the “real”, neorealist films broke with the conventions and practices of Mussolini’s cinema of distraction in a number of ways that made their films seem more real.’ Key directors and films French new wave was the new form of classical European art film. There are five most famous French new wave directors, Francois Truffault, Jean-Luc Godard, Claude Chabrol, Eric Rohmer, and Jacques Rivette. They are all born before World War II, they all suffer by the war. In another word, that means their understanding of the world is different from other French directors. Those directors all had written for Cahiers du Cinema many times in their lives. They are stand on the
What was the role of the Hollywood studio system in creating and promoting stars?
What was the role of the Hollywood studio system in creating and promoting stars? A star is an actor whose persona transcends the total sum of his or hers performances. Their image may be rooted in specific roles, but it extends beyond them, establishing itself in subsidiary forms, in secondary representations of the actor’s persona, such as those found in magazines or tabloids. In the late 1920s, it was estimated that over 32,250,000 fan letters were received annually by stars in Hollywood, portraying their impact on the public. From the mid-1930s through the early 1950s, over 500 journalists and newspaper correspondents gave Hollywood as their dateline, generating more than 100,000 words per day about the film industry, making Hollywood the third largest source of news information. This portrayed the size of the film industry and the power that the studios and stars held. Stars themselves, inhabit a different world from the rest of us, living by different rules. The film “Singin’ in the rain” (1952) is a good portrayal of the studio system and there stars. To paraphrase Lina Lamont (Hagen) in “Singin’ in the rain “(1952), stars are not people but rather celestial bodies. Lina explains she is a “shimmering, glowing star in the cinema firmament.” But Lina is not a real star; she does not radiate her own light, but merely reflects light cast upon her by
