Abstract This paper looks at the way in which Alfred Hitchcock relates to women in his works in general and "The Rear Window" in particular. The movie offers a comprehensive, and voyeuristic view of marriage and male/female relationships. The paper shows how the movie focuses much more on the intimate lives of its characters, than it does on the central plot device of the murder mystery.
From the Paper "Jeff spies on a large variety of people, including a composer who is struggling to make ends meet, a sexy dancer (Miss Torso) who fights off many suitors, a lonely spinster who drinks (Miss Lonelyhearts), Lars Thorwald, a jewelry salesman who is unhappily married to Anna, a happy newlywed couple, a couple on a fire escape, a woman with a poodle, a grouch masseuse, and a police officer. The movie's main plot centers on Lars Thorwald who is suspected of murdering and dismembering his nagging wife, Anna. Jeff enlists the help of his girlfriend Lisa and his witty, clever masseuse Stella to help him track down the murderer of Mrs. Thorwal"
Abstract This paper evaluates the first two scenes "Rear Window" by Alfred Hitchcock by looking at his filming methodologies shot by shot. The main character Jeffries sits and watches life through the window much as the viewer sits and watches that same life on a movie screen. The paper shows how Hitchcock's manner of presentation points to the thematic issues to be considered in the plot--voyeurism, guilt, isolation and reaching out to others.
From the Paper "The opening scene in the film takes place in a single shot, and Hitchcock uses a fluid camera to pan in a nearly 360-degree arc to show the entire setting. This establishes the setting, many of the characters, the situation that exists at the beginning of the film, the role of the central character, and much about that character. An enormous amount of information is conveyed visually as the camera pans around the courtyard, remaining always in the window of the photographer's window, which will be the point of view of the courtyard throughout the film until near the end."
Abstract This paper analyzes the movie "Godfather" and shows that the women in the film played a very important role for setting the tone. It looks at how stereotypes are fitted into the movie in many ways but with the women's role, this changes. Each of the important female characters are analyzed individually.
From the Paper "Certainly, those qualities were not valued in Puzo's Italian-American female characters. The fact that Puzo's women are not well-respected translates over into Coppola's Godfather. Locked out of the family business, the women who were married to the mob seemed to have little to do beyond looking pretty and getting blown up. His men, on the other hand, were dynamic supermen -- cold-hearted killers, yes, but also devoted family men, guys who could go to work, knock off a few enemies, carve out a little more territory and still remember to bring home the cannoli. They were the inspiration for the generation of rising mobsters that included John Gotti. The Dapper Don with the sunlamp tan and Brioni suits carefully cultivated his image after that of Puzo's mobsters. Now, it turns out, the Dapper Don's role model was really a welfare mom who held her family together in the tenements of Hell's Kitchen while her husband broke down under the stress. This theme is carried well throughout Coppola's film The Godfather."
Abstract The paper describes the film "Platoon" - about the Vietnam War - as a coming of age story. It shows tha it is neither an anti-war nor pro-war story, but rather a story about a young boy who is aged by the war. It describes the main character and his interaction with men in his army unit.
From the Paper "Platoon is one of the classic movies about the Vietnam War. It cannot only be seen as a war movie however. It can also be viewed as a coming of age story. Chris Taylor, played by Charlie Sheen is about to find out what war is all about. When we first see this character he is getting off the plane in Vietnam. He looks like a wet behind the ears young kid. As the story goes along we see him become a lot older than he really is. This is one of the many themes that we have seen in most of the stories we have read and the movies we watched. How the men that fought in the war grow in not only physical age but grow by leaps and bounds in their mental age. When Taylor does step off that plane in Vietnam he is greeted by body bags. The viewer can see right away that he knows this is not a vacation. He looks scared."
Psychoanalysis of actress. Discussing her childhood, family life, need for love, preoedipal personality, lack of psychosocial development and her marriages.
1,350 words (approx. 5.4 pages), 6 sources, 1999, $ 47.95
From the Paper " PSYCHOANALYTIC ANALYSIS OF MARILYN MONROE
Introduction
This research paper presents a psychoanalytic analysis of Marilyn Monroe. Psychosocial development includes two latter stages of Erikson's theory. Omnibus analysis discusses personality factors which include the following: abilities, talents, and temperament, family members and cultural tradition, sexual behavior, cognitive style, affect and impulses, motives, attitudes and impulses, and relationships to principle figures.
Psychosocial Development
Erikson's later stages of psychosocial development included "intimacy versus isolation" for the young adult, and "generativity versus self-absorption" for the middle adult. Marilyn Monroe failed to encounter true intimacy and she became.."
Abstract "Films from a given period reflect the social attitudes of that time, no matter when they may be set in time. Thus, a science fiction film may exist in an imaginary future, but the attitudes are those of the time in which the film is made.
From the Paper "Films from a given period reflect the social attitudes of that time, no matter when they may be set in time. Thus, a science fiction film may exist in an imaginary future, but the attitudes are those of the time in which the film is made. The gangster film has a particular history of reflecting social and political concepts of the time when the film is made because of the effort to show the way society may cause crime and the effect crime in turn has on society. An interesting way of analyzing this is to examine the same story filmed in two different periods, such as the two versions of Scarface (1932 and 1983). Each takes an overt stance to the issue of the relationship between crime and society even as each also reflects different ideas of how the criminal is formed by his psychology. The two Scarfaces are motivated largely by a desire to get ahead in the ..."
From the Paper "According to Siegfried Kracauer, "the character of Caligari . . . stands for an unlimited authority that idolizes power." This idea is applicable both to Caligari and to the master of Metropolis, a man who is a virtual dictator and who has an entire class of people who serve the needs of the machine and so the city and have no other purpose in life. The central metaphor of the film is the transformation of a robot into a woman, and for leaders like Joh Fredersen, there is an entire class of human beings who are nothing but robots.
Power relations in The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (Robert Wiene, 1920) are displayed through exaggeration. The mesmerist holds power over the somnambulist with the power of his eyes, with gestures, and with direct orders. Power is a central motif in the town depicted, with high officials showing their power by..."
Abstract This paper is an examination of one of the most effective business leadership examples ever created in American cinema, that of Vito Corleone in Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather. Corleone's style shows a high regard for both the productivity of his business and the welfare of the people in his employ, a regard that relies on a strong sense of honor and loyalty.
From the Paper "This paper is an examination of one of the most effective business leadership examples ever created in American cinema, that of Vito Corleone in Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather. Corleone's style shows a high regard for both the productivity of his business and the welfare of the people in his employ, a regard that relies on a strong sense of honor and loyalty. Corleone's organization exhibits many of the characteristics found in some of the most successful corporations in America, and he provides an excellent example of how to lead an efficient, profitable business.
Coppola's award-winning 1972 movie focuses on a remarkable business leader in the final years of his career and looks at his attempts to effect a smooth transition as he retires from the company and passes on the mantle of leadership. Vito Corleone ..."
Abstract The paper describes the story of "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring". The paper begins by defining a myth as a story that offers an explanation to natural events by using gods, goddesses and heroes to tell the story. He then goes on to show that the movie "Fellowship" is mythical because of the existence of the supernatural powers, the theme of good against evil and the discussion of humanity, the world and the sacred in the conflict.
From the Paper "The movie "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" by J. R. R. Tolkien is about the adventure Frodo Baggins, a hobbit who was unwittingly given the great responsibility of caring for and keeping the Ring so coveted by great creatures of the Middle Earth. Frodo's journey in trying to expel the Ring of its powerful effect to all creatures will lead him into numerous encounters with the good and evil creatures of the Middle Earth. ?The Fellowship of the Ring,? the first of the three series of books about the Ring, introduces us to the main characters that we will also encounter in the next two books in the trilogy. "Fellowship" is an introduction to a place in this world called the Middle Earth, its history and its creatures. Many of the characters, events and themes in the story of the movie parallel with the concept of a myth."
Abstract This paper examines the masterpiece, "To Kill a Mocking Bird" by Harper Lee, about racial injustices and gender discrimination observed through the eyes of a young six-year old girl, as well as the movie version of the book produced by Robert Mulligan, and presents a comparison of the two. It shows how the movie was made black and white, in such a technologically revolutionary period, in order to capture the gloominess and the dullness of the Depression era and how the book paints a far more effective picture of that time period probably because it gave room to the author to get her personal experience into the play for she was a resident of the Southern town. The book symbolizes the theme of innocence and pureness through the use of mockingbird. However in the film version, the most fundamental theme of the novel has deviated slightly in terms of the plot by emphasizing more on the theme of racial prejudice than the theme of innocence. Both the movie and the book have been recipients of awards.
From the Paper "The representation of the world where racial injustices and gender discrimination prevail are observed through the eyes of a young six-year old girl whose widowed father is not only a man of words but is also a man of deeds. Gregory Peck plays Atticus Finch, the tomboy's father and a principled attorney (Marja: B06) who fights for the rights of a local black man wrongly charged with the rape of a white woman in their segregated town (Marja: B06). Gregory Peck has managed to do justice to his role and Robert Mulligan deserves equal credit for an aptly portrayal of the novel. However, since Lee wrote the novel keeping in mind her horrifying personal experiences as a child that gave birth to the protagonist of her novel, Stout, the novel turned out to be far more effective in its representation of the Depression-era Alabama than the movie version of it (Marja: B06)."
This paper examines the film "American History X" and explains why it is one of the most thought-provoking films in modern society, covering issues of racism and hate crimes.
861 words (approx. 3.4 pages), 0 sources, 2002, $ 30.95
Abstract This paper answers several questions, including what makes "American History X" such a special film, why it is thought-provoking, how it can change audience perspectives on the subject it addresses, and what lessons can be learned from the points made.
From the Paper "Most people view movies as a source of entertainment ? something to watch for a few hours to get away from the world. They make us laugh, cry, or feel in some way that we usually do not. There are, however, a few films that strike deeper into the human psyche that the run of the mill flick. Usually these films have a point to make about life in general, and allow us to step outside ourselves for a moment and see the world in a different way. These are the ones that stick, the ones that leave us with a feeling as we walk away or turn off the television, and maybe in some small way change how we think about things. One such movie that leaves an impact is American History X starring Edward Norton. "
Abstract Discusses the study of film as a post-modern event. Defines the aesthetic values & dynamics of modernism and post-modernism. Post-Modernism as a cultural, aesthetic & historical issue. Structuralist thinking. Development of post-modern material and fragmented surface style in film. Examples: CONTEMPT, RESEVOIR DOGS, PULP FICTION.
From the Paper "Movements in artistic expression often occur spontaneously and are then given a name to identify a perceived trend. This is clearly the case with reference to both modernism and postmodernism, and the very fact that we have seen a need to find a name for the changed environment after 1960 shows that postmodernism exists in some degree--it exists because we have named it, but that does not make it any more a coherent or "intentional" movement than was modernism. In film terms, postmodernism primarily shows a certain weariness with modernism rather than a drive to something clearly new. The elevation of film to a subject for study is itself a postmodern event, signaling as it does the end of the modernist division into High and Low culture. The increasingly self-reflexive nature of modern film along with the elevation of style over substance are..."
An examination of the role of classical Hollywood techniques in developing the relationship between Clarice Starling and Dr. Hannibal Lecter in the film "The Silence of the Lambs".
Abstract This paper examines how classical Hollywood cinema techniques such as narration, camera angles and lighting aid in the development of the relationship between the protagonists Clarice Starling and Hannibal Lecter in the film "The Silence of the Lambs". It evaluates how classical narration develops the relationship which changes from an impersonal to a more personal one, as Clarice Starling, an FBI agent, struggles to solve a problem to which Dr. Hannibal Lecter provides the answer. It also looks at how in all four of their encounters, the camera shots move from low and high-angle shots to those of eye-level shots signifying how the relationship changes from one of superiority to one of equality.
From the Paper "In The Silence of the Lambs camera angles are another classical Hollywood technique that helps in developing the relationship between Starling and Dr. Lecter. In their first of four encounters, low-angle shots and high-angle shots were used. "With low-angle shots, in which the camera looks up at the action or person, the audience assumes that the person looking up is inferior to what they are looking at" (Belton 45). In the first encounter the low-angle shot was used subtly, not to the extreme as in other movies. An example of a low-angle shot is when Starling is talking and the camera breaks to Dr. Lecter, showing him slightly higher. High-angle shots are used as well."
Abstract This paper looks at the history of the inclusion of blacks in the film industry since the early 20th century. It discusses major players in the field, especially women, beginning with the all-black film movement that started in the silent era with the Lincoln Motion Picture company in Los Angeles in 1916. The writer mentions the hardships and hurdles that the African-Americans faced in the form of discrimination and racism before they could establish themselves in the film industry. The paper also examines the changing image of how African-Americans were portrayed in movies in the past.
From the Paper "In recent years, both blacks and women have had to fight to become recognized in the film industry and to achieve any form of power. There are now a handful of black film directors, and a few women directors as well. In the silent era, though, when the economics of filmmaking were quite different, there were a number of women in the director's chair, many forgotten today, just as there were many black directors not in mainstream Hollywood filmmaking but in the all-black film movement. A number of these black directors were in fact women as well, and they constituted an early challenge both to white and male dominance of filmmaking."
Abstract John Grisham's "A Time to Kill" is a powerful courtroom drama that examines the difference between social justice and moral justice in a small town in Mississippi. The paper explains that, given the legacy of segregation and racism in the south, it describes both the emotional and complex legal issues of fairness and equality in the eyes of the law. The story is about a young white lawyer, who successfully defends a black man, clearly guilty of killing the two white men who raped his ten year old daughter. This paper shows how both the novel and film version are riveting dramas, and compares and discusses their major differences which lie in the context of the two mediums.
From the Paper "The basic difference between a novel and a screenplay is that the former can indulge in the luxury of full descriptive passages and the latter must adhere to a very specific structure. Novels give us the opportunity to meet the characters and create a relationship with them. The details of who they are can be developed. We learn about their past. We see them in the context of where they live. The events in a novel move in linear time and with a novel, we have all the time in the world."
