Abstract This paper covers extensively the creation and reception of John Carpenter's ""The Thing", a largely unknown, but highly influential science-fiction film from 1982. The paper talks about the origins of the story, pre-production, the negative critical and commercial reception of the film, and the re-interpretation of it years later by audiences. Also, it discusses the metaphorical aspects of the film, like its parables to the McCarthy era.
From the Paper " ?Antarctica, Winter 1982,? a title card reads. A pulsing beat can be heard as a helicopter flies over a snowcapped cliff and down into an endless and bleak white valley. We see two men in the chopper, one flying the aircraft, the other scanning the landscape through a pair of binoculars Soon it is apparent what the men are pursuing: a sled dog, running quickly across the ice. The man in the passenger's side of the helicopter puts down the binoculars, and leans out the side, a large rifle in his hands. He begins squeezing off rounds madly at the sprinting husky, like a crazed Ahab after the great white whale. This hectically confusing scene is the opening of John Carpenter's 1982 film, The Thing, a chilling story about a research team at an Antarctic outpost, who suddenly find themselves at the mercy of a malevolent shape-shifting, body-absorbing alien. The Thing was a landmark science-fiction film that has inspired countless other movies and TV shows, and yet was totally unappreciated in its time, and has since yet to be given the proper respect it deserves."
Abstract This paper is a reflection of the movie, "The Princess Bride", that most influenced the writer as a child. It is based around the main character, Westley.
From the Paper "Even though I thought of movies as a last resort when no one wanted to play outside, I still saw a few of them. One that I saw that is still one of my favorites is "The Princess Bride". The reason that movie stuck with me was because of the main character, Westley, played by Cary Elwes. Westley was what I envisioned myself as being when I grew up. Not so much the farm boy turned pirate turned romantic hero, but rather the true character of the character is what I wanted to emulate."
Abstract This paper presents an autobiography of the famous film director, Oliver Stone. The author discusses Stone's career, famous works and examines the main themes of his films such as political events and social history.
From the Paper "Oliver Stone is a director who rose to success against high odds through hard work and perseverance. He began as a screenwriter for the film industry and saw script after script either rejected or rewritten by other, more senior and established writers. His directorial debut was a low-budget horror film released in 1974 called "The Hand", but his first real success was as a writer. The movie "Midnight Express" (1978) earned him an Academy Award for best screenplay adaptation. He next returned to directing with "Seizure" (1981), followed by his third effort "Salvador" in 1986 which was characterized by inventiveness and frugality which earned him the opportunity to make "Platoon" (1986) based on his own screenplay. "Platoon" redefined Vietnam War films and earned four Academy Awards including best director and best picture."
Abstract An examination of Western impact on Japanese film making. The author focuses specifically on Akira Kurosawa's film "Seven Samurai". The author describes the film makers use of native cinematic styles and techniques and how these go about breaking away from Japanese traditional style and adding more flavor and richer meaning to the film.
From the Paper "Referring to his film Seven Samurai director Akira Kurosawa once remarked, "Japanese films tend to be rather bland in flavor, like green tea over rice. I think we ought to have richer foods and richer films. So I thought I would make this kind of film entertaining enough to eat" (Criterion Collection, 2). This statement was a thinly veiled criticism of Kurosawa's contemporary and rival, Yasujiro Ozu (who actually made a film entitled The Flavor of Green Tea over Rice). Ozu adhered dutifully to the traditional Japanese cinematic style, an art heavily influenced by native culture and customs. His films (including the 1953 masterpiece, Tokyo Story) can be characterized by long takes with little or no lateral camera movement (both of which demonstrate the influence of the traditional Japanese "Kabuki Play"). Ozu also uses many extreme low angle shots that often hug the bottom surface of any set. By showing the audience this point of view Ozu reflects the Japanese custom of remaining seated on the floor of a room. While this style is certainly effective and distinct, it is as Kurosawa describes, ?rather bland in flavor.? In an era when post-war occupation was rapidly opening Japan to western industry and influence, Kurosawa made a bold decision to break from tradition and borrow some key points from Hollywood including slow motion, multiple cameras and camera angles and continuity editing. By embracing these conventions of Western cinema and combining these techniques with the traditions of his native industry, Kurosawa was able to create a unique and powerful portrait of Japan in the waning days of the samurai. Furthermore, the director employs this hybrid style effectively in order to develop his characters, build tension in the audience and drive the plot of his film forward. "
Abstract This paper explains the differences between good and evil, the idea of forced moral perfection, and the question of reality as portrayed in the movie "A Clockwork Orange". The paper also summarizes the movie and analyzes some of the most important scenes .
From the Paper "Moral freedom has been defined as the ability to perform both good and evil actions. It is possessing the ability to choose right from wrong and act the way that you alone choose to act. Without the presence of evil, one does not have the moral freedom to choose good, and vice versa. In A Clockwork Orange, Alex personifies moral freedom. Throughout the movie, Alex is never without the ability to choose between good and evil. Although the government conditions him to feel ill when he encounters violence, he does not choose this feeling, so in fact, he still has moral freedom. With Alex's narration of the film, one can see that he tries to put the blame of his actions onto others, but, he in fact, is to blame for his actions because he alone has to make the choice between performing evil or performing good."
Abstract This paper presents a look at the religious foundations in Leslie Silko's book, "Ceremony". The author uses "The Sacred Quest" by Lawrence Cunningham and the film "Ishi: The Last Yahi" to support the argument for the religious foundation in Ceremony. The paper provides an in-depth analysis of "Ceremony's" main character, Tayo.
From the Paper "As we go through life we draw our strength from different sources. Many people draw their strength from their religious beliefs and they are not even aware they are doing it. As they travel they tend to get away from the things they were taught as children and for a while they may seem lost and confused spiritually. After awhile though, most people come back to their spiritual roots and draw strength from them in time of need. The book Ceremony by Leslie Silko is a story that is founded in religious strength. It appears to be a side bar until one really begins to analyze the story and understand the meaning within the words. Once that is accomplished the spiritual strength of the story characters cannot be denied. The religious foundation of Ceremony is a study in strength from within and deeply imbedded."
Tags: tayo, war, native, american, spiritual, sacred, quest, ishi, yahi
Abstract This paper is a historical film review that analyzes "Michael Collins" starring Liam Neeson and discusses the movie's historical accuracy. The author includes specific details of the Irish patriot's life, his major role in politics, his military strength, and the attacks he carried out as a member of Sinn Fein.
From the Paper "The movie Michael Collins is the story of an Irish revolutionary and political leader. He was a leader within the Irish Republican Brotherhood, a leader in the Sinn Fein Movement and a member of its cabinet, a guerrilla leader, and eventually became the Commander in Chief of the Irish Free State Army. The film details the events of his political career, his love life, and ultimately, his death. Collins? goal of course was to take Ireland back from the British after 700 years to form an independent republic for the Irish people."
Abstract This paper examines the genre of horror movies with focus on the movie "The Exorcist". The author provides detailed analysis o the film, its events and characters and explains how and why this film falls into the category of horror genre films arousing images and superstitions and reflecting thoughts from our psyches and our personal and social world.
From the Paper "Horror is genre that can be defined under certain character types and story elements. The horror movies can be supernatural, biological or psychological. It can take place almost anywhere. The horror film becomes a reflection of the fears of the audience who cannot face the reality or fears that they have in their life. In the horror films they see a method to face their fears. It is a function by which reality is transformed into fantasy and faced with bravado. The horror genre projects images of our superstitions as the points of focus: our own psyches, science and technology, pain, death, the dead and all forms of hostile forces which may at any moment intrude upon our patched up social and personal worlds. Thus, they are most feared and most appreciated. The Exorcist was one such movie."
Abstract This paper is about Preston Tucker: his life details, his products and his company. It also describes his dreams, as depicted in the movie "Tucker" and how he embraces the entrepreneurial aspects of American business.
From the paper:
"Preston Tucker was a car salesman and inventor. Anticipating WW II, he created a high-speed armored car with a gun on a turret. The army thought that the car was too fast but loved the turret, confiscated the patents and used them during the war. Tucker was given contracts to build turrets for bombers and made his fortune. Tucker dreamed of building a passenger car with innovations such as seat belts, disk brakes, rear engine, safety glass, pop-out windshields, a fully automatic transmission, and self-correcting headlights. The car that he designed and produced was ahead of its time in terms of safety and performance."
Tags: car, production, labor, Second, World, War, Ford, General, Motors, Chrysler, American, Motors
Abstract This paper starts by defining group dynamics and examines the popular TV series "Survivor" exemplifies this concept. It states that TV viewers experience a taste of reality when watching the show as it "stars" real people. The essence of the series is forming a solid group and thereafter dismantling it.
From the paper:
"Television, like most media forms, is intended to show, rather than simply tell, something about the human condition. As a viewer, television has the capacity to act as a mirror into our own lives, or the lives of people we know. Current television shows allow viewers to leave the stresses of their own lives, and become a part of the lives of characters we relate to, or who are so far from our own experiences that we forget about our own problems, anxieties and worries, to participate in the often tranquil or happily exciting lives of another person."
Abstract This paper takes a look at the block-busting move "Titanic" by James Cameron. It acknowledges that the movie was predominantly a love story, but it also had very strong socio-economic under currents. The paper provides an analysis of these dynamics.
From the paper:
"In 1997, Titanic set sail again, this time into movie theaters under the command of writer and director James Cameron. With the exception of a few small poetic licenses, Cameron accurately depicts the historical events leading up to the sinking of Titanic. The main plot of his movie, though, is not about the sinking of the ship per se. Rather, it is about the doomed love affair between two fictional characters, first-class passenger Rose DeWitt Bukater and steerage passenger Jack Dawson. Complicating the story is Rose's jealous fiance?, millionaire Caledon ("Cal") Hockley, and Rose's genteelly impoverished mother, Ruth. Aside from any dramatic appeal, Cameron's Titanic is interesting from a number of sociological perspectives. It illustrates social classes, status inconsistencies, and social structures. It presents a vivid "conflict"-based view of the way the different classes relate to one another. And finally, it offers a look at bureaucracy and at the dangers of groupthink."
Abstract This essay critically analyzes the media's function in society today. The writer contends that it does not function as a source of entertainment and it does not reflect the needs and values of the society, rather the media perpetuates a system of conditioned responses to formulas which seem to be reflecting on the values of the society.
From the paper:
?When we state that the media functions as a source of entertainment and reflects the needs and values of the society we are being naive. That may have been the case ten years ago but today, in the era of the communications revolution the situation is much different. The reach and the scope of the media through technology has allowed it to become the agenda setter rather than the community and the values that the media propagates then become the values of the society.?
Abstract This paper observes the movie theaters marketplace for facts in the nature of competition and the idea of "perfect competition", a concept rooted in the work of John Maynard Keynes. It examines the concept of equilibrium in the marketplace and traditional economic theory.
From the Paper "When we decide to go see our third viewing of "The Mummy Returns" we?re usually more concerned with what time the next show is than with what movie theaters ? with their 6-dollar tubs of popcorn ? can tell us about the nature of economic competition. However, the movie theater business is ? like all arenas of economic activity ? capable of telling us something about the structure of a particular market place, the history of that commodity or service and the nature of competition in that particular market place. Movie theaters can tell us something the nature of competition and indeed about the nature of the idea of "perfect competition", a concept with roots in the work of John Maynard Keynes and his questions about the concept of equilibrium in the marketplace. Traditional economic theory assumed that a group of producers operated in a perfect market for any given commodity with each producing only a small part of the whole supply. Thus, for each producer (and for each commodity) the price was determined by the market. Each producer maximized its profits by selling only as much as would make marginal cost equal to price, in other words, each producer would produce exactly the amount that, if any more were to be produced that the additional product would add more to costs than it would to profits (MacHovec, 1995, p. 38). Each producer of any commodity (whether widgets or blockbusters) thus worked to capacity, to the point where profitability was limited by rising costs (MacHover, 1995, p. 42)."
Abstract This paper presents a detailed discussion about the media equation theory and its applications. The author of this paper uses the movie "The Truman Show" to develop an understanding for the reader of what the Media Equation Theory is and how it can be applied to media examples such as the movie.
From the Paper "The technological explosion of the last three decades has taken us to places we never dreamed before were possible. With each passing year, the technology becomes more linked to human thought and emotions than ever before. Today, there are studies being conducted worldwide to understand the phenomena of people treating their media tools in the same manner that their human interactions are treated. For several years, the habits and protocol of people who work with these questions have been narrowly defined by the rigid demands of research protocol. However, recently a movie was put on the market that studied the very human and technology theory of media equation. This movie underscores the theory and the theory's application to real life. It proves the theory because the human viewers relate to Truman as if his life was real and Truman believes that he is living in the real world due to technological interferences."
Abstract This paper is an analysis of the popular television series, "The Simpsons." The author looks at the episode "Jaws Wired Shut" in order to illustrate how the characters in this series are a portrayal of many of the families that are found in America today. The author shows how Homer and Marge, the father and mother in the series, give their children a lot of time and attention, which the author feels is one of the greatest problems facing the modern family.
From the Paper "The sociological issue is the important role for a family man and how important it is to give time to each member of his family. First thing that is apparent from the episode is that although Homer is incapacitated, but, still he has time for each member of his family: for Marge, when they are discussing Ned Flanders, with Lisa when she is upset, in his own way he tries to lessen her hurt and for Bart. He even has time to sit an listen to his father. The idea here is that today there are no perfect families and especially with the rise in single parent family the role of Homer is not very different from that of other fathers."
