Censorship Essay
Censorship Essay There are different ratings for films to show certain individuals if there are disturbing scenes or graphic violence. Film ratings were designed for parents to shield their offspring from certain things which will change there views on the world and also for people who are easily offended by certain language and acts of a disturbing nature. The United Kingdom has a powerful board of film censorship called the BBFC which stands for The British Board of Film Censors. The British Board of Film Censors was established in 1912 by the film industry when local authorities started to impose their own, widely varying, censorship standards on films. In 1984 Parliament passed the Video Recordings Act. This act stated that, subject to certain exemptions, video recordings offered for sale or hire commercially in the UK must be classified by an authority designated by the Home Secretary. The following year the President and Vice Presidents of the BBFC were so designated, and charged with applying the new test of 'suitability for viewing in the home'. At this point the Board's title was changed to British Board of Film Classification to reflect the fact that classification plays a far larger part in the Board's work than censorship. The Board was set up in order to bring a degree of uniformity to those standards. The object was to create a body which
A critical analysis of how Vladimir Propp’s The Morphology of the Folk Talecan be applied to mainstream Hollywood cinema.
A critical analysis of how Vladimir Propp's The Morphology of the Folk Tale can be applied to mainstream Hollywood cinema. Vladimir Propp was a Russian literary theorist and critic whom analysed 100 Russian folk tales during the 1920's. His book, The Morphology of the Folk Tale, was published in 1928 in the light of his findings. During his studies he found that there is a standard set of classifications that can be applied to the characters within traditional fantasy stories, and that these classifications accurately depicted (and in fact predicted) the characters' role within the narrative. I suggest that his theories are still valid today, but that they are not necessarily as applicable to contemporary cinema as they are to a traditional fairytale. Various film theorists have contributed to the study of narrative structure, often supplementing and confirming Propp's original framework. In this essay I will identify Propp's findings, investigate how they work within the context of narrative theory, identify those theorists that have contributed to the narrative theory of film, and apply Propp's framework to two mainstream Hollywood films; Jaws and The Princess Bride. In The Morphology of the Folk Tale Propp identifies eight character roles and thirty-one narrative functions that, he believed, were present in every classical fairy tale narrative. The eight character
Discuss the narrative structure of 'Run Lola Run' in the light of both Vladimir Propp and Tzvetan Todorov.
Discuss the narrative structure of 'Run Lola Run' in the light of both Vladimir Propp and Tzvetan Todorov. Films are narratives - they tell stories. Even films based on true events will fictionalise them to make in order to produce drama, to telescope time, to avoid being filled with too many minor characters, or simply to be more entertaining. Films are usually summarised by their plots - in their first 'treatment' (or outline of the script idea), in the advance publicity, in reviews, and conversations. Films may differ from other kinds of narrative - literary fiction or television drama, for instance - in the medium used and representational conventions. They do, however, share with literary fiction and television drama the basic structure and functions of narrative. Much work has been done be researchers in the field known as 'narratology' on exactly what constitutes the structures and functions of narrative. It is thought that the world is shown to us in the form of stories. From childhood the world is brought to us through stories in books, on television, what is read to us and what we hear in conversations. This is not to say that all stories explain the world. Rather, stories provide us with an easy, unconscious, and involving way of constructing the world; narrative can be described as a means of 'making sense' of the world around us. Not only is
David Fincher's new film- "Panic Room" strongly represents the idea, how terrified we are of becoming the victims we see on TV.
PANIC ROOM Analysis By Elena Hristova "PANIC ROOM" Analysis Some people-usually rich ones-feel the need to have a "safe room" to survive some invaders and/or Armageddon. David Fincher's new film- "Panic Room" strongly represents the idea, how terrified we are of becoming the victims we see on TV. The film with it scares has a lot in common with the fear and paranoia of Manson generation: You really can't protect your family or your home. Besides this the clear Hitchcockian atmospherics of suspense is a part of the film as well. "Panic Room" is the ultimate example of Hollywood's obsession with high concepts, which are mostly cliché: A divorced woman and her daughter move into a new house with a "panic room", a secret room designed to keep out intruders. But when the intruders arrive, the woman and her daughter escape into the panic room and everyone ends up fighting for their life. The film represents the idea that from my point of view, was formed a long time ago, but got to its greatest point after September 11th 2000- the idea is that nobody can protect themselves and their families neither from terrorists, neither from burglars or murderers. The film represents a divorced woman- Meg, the character is played by Jodie Foster, who along with her daughter moves into a new big house in Manhattan, New York and this is how their long night begins. Burglars came into the
Gus van Sant's three films, Gerry, Elephant and Last Days, are, in essence, a trilogy, linked by their common structures, compositions, and representations of death.
Chris Schuessler The New School for Media Studies 'Death and the Media' Professor Deirdre Boyle Van Sant's 'Death' Trilogy: Gerry, Elephant and Last Days Gus van Sant's three films, Gerry, Elephant and Last Days, are, in essence, a trilogy, linked by their common structures, compositions, and representations of death. In this paper, I will analyze these similarities and discuss the treatment of each film's central event. Van Sant's early career showed a unique experimentation with story structure and plot devices. In films like My Own Private Idaho, Drugstore Cowboy and To Die For, he displayed a freedom of narrative, creating esoteric, poetic pieces that challenged and often bewildered viewers. His career then became more conventional, and he hit somewhat of a lame lowpoint with the film Finding Forrester, a sappy story about a young black teenager whose writing gifts are altruistically recognized by an aging author played by Sean Connery. His next film, however, was completely different than anything he had directed. It starred Matt Damon and Casey Affleck, who, along with van Sant, would normally create box office demand with their work. Yet the film was not widely released or widely seen. It was mostly dismissed as an indulgent experimental piece, something created by Hollywood artists bored with their usual work and with easy access to too much funding. Van
Jaws - a review.
Jaws Essay 'Jaws' is a thriller movie. The definition of a thriller movie is 'a film created with a purpose of generating tension and shocking the viewer'. Steven Spielberg the director of 'Jaws' made the film so that it would exactly meet these criteria. 'Jaws' effectively builds up suspense and shocks the audience in many ways. In the following essay I will explain how Steven Spielberg achieves this effect with apparent ease and great skill. 'Jaws' broke box office records and changed many people's perception of sharks. The film is set in a quiet, uneventful town of Amity back in 1975. Apart from the annual holiday rush of outsiders, nothing of really significance seems to ever happen. This is shown by the locals hassling the police department over trampled flowers and other seemingly insignificant problems. This builds tension because of the fact that anything threatening the people's safety will severely affect the area and it is not known what could happen next. Amity Island is a small island, 'calm' sea surrounding it with stretches of beautiful golden beaches. The island is as a result of a very 'touristy' area in the summer. This is the main income for locals, which causes a conflict between the islanders over the safety of the area. The tourists also cause a lot of commotion and provide plenty of targets for the 'Great White'. Also, as it is set on the
Explore the representation of the working class northern man in Billy Elliot and The Full Monty
Explore the representation of the working class northern man in Billy Elliot and The Full Monty Everyone has a stereotyped view about some one else, we prejudge people all the time, whether it's because of their background, how they look or where they come from. In Billy Elliot and The Full Monty the director challenges the stereotype of the working class northern man; we see the men as the typical stereotype and the ways in which they over come it as the film progresses. I intend to explore the representation of these men in the two films, and show how the working class northern man alters to our stereotype on them. We get stereotypes from a number of different places, the way we are brought up and what our parents tell us has a major influence on what we think of them. We are also 'brain washed' by the media, newspapers have their own opinions on the working class northern man and we also see it on television programs such as Coronation Street which is also set 'up North'. My personal views on the working class northern man and the opinion I have accumulated from such sources are that, they find it hard to express their emotions and are quite aggressive and violent. The stereotype also includes that the working class northern man is sexist for example believing that the role of a women is in the house doing the typical household chores- which we see reference to this in
"Comment on the techniques and devices used in a particular film trailer(s) and on their effectiveness".
Film Trailer Analysis "Comment on the techniques and devices used in a particular film trailer(s) and on their effectiveness" Introduction To comment on the effectiveness of techniques and devices used in a film trailer, it must first be established, what a film trailer actually is, and essentially, what it tries to achieve. A film trailer is a device, which is used by the media, to advertise a new film that is to be released. It is released prior to the film; normally about 3-4 months beforehand. Most trailers are normally about 30-90 seconds, and in this time, clips from the film and the main storyline are provided. A trailer normally tries to provide the viewer with information about the genre, directors, stars in the film, the age group which it is most suitable to and also the main storyline behind the film. Teaser Trailers are normally well in advance of the main film, in order to create a "waiting game" for people to count down until they see the film. Viewers get very keyed up and excited about the upcoming film, and for this motive, premieres are common, where people can go and see the film in advance. Millions of pounds are normally paid by film companies, just to release film trailers; they are a very important part of publicity of the film. They are needed to actually notify the public of upcoming films, and make the nations anticipate the film, so they
Cindy Sherman: Stereotype or Identity Crisis
Cindy Sherman: Stereotype or Identity Crisis? INTRODUCTION During a project, I found that my work was very obvious and blunt. My teacher suggested looking at a few artists who are subtle when conveying their messages. Cindy Sherman was one of the artists I looked at. I looked particularly at the Untitled Film Stills and found the work to be provocative and particularly challenging. Some of the photographs seemed to startle me, whilst others seemed spontaneous, accidental shots. I decided to write this study on Cindy Sherman and her Untitled Film Stills because the film stills are of her and in each one, she is dressed up or made to look different with costume and make-up. I found this interesting for many reasons, particularly because it is a collection of photographs that make me want to ask questions about the people portrayed by Sherman and about Sherman herself. I first saw one of Sherman's film stills in an art book. Although not one of her Untitled Film Stills, the photograph still intrigued me. The photograph depicted a woman wearing a dark suit, with bold blonde hair covering her face, against a light background. On a first look, the woman appeared tense but on subsequent viewings, I could not decide the mood of this piece. The woman may have been feeling many things; it was this uncertainty that drew my attention. The still gave me the chance to make up my own mind
How does Alfred Hitchcock create a sense of menace and tension in his films The Birds and Psycho?
How does Alfred Hitchcock create a sense of menace and tension in his films The Birds and Psycho? In this essay I am going to write about how Alfred Hitchcock creates sense and menace in these films, 'The Birds' and 'Psycho'. There are many points to consider when analysing the two films and I will explain in detail how these points relate to these films. Both films were made in the 1960's, 'The Birds' in 1963 and 'Psycho' in 1960. Alfred Hitchcock used many different techniques in both the films to create the suspense and frightening fear. For example in Psycho he uses very good ways to alter the light effects by making things darker. In 'The Birds' he uses different sound effects for the noises of the birds so they don't sound normal but they have a different sound all together. However, these are only a few techniques he uses as there are many others. The cinematographic features that are used in the films include the lighting effects and camera shots. In 'The Birds' I noticed a big change in the attic where the light effects had differed, this was near the end of the film. Melanie starts to walk up the stairs and opens the door to find hundreds of birds where she is attacked violently. There is a lot of darkness at this point but we as the viewer are only able to see Melanie being attacked by the birds. A lot of the attic is darkened out and Alfred Hitchcock only uses
