| Papers [1-15] of 100 :: [Page 1 of 7] | | Go to page : 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 —> | Search results on "HERO AMERICAN FILM": |
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The Hero in American Film, 2005.
This paper examines the post-Vietnam era evolution of the Western hero in American culture and cinema.
675 words (approx. 2.7 pages), 3 sources, $ 26.95
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Abstract
This film study reflects the central American identity of the conscientious loner that must explore the new frontiers of the Old West. The films analyzed here depict a post-Vietnam point of view of the western hero, which define an American identity that becomes increasingly Leftist in a political and social context. However, the violent and oftentimes white hero of the Old West is still preserved, since the World War II Era heroics of John Wayne.
From the Paper
"This film study will analyze the evolution of the western film genre through a heroic perspective. The centrality of the American western was a major part of historical and social of western heroes, such as John Wayne, after WWII. The evolution of Eastwood's hero in the 60s makes no less a reflection American life, as does Costner does in the Post-Vietnam Era. In essence, although the social context of the various western hero changes in how filmmakers approach this issue, the lone frontier explorer is an important mythos that is central to American cultural identity. The western hero after WWII was an independent, but loyal solider or frontiersman that was not truly concerned with a conscientious view other races or cultures in American society."
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The Hero in American Drama, 2007.
An examination of the evolution of the hero in American drama.
2,003 words (approx. 8.0 pages), 3 sources, MLA, $ 63.95
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Abstract
This paper examines the evolution of the hero as a response to the changing virtues of the American people. The paper explains that throughout the history of drama in the United States of America, the playwrights have used the heroes in their plays to reflect the ideal that people hoped to live up to. The paper looks at how the hero is the playwright's best interpretation of what the definition of virtue is to the people of his time. The paper points out that Royall Tyler shows a very clear cut definition of a hero during a time when a clear cut definition is needed in an effort to define the nation. The paper further looks at how Tyler takes what he assumes are all the most virtuous traits a man can possess and uses them to create his heroic characters. The paper also discusses how Boucicault writes during a less concrete time and that the ideals that were solid for decades come under fire as the country begins to split itself in two.
From the Paper
"The Contrast by Royall Tyler displays the social and economic ideals of the time. This play was written during a period of transition for the United States of America. They had just gained their freedom from the British after years of fighting the Revolutionary War, and the people of America were learning how to govern themselves while trying to sort out the immense debt they incurred during the war. The patriotic people of the United States valued their freedom and independence but were indebted to many countries in Europe for their support during the war with Britain. The Americans also had to develop their own government that would grant them personal liberties but still provide a framework for a functional country."
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Heroes of American Labor, 2001.
This paper examines some of the people in the American labor movement including: Pauline Newman, William Shepherd and Upton Sinclair.
1,380 words (approx. 5.5 pages), 1 source, MLA, $ 46.95
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Abstract
This paper studies some of the real unknown heroes of the American labor movement who contributed to the boom in manufacturing in the beginning of the last century. It details Pauline Newman's work in the New York Triangle Shirtwaist Factory and its known violations to women workers.
In the factory's terrible fire, 146 women were killed, mostly Jewish. It reports how William Shepherd, a journalist, covered the incident and how Upton Sinclair, the famous writer helped end this slave labor by writing about it. This paper gives an historical overview of this time in American history and concludes that these three people did a great deal in order to end the suffering of the workers.
From the Paper
"In the beginning years of the last century, working conditions were grave, and life was a struggle for American workers coming from all walks of life. Many of these workers were immigrants, trapped in miserable and dangerous working conditions, struggling for a small livelihood in their new country. The jobs the immigrants performed were vital to America?s booming manufacturing, yet most Americans barely knew these people existed and treated them like outsiders. Who was really fighting for them, then? As we look back upon a time when humans were used freely as slaves and kept in unsafe conditions, we are thankful to a few people who gave voice to all those hurt. As we look back to some of these heroes, such as Pauline Newman, William Shepherd, Upton Sinclair we are better able to understand a story that we can only read about. "
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Fredrick Douglass: A True Hero to the American People, 1999.
This paper gives the arguments both for and against slavery in 1863, and shows how Fredrick Douglass' autobiography destroyed the pro-slavery argument.
3,635 words (approx. 14.5 pages), 8 sources, MLA, $ 101.95
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Abstract
This is a research essay that deals with Fredrick Douglass historically as the man who was finally able to convince the general public and President Lincoln of the evils of slavery. It is also a literary analysis of Fredrick Douglass? work, specifically ?Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglass: An American Slave?. It begins with the pro-slavery argument, and shows how Fredrick Douglass shattered all aspects of this argument with both his stories about his life as a slave and the fact that he was as powerful an orator as any white man in his time.
From the Paper
"The pro-slavery argument, which declared that the Negro is inferior to a white man and that his natural abilities suited him for slavery, managed to secure the status and wealth of those who benefited economically from the institution for the time it existed after the Revolution, despite the moral arguments against it. Abolitionists, people against slavery, from the North toiled with no avail for years to abolish the system that had corrupted the minds of so many American citizens. However, it was not until the coming of the first great African-American speaker and abolitionist, Fredrick Douglass, which the planter aristocracy lost their influence and slavery finally fell to pieces with the end of the Civil War."
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African-American War Heroes, 2004.
A comparison and contrast of the role played by the African-American population in the War for Independence and the Civil War.
1,312 words (approx. 5.2 pages), 4 sources, MLA, $ 44.95
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Abstract
This paper describes the heroic efforts of African-Americans in their participation in the fight for freedom in the War for Independence and the Civil War. The paper discusses the issue of slavery and the slave's right or lack thereof to enlist in the military and fight in the wars. The paper contends that, throughout the war, African-Americans continued to prove how valuable they truly were to the military.
From the Paper
"America was founded on the principle of freedom. With this in mind, it comes as little surprise that both the War for Independence and the Civil War have the similarity that they both involved the struggle for freedom. Both wars sought to overcome oppression and both wars encompassed a vision of basic human rights connected with a sense of justice. The other similarity these two wars shared was the heroic efforts of African Americans in their participation in the fight for freedom."
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The Art Film and the Genre Film, 2004.
Art and genre criticism in four classic films.
3,048 words (approx. 12.2 pages), 48 sources, MLA, $ 89.95
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Abstract
An analysis of two genre films and two art films - Antonioni's "Blow Up," Kelly/Donen's "Singin' in the Rain", Truffaut's "The 400 Blows", and Sirk's "All That Heaven Allows". The validity of both genre and art film criticism are examined.
From the Paper
"By its failure to accommodate the excess generated by its subject matter, All That Heaven Allows is not only critiquing the genre of melodrama, it also exposes the contradictions and conflicts present in American bourgeois society (Bourget, 1995, 45). However the subversive excess and contradictions present in the film prevent it from being ?just another melodrama?. Sirk worked within yet against the constraints of the Hollywood studio system to subvert the genre, and although the film is superficially a generic 1950s Hollywood melodrama, Sirk?s characteristic stylistic technique marks him as an auteur, a position usually associated with the art rather than the genre film."
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"An American Tragedy", 2002.
An analysis of Clyde Griffiths, the anti-hero of "An American Tragedy" by Theodore Dreiser.
680 words (approx. 2.7 pages), 0 sources, MLA, $ 24.95
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Abstract
This paper explores the motivating forces behind Clyde Griffith?s decidedly antisocial actions in Theodore Dreiser's novel, "An American Tragedy". The paper shows that Griffith's poor religious upbringing, his lack of a formal education, and his observation that money buys happiness, ultimately lead to his downfall.
From the Paper
"Sin is most often exponential in nature?one hardly embarks on a lifetime of crime with a murder or rape; rather, a series of inconsequential slips that so often lead to one?s downfall. The same is true in the case of Clyde Griffiths. By attempts at justification and rationalization of his first crime??What difference did it make if he stayed out late? Wasn?t he a man now, making more money than anyone else in the family? Couldn?t he begin to do as he pleased (56)???his road to sin and death became wider and more appealing."
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Seventies Films Versus Today's Films, 2001.
A comparison between films from different periods in time, and the differences in their entertainment methods.
2,625 words (approx. 10.5 pages), 8 sources, $ 79.95
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Abstract
A comparison of three honored films from the seventies, "Easy Rider", "Five Easy Pieces", and "The Godfather" and two films from the the year 2000, "The Gladiator" and "Erin Brokovich". The paper considers how they differ in the realm of providing distracting entertainment versus probing consideration of timely issues, concluding that seventies films left a more lasting vision.
From the Paper
"What do we want from our movies? Do we seek simple escape or deeper understanding of our lives? Can a movie be both probing and entertaining? Are entertainment, eye candy and special effects enough, or do we seek something deeper? Do we want to look inside ourselves and ask questions, or to merely stay on the surface, distract ourselves, and deny that there is anything more to be considered? These questions arise when comparing three movies from the 1970s with two films nominated for Academy Awards in the 2000. The films considered are: from the seventies, Easy Rider, Five Easy Pieces, and The Godfather, and from 2000, Gladiator and, Erin Brokovich. Pauline Kael, the well-know New Yorker film critic, commenting on how she got hooked on films, agrees another critic, Paul Coates, that in its ideal form, ?Cinema is the dream of an afterlife from which to comprehend this one? (Kael 63). In light of this quote, the films from the seventies embody elements which through the focused vision of the director offer mythic qualities that provide not only entertainment but an opportunity for viewers to examine their lives. That in accomplishing this, they provide images that remain in the mind?s eye could be considered the tradition of the seventies. In contrast, recent films Gladiator and Erin Brokovich are entertaining distractions, providing no lasting vision."
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Film Studies: Analyzing Three Films within the Context of South East and Asian Historical Perspectives, 2005.
The Chinese Communist Party soon came to power after years of exile and puppet rule that Pu Yi had experienced in the ever changing political and gove...
1,350 words (approx. 5.4 pages), 6 sources, $ 53.95
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Abstract
The Chinese Communist Party soon came to power after years of exile and puppet rule that Pu Yi had experienced in the ever changing political and governmental landscapes of China. In 1950 Pu Yi was forced to leave his Soviet township and soon became a prisoner of the new Communist Party politics.
From the Paper
ABSTRACT TOO SHORT
Film Studies: Analyzing Three Films within the Context of South East and Asian Historical Perspectives Essay 1: Understanding the Premise of Vietnamese Communism within the Film: Full Metal Jacket The film Full Metal Jacket (1987), directed by Stanley Kubrick, offers an American point of view of a Vietnamese conflict that depended heavily on the communist (NLF) National Liberation Front. The communist resistance to American pressure to abdicate to the puppet regimes of older leaders, such as Ngo Dinh Diem, resulted in the NLF being called the "Viet Cong" or a "Democratic Dictatorship" within military and governmental propaganda. The reason for this is reflected in the film, as the Tet Offensive becomes the symbolic part of the movie where the Americans begin to lose the war, marking the American military's last real ground-based initiative to take the country. In this manner, a historical perspective of the NLF can be analyzed, but
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Who is the Real Hero?, 2005.
This paper discusses how James Bond is different from the traditional American hero.
2,100 words (approx. 8.4 pages), 6 sources, MLA, $ 65.95
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Abstract
In this article, the writer discusses that Bond is quite different in certain aspects of being a hero such as secret identity, social life, moral values and general applicability from other heroes. The writer notes that American heroes are all similar in character, but the hero character, James Bond, works to conflict with these classical criteria. What connects him to the title hero just as Superman, Batman and Spiderman is his ability and drive to protect innocent people from evil. What sets him apart is his means of getting the job done. The writer maintains that Bond's significance is to show the realistic interpretation of the traditional American hero in our world today. Each hero achieves the same goal in saving innocent lives, Bond just embodies the grown up and realistic way of getting it done.
From the Paper
"No matter how many women he has, there is no attachment between James and his ladies. His relationship with them is strictly sexual. This goes back to the secret identity issue mentioned before in terms of the love life. Since James does not have any type of emotional attachment to his mistresses, he has no reason to create a secret identity in order to protect them from his enemies. The other characters largely care about the women in their lives, thus using a secret identity to keep them safe. Not having the problem of worrying about his lovers, Bond is able to use his real name. This idea of moral involvement is another aspect in which Bond contradicts the traditional American hero myth.
"In each of the three American hero stories, the character has something in their past that makes them who they are. This leads to a moral obligation felt by the hero to protect those who can't protect themselves."
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"Hero" by Zhang Yimou, 2008.
A review of cinematography and martial arts stylization brought forth by director Zhang Yimou in the film, "Hero."
706 words (approx. 2.8 pages), 2 sources, APA, $ 25.95
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Abstract
This paper analyzes the film, "Hero" directed by Zhang Yimou. It describes the plot structure of the film and discusses the cinematography and martial arts stylization brought forth by Zhang Yimou. The paper concludes that the film offers a high level of martial arts entertainment that rises far above other films that have come forth in this genre in the past decade.
From the Paper
"In conclusion, Hero, by director Zhang Yimou, offers a high level of martial arts entertainment that rises far above other films that have come forth in this genre in the past decade. Although Yimou had not put a great deal of innovation into the normative "assassin's" plot in this genre he invariably provides a deeper visual representation by showing more details and interactive special effects in the fighting scenes. Jet Li and the other martial artists in the film are high caliber martial artists that provide incredibly mythic choreographed acrobatics and fighting scenes that rise far above the competition. Hero is a film that demands more storytelling innovation, but certainly, the martial arts and special effects in the film make greater advances in this style of Asian filmmaking."
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American Splendor, 2004.
This paper examines how the use of animation and comic book features are brought into the film, "American Splendor."
1,851 words (approx. 7.4 pages), 3 sources, MLA, $ 59.95
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Abstract
This paper examines how this film uses an original mix of fiction and reality, which illuminates the life of comic book hero and everyman, Harvey Pekar. The paper also discusses the skill of an artist to communicate, focusing on the art of comics.
From the Paper
"How does an artist communicate? In the paintings of the great classical artists, the colors, expressions of their subject?s faces, and the surrounding activities all contributed to a mood and content of the times in which they wrote, as well as their own emotional connection to their painting. During the time of Michelangelo, when the human body was considered an art form his paintings and sculptured were created in fine detail, of beauty and specific realism. At the turn of the 20th century, Artists had a new idea, a new flavor to express in their work. The European art world had been dominated by the Michelangelo, his contemporaries, and his imitators for so long that public sentiment in the art world moved in new directions. In response to, or more aptly in reaction against, Claude Monet shoes a unique style, which communicated the beauty of the content, but in a swirl of dots and colors rather than smooth blended strokes. Impressionist art was suited for Monet, and he established his reputation by departing from the smooth colors blending and undetectable brush stroke of the Renaissance era."
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Women in Film Noir, 2004.
An in-depth look at the role of women in the genre of film known as film noir.
7,839 words (approx. 31.4 pages), 21 sources, MLA, $ 170.95
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Abstract
Among the various styles of producing films, the noir style is one that has come to be recognized for its uniqueness in characterization, camera work and striking dialogue. Film Noir of the 1940s and 50s was well known for feminine characters that were the protagonists, the femme fatale. This was most common with the French and later accepted in the United States. This paper begins by introducing film noir, its definition, how it started and also the history of this genre in the United States of America. It looks at films such as the "Maltese Falcon" (1941) and "A Touch of Evil" (1958). In the second section, the paper explores how women are represented in film noir (heroine and femme fatal) by discussing the aforementioned films and analyzing them. The paper examines different authors, such as Ann Mary Doane whose research is based on feminism and psychoanalysis and Ewing Dale ("Style and Content in Film Noir"), to discuss their ideas. The paper also compares two film noirs - the "Maltese Falcon" (1941) and "Basic Instinct" (a contemporary noir), to see how women express themselves, looking to see whether they express themselves through their sexual diversity. In the third and last section, the paper examines how women are represented in contemporary noir by analyzing and discussing one contemporary noir - "Mulholland Drive" (2001). The paper analyzes sequences to demonstrate the movie's connection with film noir and examines the role of women in the film. The paper includes illustrations from movies.
From the Paper
"Mulholland Drive reinforces the dominance of the femme fatale in contemporary film noir. In present times the role of the woman in society is observed to have a variation, and this is because of the fact that there is a change in the way that she can express herself. It also highlights the way that she can dominate men without them even knowing it. It is perhaps only when they reach their ultimate doom that they realize that women have exploited them. This kind of character portrayal is one that has increased over the years since the beginning of the film noirs. From then it has developed itself in American filmmaking, which has reflected the strengths and weaknesses both in American society."
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Director Pedro Almodovar and the Spanish Film Industry, 2002.
This paper shows the influence of director Pedro Almodovar on the Spanish film industry and how his films helped pave the way for other Spanish directors to find an audience outside of Spain and to reestablish the viability of the Spanish film industry.
3,100 words (approx. 12.4 pages), 8 sources, $ 90.95
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Abstract
The paper introduces the topic with a look at Robert Phillip Kolker's "The Altering Eye", which considers some of the economic and social forces that apply in different countries to shape their film. It then examines the life and work of director Pedro Almodovar as an example of these theories at work in Spain. It suggests that Almodovar's success was dependent on the social and political changes in Spain, namely the end of the fascist era and a move toward democracy.
From the Paper
"Film is an international medium in spite of language differences, and different countries come to the fore at different times to make a mark both artistic and economic on the world cinema. After world War II, Italian neo-realism burst onto the scene, followed in the early 1960s by the French New Wave. In the 1970s it was a combination of films from Australia and films from West Germany, the latter led by Rainer Werner Fassbinder. More recently, Spain has become a contributor to the screens of the world, with the leading filmmaker of the time being Pedro Almodovar, in some ways an unlikely leader given his penchant for bizarre sexual themes, iconoclastic attitudes, and searing satiric humor."
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Women in Film: "Jerry McGuire", 2006.
An analysis of the representation of women in film using the film, "Jerry McGuire" as an example.
675 words (approx. 2.7 pages), 4 sources, $ 26.95
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Abstract
This paper analyzes the film "Jerry McGuire" in order to analyze the characterization of women in film. Several analysis techniques are used for the analysis, such as looking at the life styles portrayed in the film, the film's language, the argument within the text, and the reception of the audience.
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