Abstract
This paper explains that the John Ford classic western "The Searchers" focuses on the relationships and motivations of Ethan Edwards, played by John Wayne known for his super-masculine characters, and Martin, a young, part-Cherokee man, who is accompanying Ethan. The author points out that this relationship between surrogate father and son shaped the young man's view of what manhood truly encompasses. The paper stress that the use of this relationship in the film allows the trait of masculinity to be witnessed through its early development and permits the viewer to decide the positive and negative aspects of masculinity's eventual, albeit extreme, culmination.

From the Paper
"Eventually, Ethan comes to fully surpass his brother Aaron as patriarch of the household. The family comes to see him as the protector, or "man of the house." When a posse arrives hunting for what appear to be cattle rustlers, Ethan forbids his brother to go along, shouldering the responsibility himself. As he leaves, Aaron's wife embraces Ethan, for which she receives a kiss on the forehead. At this instance they undeniably appear to be man and wife. Later, when the family senses danger of an attack, Ben, the young man of the house, says, "I wish Uncle Ethan was here," despite the fact his father is present and holding a gun. By the traditional ideals of masculinity, being the head of a household is a cornerstone of being considered a man, so Ethan's usurping of his brother's position suggests his natural prowess at playing the masculine role."

Tags:head-household, relationship, wayne, western, development

Abstract
The paper shows that with only one exception, most of director Frank Capra's greatest movies take place during the depression, 1929-1941, or shortly after. His films are unique in that they are some of the first to display a faith in American opportunity and values in the context of institutional reform. This paper explores five Capra files in chronological order, "It Happened One Night"(1934), "Mr. Deeds Goes to Town" (1936), "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" (1939), "Meet John Doe" (1941)and "It's a Wonderful Life" (1946) as summarized by author Ray Carney in his book "American Vision: The Films of Frank Capra." The paper shows how Carney illustrates these films' inclusion of characters that display the courage to act on their own conviction and to sway out of control groups to act in the interest of common good.

From the Paper
"MR. DEEDS GOES TO TOWN portrays Longfellow Deeds as a personification of small-town virtue. After inheriting $20 million from a distant relative, Deeds moves from Mandrake Falls, Vermont to a mansion in New York where he is victim not only to bureaucratic pressures and social scrutiny, but is actually threatened with being made over into someone else. Under attack by shyster lawyers with motives to steal his fortune, Deeds successfully defends himself in court so that he will be declared sane enough to distribute millions of dollars to destitute farmers. Carney's interpretation of Capra's motivation for this work is that given the fundamental state of affairs, the marginality, and alienation of individual in a society that he is unable imaginatively to leave, he must therefore shape some sort of public expressive performance."

Tags:American, dream, reform

Abstract
The paper explains Mulvey believes that the dichotomy between narrative and spectacle echoes the division between men and women such that men control and forward narrative and women exist as spectacle or objects of visual pleasure at which to look. The author points out many examples where John Ford's "The Searchers" sometimes simultaneous adherence to and subversion of Mulvey's observation and theory. The author finds that the film itself suggests the link between the pleasure of sight and power.

From the Paper
"In examining the film with Mulvey's structure in mind, what are we to make of the fact that the female characters in the film are infrequently spectacles? Mulvey writes that, "Traditionally, the woman displayed has functioned on two levels: as erotic object for the characters within the screen story, and as erotic object for the spectator within the auditorium, with a shifting tension between the looks on either side of the screen." Although the whole movie is about Ethan Edwards' obsession with avenging the rape and murders of female kin, as well as rescuing one of them, the camera barely lingers on the women. Their relevance is not as visual objects of pleasure either for the camera's masculine gaze or for the male characters (which presents a stark contrast to the work of Hitchcock that Mulvey dissects as empirical evidence for the structure she describes)."

Tags:dichotomy, pleasure, sight, power, spectacle

Abstract
The paper analyzes the theme of the white supremist patriarchal hero through the pre and post World War II films of John Ford. The paper discusses how in "Drums Along the Mohawk", Gilbert is a white supremist patriarchal character that often appears to be exchanging gender roles with his wife, Lana, yet he is often the represented as the protector of his homestead, while his wife often takes domestic roles in the household.

Tags:society, anthro, history

Abstract
This paper explains that, in contemporary American society, the use of images to learn history has been under-valued as exemplified by the relative under-appreciation for the art of John Trumbull, an American painter, architect and author, whose paintings of major episodes in the U.S. War of Independence form a unique record of that conflict's events and participants. The author points out that Trumbull's most famous work is his documentary painting, "The Declaration of Independence", finished in 1836, which is a familiar image in American popular iconography. The paper describes in detail the paintings "Declaration of Independence", "The Surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown" and "The Battle of Bunker's Hill"; each of these paintings realistically depicts not only the scenes but also the historically correct portraiture of the participants.

Table of Contents
Introduction
Biography Information
Early life
Painting Career
"The Declaration of Independence"
Avenues of Fame
Misnaming
Description of Painting
Portraiture
Thomas Jefferson
John Adams
Benjamin Franklin
Members of Congress
Actual Scene
"Surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown"
Description of Painting
Portraitures
Cornwallis
O'Hara
General Lincoln
Actual Scene
"The Battle of Bunker's Hill"
Description of Painting
Portraiture
General Putnam
British Officers
Howe
Clinton
Small
Pitcairn
Actual Scene
Conclusion

From the Paper
""The Battle of Bunker's Hill" is also among Trumbull's most famous paintings. This painting is composed of many figures in close combat, and the painting's organization lies along a sweeping diagonal. Moreover, the dramatic contrasts of light and shadow movingly culminate in the highlighted soldier dying in the arms of a comrade.This was the first of Trumbull's Revolutionary War masterpieces to be finished, and it was also painted in the studio of Benjamin West in London. It was completed in March 1786, although the origin of the portraiture in this painting is less known than that of the two aforementioned Revolutionary War paintings. For example, it is unknown where Trumbull obtained the likeness of General Warren, although it is probable that he copied a portrait by Copley."

Tags:record, documentary, scenes, portraiture, under-valued

Abstract
"This paper is a discussion of the works of five of the greatest directors in international cinema. D. W. Griffith, John Ford, Orson Welles, Alfred Hitchcock, and Ingmar Bergman have each had enormous influence in their art because of their individual vision and striking approach to filmmaking.

From the Paper
"This paper is a discussion of the works of five of the greatest directors in international cinema. D. W. Griffith, John Ford, Orson Welles, Alfred Hitchcock, and Ingmar Bergman have each had enormous influence in their art because of their individual vision and striking approach to filmmaking. Their visual concerns have been dramatically different, but the commitment of each has led them to create powerful, effective films that continue to affect the work of filmmakers in every genre and every nation today. All five have made significant contributions toward turning filmmaking into an art, while developing different aspects of cinema and varying genres, and all five can be considered great artists.

David Wark Griffith was born in Kentucky on January 22, 1875. He began his career as an actor in small touring ..."

From the Paper
"The auteur theory developed by French film critics beginning in the 1950s is partly a convenient way of categorizing and analyzing films, collecting titles as the body of work of the director. More than this, though, the theory holds that it is the director more than anyone else who is responsible for the completed film, since he or she is the one who determines visual style and other matters in the course of production. The theory finds that the director expresses meaning through visual style and that analyzing the visual style of a given director reveals consistent thematic concerns, similarities in character development, and other repeated and recognizable signs of a single intelligence at work. At the same time, though, film remains a collaborative medium, and it would seem that directors would be influenced by their..."

Tags:FILMS: GENERAL

Abstract
Focuses on three films: "The Grapes of Wrath", "My Darling Clementine", and "Rio Grande". Discusses the common issue of family, including personal and greater families. Describes the similar use of traditional American music, stark black-and-white images, and sparse dialog.

From the Paper
"his paper analyzes John Ford's themes and styles in three of his most distinctive films, The Grapes of Wrath, My Darling Clementine, and Rio Grande. These three all focus on different aspects of one issue that reoccurs throughout his films, the issue of..."

Abstract
This paper presents an extensive chronology of the manner in which African-American have been presented in movies and on television. This paper states that despite the attempt to portray American culture accurately, the media lags behind in regards to the changes in morality and values held by the American people, especially in the portrayal of minorities. The author feels that because television is an intense carrier of socialization, there needs to be much more research to assess the impact of these images on the psyche of black youth.

Table of Contents
Background Information on U.S. Media and Television
The American Audience
Four Functions of Media
The Image of African-Americans on Television
Roots of the Distorted Images of African-Americans
The Birth of Television Images
Life on Television Study
The Neilson Rating System
Televisions Impact on Socialization
Socialization and Comprehension in Childhood
Studies with Children and Television

From the Paper
"The Anglo-Saxon beliefs, which were brought to this country, showed the beginning of racial prejudice in this country. White was seen as pure, clean, good, reflecting the spiritual light; and black was seen as impurity, filth, evil and spiritual darkness. Those people who were prosperous and self-sufficient were the spiritual elect, and those who were enslaved were seen as damned. These beliefs carried on in the South, with the mythology of the happy slaves who were content to serve the master as the ultimate fulfillment of their lives. This became one of the many justifications for slavery and exploitation of blacks. During the Reconstruction period, images of a lazy, slow-witted blacks with loose morals and fondness for alcohol were used to reinforce institutionalized and social racism."

Tags:culture, black, comdey, minority, children

Abstract
A brief look at how Frank Capra became America's greatest filmmaker, using the Depression times as a source of humor in his films, sprinkled with great optimism. It shows how he was the symbol of hope for the hopeless; he used his "fantasies of goodwill" as a source of national morale in his films. It discusses how, in many of Capra's films, he uses the theme of Americanization of liberty whereby he further supported his idea for freedom for America.

From the Paper
""Capraesque" means a blend of optimism, humor, patriotism, and, to those who really understand his work, darkness, despair, and the need to fight for things you care about ... Capra's heroes often undergo real suffering. But humor surrounds them ... The audience, like the hero, earns its laughs, and they don't come cheap. For those with the courage to see things with humor, the victory life offers in a Capra film is laughter. --Jeanine Basinge) [Mortimer]"

Tags:depression, film, liberty, freedom