...O'Donnell August 27, 2012 DIRTY DANCING Dirty Dancing came out in 1987 and they didn’t have the technology they do today to make it fancy, but they didn’t need to. It was supposed to show the transition of a girl becoming a woman by falling in love with someone no one saw as her equal, according to society. Although the movie was made 25 years ago, it still brings a good message to the audiences that watch it. It has become a classic movie that no amount of technology could change. It takes so much to make a movie, and no one realizes it, but in this paper, it’s going to analyze what made Dirty Dancing become such a classic movie. Storytelling The narrative structure of the movie is told from Frances ‘Baby’ Houseman’s point of view as it was the summer she fell in love. The storytelling in Dirty Dancing is told in chronological order because she sees the dancers, wants to be one, then the female dancing lead, Penny Johnson, became pregnant. Baby fills in for her and Johnny teaches her dance in her place. The story takes place at Kellerman’s country club where she goes on vacation for the summer with her family. The conflict in the story is that Baby comes from a respectable family and falls in love with Johnny, the dance teacher, and Baby’s father does not like Johnny because he believed that Johnny got Penny pregnant and then moved on to be with his daughter. The conflict is resolved when Robbie, the man that got Penny pregnant, lets it slip in the end that he was the one...
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...forms of art. ✔ understand how and why most of the formal mechanisms of a movie remain invisible to casual viewers. ✔ understand the relationship between viewers’ expectations and filmmakers’ decisions about the form and style of their movies. ✔ explain how shared belief systems contribute to hidden movie meaning. ✔ explain the difference between implicit and explicit meaning, and understand how the different levels of movie meaning contribute to interpretive analysis. medium. With so much experience, no one could blame you for wondering why you need a course or this book to tell you how to look at movies. After all, you might say, “It’s just a movie.” For most of us most of the time, movies are a break from our daily obligations—a form of escape, entertainment, and pleasure. Motion pictures had been popular for fifty years before even most filmmakers, much less scholars, considered movies worthy of serious study. But motion pictures are much more than entertainment. The movies we see shape the way we view the world around us and our place in that world. What’s more, a close analysis of any particular movie can tell us a great deal about the artist, society, or industry that created it. Surely any art form with that kind of influence and insight is worth understanding on the deepest possible level. ✔ understand the differences between formal analysis and the types of analysis that explore the relationship between culture and the movies. ✔ begin...
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...My analysis paper is based on mise-en-scene in Rashomon. The mise-en-scene, which means putting on the stage and it covers the setting, props, costumes, performance, lighting, and color. The way these elements are modified and are arranged within the film to appear on screen is the composition (Abrams et.al 96). In the scene of the fight between the samurai and the bandit, the setting and the light are indispensable; the shadow of the forest is used to contrast with the light that come from the sun and when the bandit is ready to finish off the samurai, the light is reflected in his face and immediately this light is contrasted with shadow that comes among the branches where rest the dead body of the samurai. I consider the setting, the use...
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...Behaviors amongst human beings can be influenced based upon their surroundings, financial statuses and cultural practices. In the movie “BABIES” directed by Thomas Balms (2009), the examination of child upbringing is perceived through the viewer’s eyes, as the program depicts how children develop based on their different social themes and financial classes. Depending on your geographical location and your financial class, a parent’s view on the “norm” of child upbringing can differ dramatically. This movie introduces a baby girl named Panijeo, and her mother in the village of Opuwo, located in the city Namibia, Africa. In this village where urban resources are nowhere to be found, mothers spend their days with their children making paint, jewelry and cooking. This village lives in huts made of sticks with mud roofs, and men ride donkeys as means of transportation. Panijeo is shown, living in her normal environment, playing with big stones and smashing a chalk-like substance into powder. This is just another way Panijeo is learning to imitate her mother, who also smashes a red chalk like substance to create red skin paint. In a life away from an urban environment, Panijeo is learning through playing, what she will be responsible for when she reaches a mature age. Panijeo is breastfed, while she straddles her mother’s leg. Flys touch down onto the baby and her mother, while a wild puppy chews on Panijeo’s mother’s toes. This feeding is done while the mother sits on the dusty earth...
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...Running Head: P.S. I LOVE YOU 1 An Analysis of P.S. I Love You Tammy McDaniel ENG 225 Jonathan Beller August 15, 2011 P.S. I Love You 2 An Analysis of P.S. I Love You The 2007 film, P.S. I Love You, is a film about learning to let go and move on with your life after the death of a spouse. The Film stars Hilary Swank, Million Dollar Baby and Gerard Butler, 300. It also stars Lisa Kudrow as Denise, Gina Gershon as Sharon, James Marsters as John, Kathy Bates as Patricia (Holly's mom), Nellie McKay as Ciara (Holly's sister), Harry Connick Jr. as Daniel, and Jeffrey Dean Morgan as William. This paper will critique the film, 'P.S. I Love You,' through textual and formal analysis focusing on the following elements.. Storytelling, Acting, Cinematography, Editing, Sound, Style and Directing, Societal Impact, Genre, and Film Criticism and Analysis. By examining the films technical elements, you can gain a better understanding of the director's vision of the film. P.S. I Love You is a 2007 American drama directed by Richard LaGavenese. The screenplay by LaGavenese and Steven Rogers is based on the 2004 novel P.S. I Love You by Cecelia Ahern. This film was shot on locations in New York City and county Wicklow, Ireland.(Imdb.com) In this film, P.S. I Love You, Hilary Swank plays Holly, an American who marries an Irishman,Gerry (played by Gerard Butler). Gerry is Holly's soul mate, the love of her life. A few weeks shy of her...
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...different story of how people were brought up in their lifetime. Some people came from poor homes and some people came from wealthy homes but Elizabeth came from a wealthy home because her father was the King of England. An analysis of Queen Elizabeth I in the movie "Elizabeth" to reveals that this film has historically sort accurate information about Queen Elizabeth. Queen Elizabeth was born on September 7, 1533. In the movie "Elizabeth" the director of the movie doesn't really discuss how Elizabeth's mom and dad was a part of her life . Elizabeth's father was having a secret marriage to Anne Boleyn.When Elizabeth was born her father was not really happy. 1"And so Elizabeth’s birth was one of the most exciting political...
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...Outline Title: 2001 A Space Odyssey film analysis Introduction: Begins a dawn in prehistoric Africa, about four million years ago a powerful force entered near Jupiter. The force later on somehow ended up in the prehistoric area. The monolith, was the force that was deliberately planted by an extraterrestrial but why? Body: I. What was learned about the movie before starting my complete analysis 1. Begins a dawn in prehistoric Africa 2. The dawn of man 3. Jupiter’s mission 4. Beyond the infinite II. My own personal analysis in regards to the list of questions from handout (1-14) 1. How and why is the film described as a work of art? 2. What colors are present and what are the color schemes? 3. What mood is set? 4. What is the possible symbolism?...
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...Introduction This is a critical analysis paper using sociological literature to analyze the movie “Soul Food.” The topics I plan to analyze are coming to terms with death, family values during and after the death of a loved one and the ability to move past the hurt and pain after a death occurs. Soul Food depicts an African American family with many underlying issues for each child in relation to each other and also in relation to themselves individually. Mother Joe is the patriarch of the family who, despite her every effort to maintain peace and harmony, has her hands full with her daughters. Family is the thread of our society. Success for an individual is measured by the way he or she interacts with family. In relation to death and dying, the movie, Soul Food has every element that families encounter when attempting to grasp the concept of a loved one dying. The overall summary of this movie is about a matriarch, Mama Joe, who is adamant about family. She has three daughters, all with differing dramas in their lives, and issues with each other’s lives. Every Sunday, the family would gather at Mama Joe’s for Sunday dinner. There, family conflict would begin, be discussed and most times, end over dinner. Traditions are begun at the table and never forgotten because of Mama Joe. Children With Differing Personalities Dealing With A Major Life Change The daughters in this movie are seen in varying ways. In each of their respective ways, all daughters love their mother...
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...2012 African American Stereotypes in Movies Introduction There once was a time when everyone expected the black man to be the first actor to die in every movie that possessed a black man in its cast. However, over time the assumption of the black man being the first to die has changed. Currently in the year 2012, there are progressively more movies in which black men portray leading roles. This change in black men as leading characters in movies is a welcome change. In the past, supporting or backup roles were considered the best role a black man could achieve. In this paper, the researcher will conduct information by means of content analysis. Content analysis is the most commonly used methodology because of its ability to measure human behavior, assuming that the verbal behavior is a form of behavior. This study will examine specific media products and define these products by determining smaller elements that complement these products. This document will address a wide view of concerns regarding the African American culture, and will provide assumptions on how this issue can be addressed in the future. The stereotype of African Americans in movies today, is the topic of this research paper. Why do African Americans face stereotypes in the media? Why do black actors and actresses have difficulty obtaining roles that are not stereotypical black roles? Why do African Americans accept stereotypical roles? When will African...
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...“American Beauty” - An analysis of the movie with focus on Carolyn & Lester Burnham The Burnham’s seem to live the ‘American Dream’. They have good jobs, two expensive cars, and a nice home in the suburbs, and a healthy teenager. The family is portrayed as a normal, happy family, but if you do as the film tag says and “look closer”, you see that it isn’t true. Instead, they are living in a “suburban prison”. Carolyn Burnham is the lonely wife of Lester Burnham and can be summed up in five words: materialistic, ambitious, seemingly successful, yet insecure, and a perfectionist. You see her fragile and insecure sides in a few scenes, for instance, when she tries to sell a house, and it doesn’t go as planned, she get’s more and more desperate. She’s alone in the house when she breaks down and allows herself to cry, but first she makes sure that nobody can see her by closing the blinds. She only let herself be vulnerable for a quick moment, before she gets angry, and starts to slap herself in the face, screaming: “Stop it! Shut up! You’re weak! You Baby! Shut up!” It’s a way to remind her that she’s strong, but the slapping is also a way of punishing herself for being weak. To most people crying is a natural thing to do when you’re sad, but for Carolyn it’s a shameful behavior. After the big fight scene at the dinner table, Carolyn goes to Jane’s room to talk, and she tells her daughter: “You cannot count on anyone except yourself. You know, it’s sad but...
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...Janet Ng Professor Faunce WRT 102 7 March 2012 Textual Analysis of A Streetcar Named Desire Based on Tennessee William’s A Streetcar Named Desire, Elia Kazan creates an award winning movie that helps readers visualize Stanley’s primal masculinity, the inner torments of the Kowalski women and the clash of the other characters’ problems which create a chaotic mess. Using stage directions in the play, William hints that Blanche is not who she appears to be while the movie subtly sheds light on Blanche’s strange little habits that suggests a bigger issue. The movie also censors many of the main themes in Williams’ play but makes up for it by having its actors flawlessly portray the characters’ emotions, allowing the readers to see the conflict at its full magnitude. Both the movie and the play sympathize with the powerless women by underlining the important theme of women’s dependence on men. Blanche is an insecure, miserable older woman who masks herself as a rich, upper class lady. She continues to shy from reality and seduce men as she cannot comprehend that her reliance on men will ultimately lead to her downfall. “Now run along, now, quickly! It would be nice to keep you, but I’ve got to be good-and keep my hands off children.” (Williams, pg 99) This isn’t the first time that Blanche has put moves on a kid as made evident when she states “I’ve got to be good and keep my hands off children.” She clearly hasn’t learned her lesson after losing her job. The scene is even more...
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...what would happen to me and my life would be a great way to avoid the problems that I might encounter, but after watching Gattaca (1997), I am absolutely glad that I get to face even the smallest challenges in my life. Gattaca (1997) is a good movie overall, but to think of the problems I face on a daily basis makes me glad I am a “God child”, (Gattaca, 1997). In the movie any child born that has not been confirmed by a geneticist of being perfect, or as close as possible to perfect, is known as a “God child, degenerate, faith birth, or in-valid”, (Gattaca, 1997) and any child that is confirmed by a geneticist, to be perfect, is known as a “valid”, (Gattaca, 1997) child or person. Gattaca (1997) is actually a company that runs a space program and only hires “valid” individuals to work for them, because they will be going into space and the directors of Gattaca (1997) do not want anyone that would have a genetic defect and that may possibly pass away while travelling to their destination or while they are in space. The movie Gattaca (1997) is a good film to watch to learn what geneticists need to stay away from. The following is my view on the philosophical problems with the movie Gattaca (1997) and to show that genetics should be left to God, or whoever, and not to humans. The whole premise of the movie, Gattaca (1997), is how the world only wants people to have perfect children and/or people. This is done when a geneticist makes the perfect pairing from a mother’s eggs...
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...“P.S. I Love You” Cindy Sheldon ENG225: Introduction to Film Instructor: Sarah Snook September 7, 2013 “P.S. I Love You” Introduction: For this film critique essay I will be writing about the movie P.S. I Love You (2007). This paper will explore the storytelling, the actors as well as how they act in the film. We will explore the cinematography, editing, sound, and the style and directing for this movie. The last few things we will explore are the impact this film had on society (if any), the genre, what is the best way to analyze this film. When all these aspects of the movie are examined we will see how a script comes to life on the big screen. Storytelling: This film is shot in non-linear form, it starts with the present and throughout the movie we are given glimpses into the past. This story takes place in several different places which include Ireland and New York City. The main female character (Holly) experiences an internal conflict when her husband Gerry passes away from an illness at a very young age. Holly is able to resolve her conflict with help from her friends, family, and her deceased husband. The symbolism in this film is that love can overcome anything including death. For us, the viewers, relates to our human nature. If we are lucky we have all been able to experience the type of love that is portrayed in this film. That love that we never see coming, but hits us like a “ton of bricks”. The kind of love most of us only get to experience...
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...19 April 2012 “Children of Heaven” Movie analysis “Children of Heaven” is a movie about the life of the poor families. The little brother Ali and his sister Zara are the main characters in the movie. Living is such a poor family teaches Ali and Zara a lot of moral values. The lost of Zara’s shoes, the situation and the place they live in and the participation of Ali in the running marathon are all symbols of how much the kids learn throughout their lives and how much they value the little things they have. The movie takes place in Tehran, where people are very poor. However, living such a simple life and having just enough to survive symbolize the closeness of the family and neighbors, and the people in the town at whole. All the people in this neighborhood are very poor and they struggle to live, but they also learn a lot this way. They help each other a lot, children do work around the house, and the neighbors help each other with small things that mean a lot to them, like a handful of nuts. The man that works in the grociery store let people take food and pay him back later when they can. Smart things are very important for the people in this neighborhood and this is why they value life so much. The little children Ali and Zara feel priviledge to be bale to go to school and study. They don’t take that for granted like kids here in USA and other modern countries. Ali stays home and helps his mom when she sick instead of going out and playing with his friends, while his...
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...“So Cute I Could Eat It Up”: Priming Effects of Cute Products on Indulgent Consumption GERGANA Y. NENKOV MAURA L. SCOTT This article examines the extent to which consumers engage in more indulgent consumption when they are exposed to whimsically cute products and explores the process by which such products affect indulgence. Prior research on kindchenschema (baby schema) has found that exposure to cute babies or baby animals leads to more careful behavior (see the study by Sherman, Haidt, and Coan), suggesting restraint. The present research uncovers the opposite: consumers become more indulgent in their behavior after exposure to whimsically cute products. Drawing from research on cognitive priming, kindchenschema, anthropomorphization, indulgence, and regulatory focus, this research posits that exposure to whimsically cute products primes mental representations of fun, increasing consumers’ focus on approaching self-rewards and making consumers more likely to choose indulgent options. These effects do not emerge for kindchenschema cute stimuli, since they prime mental representations of vulnerability and caretaking. Four empirical studies provide evidence for the proposed effects and their underlying process. C ompanies market a rapidly increasing number and variety of cute products across numerous categories, targeting not only children but also adult consumers. The marketplace is replete with cute clothing, utensils, appliances, foods, office supplies, and...
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