...Following the U.S. v Paramount decision (1948) and the Hollywood blacklist that targeted both producers and talent, the years following World War II were not kind to the movie industry. While those two major events changed the course of Hollywood filmmaking, it was the rise of television that inaugurated the end of “America’s love affair with movies” (American Cinema, 1995). The rapid popularity of television left film producers and directors desperate to get audiences back to the cinema by exhibiting films with more mature content, and with narratives that reflected the cultural and social tensions of the time. The Film Studios Collaborate With the Television Networks Once television became a household norm in the mid-1950s, the film studios...
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...The Vietnam War was the longest lasting military conflict in American History. What was originally fear of communist expansion became one of America’s most expensive and strenuous efforts, consuming over fifty eight thousand American lives. As casualties increased throughout the 1960’s, so did the domestic opposition to the war. In turn, large-scale protests and a lack of trust between government and its people rose. Today many of the war’s details remain unclear; however, Hollywood has had its hand at depicting what occurred. This paper provides an analysis of the Vietnam War, as well as its depiction in the 21st century film industry. “The Deer Hunter,” “Born on the 4th of July” and “Casualties of War” are three different interpretations of the war in both foreign and domestic settings. Each film offers a different point of view, varying from social, political, and military perspectives. Following the Second World War, the French set forth an effort to regain their former colonial possession of Indo-China, which had been occupied by the Japanese throughout the war. After nearly a decade, the French were unable to establish a presence in what they called their “inheritance”, and as a result withdrew under the Geneva Accord in 1954. Meanwhile conflict within the regions of Vietnam created instability. A communist regime called the Peoples Army of Vietnam (PAVN), headed by Ho Chi Minh obtained power of the North. In contrast Ngo Dinh Diem established an interim government that...
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...Hollywood and the Rise of Cultural Protectionism The most commercially successful filmmaker of all time Steven Spielberg is synonymous with American cinema. He has directed and produced blockbusters like ET, Jurassic Park and War of the Worlds. As U.S. dominance of the International film industry grows, Spielberg has been the target of complaints about how Hollywood is changing world cultures. The values represented in Spielberg’s films are often viewed as part of the larger trend of the homogenization, or worse, the Americanization of global values and beliefs, Jurassic park ignited a storm of protest and calls for cultural protectionism. Film critics and cultural ministries around the globe found Jurassic Park to be a brainless film, lacking plot and succeeding entirely through special effects and big budget bells and whistles. French officials labeled the film a threat to their national identity. Three leading film makers_ Pedro Almodovar, Bernardo Bertolucci, and Wim Wenders_wrote Spielberg be reprimanded for the poor quality of the film, proclaiming that he was personally responsible for undermining their efforts to keep a culturally rich European cinema afloat. Another popular American movie, Lost in Translation came under fire from LA to Tokyo. Set in Japan’s capital and starring Bill Murray, the film won an academy award for best screen play, three golden globes and was nominated for 3 additional Oscars. The film was criticized for its portrayal of Japanese people as...
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...Oliver Stone’s USA Wesley Kostovetsky 3070 Spring The History Behind Oliver Stone’s Success Oliver Stone is called by many a historian. Some call him a cinematic historian. Others call him a type of public historian. Oliver Stone likes to refer to himself strictly as a dramatist and in some cases a docu-dramatist. Whatever title chosen there is no doubt he has a made a huge impact through his films; though some may argue in a negative way. Oliver Stone has written and/or directed films about the Vietnam War, Kennedy’s assassination, Nixon’s presidency, Wall Street, the military dictatorship in El Salvador, and many other subjects. Stone’s expertise in film lay in what most “Hollywood executives prefer to avoid. Historical and political cinema is supposedly deadly at the box office.” Stone’s films are known to make audiences “uncomfortable” and cause “controversy”. Through four essays, including one written by Oliver Stone himself explains the reason why his films have made huge impacts and controversies; as well as, the differences between written history and history on film, and the life experiences leading to the creation of some his films and his connection to them. Since the beginning of his career Stone has been “viciously attacked” by critics about his films. The main argument by critics of history films is that they are too fictional for a number of reasons. Though containing “numerous authentic elements” and details the invention of scenes, dialogue, and...
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...INTERPRETATIONS OF THE CIVIL WAR IN EARLY FILM One Film To Rule Them All In 1915, the blockbuster film, The Birth of a Nation swept the nation. In a pivotal scene, the attractive daughter of a former slave owner, whose cotton business had been ruined by the war, is stalked by a menacing looking black soldier, named Gus. He is shown with his shirt wide open and bare-chested. Flora, the stereotypical southern belle, notices the voyeur and is visibly shaken. Flora tries to hide from Gus, but Gus corners her and tells her that he wants her and that he is not married. Since the end of the Civil War, Flora has noticed several black soldiers in the area in the past few months harassing her family and other upstanding families. Gus forces Flora closer and tries to kiss her. In a panic, Flora slaps him and pushes him away. Flora flees into the woods. The ensuing pursuit shows Gus as a sex-crazed maniacal troll chasing down the seemingly innocent virginal fairy. Gus follows her absorbedly intent on raping her. Flora winds up on a cliff overlooking a series of jagged rocks. She stares at Gus and motions for him to leave her alone. In a silent ultimatum, she gesticulates that if he doesn’t leave then she’ll leap from the cliff to the rocks below. Gus is exposed as a beast, sweating and pulsating lustful desires. He moves closer to Flora to stop her from leaping. Unwilling to give herself to a black man and death being the only alternative, Flora jumps from the...
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...and Full Metal Jacket by comparing the visual styles and narrative structures and offer insight into Kubrick’s views on war. Paths Of Glory is a 1957 film based on the First World War focusing on the political struggles of the French army as they battle the German army. It is a study of the bravery and cowardice that exists within the ranks of the army, as well as the results of extreme amounts of fear. The focus is primarily in the barracks and the court. The plot focuses on a group of soldiers who are charged with cowardice. No man is perfect, but war magnifies qualities such as honour and deceit, and this film illustrates this phenomena in a very clean, proper way. Paths Of Glory does not show actual combat very much, unlike Full Metal Jacket. Full Metal Jacket is a study of what becomes of a soldier at war. Set in the Vietnam War, it begins with a focus on the training of a platoon of U.S. marines and continues to follow the service of Private Joker in his experiences in Vietnam as he goes about his service. Full Metal Jacket is a well paced film that studies the violence of war, portraying the physical as well as the mental dangers in a hyper realistic way. One overarching element that ultimately combines both of these films is their emotional poignancy. Both are highly engaging, yet thoroughly disturbing films. These are two demonstrations against war, revealing the subject in an ironic and undeniably negative light. Full Metal Jacket is a very rough film the...
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...Erik 1 As one man once said “Basically, human traits are the same everywhere. I don't want this to soun like “As Confucius say,” but under the sky, under the heavens, there is but one family.” The man who said this quote is the same man who I look up to today and that is Bruce Lee. Today millions of people across the world look up to Bruce Lee the same way I do and see some of his greatest accomplishments, some though may look at Bruce and think nothing of him because of his ethnicity or background. Many people are descriminated against because of their race. This is because many people are still bound by tradition; when the elder generatoin of people says “no” to something, then these other people will strongly disaprove of it as well. If the elders say that something is wrong, then they also believe that is is wrong. They seldom use their mind to find out the truth and seldom express sincerely their real feeling. The simple truth is that these opinion on such thing as racism are traditions, which are nothing more than a “formula” laid down by these elder people's experience. As we progress together and time changes, is is necessary to reform this formula. We must all look at it this wasy no matter if your color is black or white, red, or blue, we can still make friends each other without any barrier. I personally believe that Bruce Lee brought they barrier down for many Asian Americans. In one of Bruce Lee's films Fist of Fury, Lee was simply just going to walk into a park...
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...characters in the play were shaped by revengeful occurrences over the course of the play. McCandless signifies the chaos and vengeance displayed by Titus throughout the play result from the failure of traditional power in Rome (490). During the first acts of the play, Titus returns a military hero and shows his beliefs in traditional Roman culture. In both of Taymor’s renderings of the play Titus shifts from armored warrior to weeping grandpa in distressed appearance (490). Titus’s shift from valiant to helpless is provides the audiences of both the film and staged production to sense the effects of a corrupted Roman empire. McCandless connects Titus’s demise from military hero demeaned by Roman society, to the Vietnam vet’s dislocation in society after the war (490). The mood of the audience is sorrowful, as Titus appears to be directly following the path of Rome, in what traditionally is such a powerful and fair empire, in falling apart as a result from a corrupted emperor and revenge minded wife. McCandless provides how the collapse of Rome leaves Titus nullifying his values, losing what formerly were the pillars of his self. Viewers of Taymor’s renderings can feel for Titus and his tumbling downfall, in how he was built to respect and cherish Roman culture, and now the collapse has left him with almost no sense of self. McCandless directs Titus fall from grace to Lavinia and her...
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...Gabriella Hatzopoulos War & Society Uniting Tactics, Divisive Consequences Rape, torture and murder against innocent civilians- what could cause someone to do such a thing? The My Lai Massacre during the Vietnam War was a result of a war tactic that continues to be utilized today: racism and dehumanization of the enemy. This strategy, employed by the Armed Forces and facilitated by the media back on American soil has proven to be dangerous in that it causes both soldiers and civilians to treat an entire group as subhuman and unworthy of empathy. We can see this in the My Lai Massacre and through the persistent hare crimes against Muslims during the United States’ current “war on terror.” On March 16 1968, 140 men of the American Charlie Company entered the village of My Lai and were ordered to kill whoever they saw. There was the belief that the province of Quang Ngai where My Lai was located was a stronghold for Vietcong guerillas. After increasing frustration with losing their soldiers and not progressing in the war as much as they’d like, the group took their anger out on what was thought was a village of Vietcong enemies. It was the first chance they had to meet the enemy face to face instead of through grenades and booby traps and finally get even. Lieutenant William L. Calley ordered a search and destroy mission and urged that anyone in My Lai was to be considered connected to the Vietcong in some way, and should be killed. Though no guerillas were found when...
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...ghosts, aliens, vampires, werewolves, curses, satanism, demons, gore, torture, vicious animals, monsters, zombies, cannibals, and serial killers. Conversely, movies about the supernatural are not necessarily always horrific.[2] Contents [hide] 1 History 1.1 1890s–1920s 1.2 1930s–1940s 1.3 1950s–1960s 1.4 1970s–1980s 1.5 1990s 1.6 2000s 2 Sub-genres 3 Influences 3.1 Influences on society 3.2 Influences internationally 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links [edit]History [edit]1890s–1920s See also: List of horror films of the 1890s, List of horror films of the 1900s, List of horror films of the 1910s, and List of horror films of the 1920s Lon Chaney, Sr. in The Phantom of the Opera The first depictions of supernatural events appear in several of the silent shorts created by the film pioneer Georges Méliès in the late 1890s, the best known being Le Manoir du diable, which is sometimes credited as being the first horror film.[3] Another of his horror projects was 1898's La Caverne maudite (aka, The Cave of the Unholy One, literally "the accursed cave").[3] Japan made early forays into the horror genre with Bake Jizo and Shinin no Sosei, both made in...
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...1. Logan's Run: The Story by Ken Sanes In 1976, Hollywood came out with a movie titled Logan's Run, which offered a vision of the future as a false paradise. In the movie, humanity is portrayed as having destroyed the earth's ecosystem by the 23rd century, through war, overpopulation and pollution, and retreated into a high-tech city enclosed in domes, full of futuristic buildings and public spaces that look like something out of a contemporary shopping mall. Inside, the inhabitants devote themselves to a life of indulgence while a computer with a vaguely seductive female voice controls the city and produces everything they need to live. They know nothing of the outside world, nor do they have any idea how to operate the machines that serve them. As in many similar works, the characters are portrayed as being much like children, dependent on the central computer to shelter them in their gilded cage. But the characters aren't only separated from the nature outside the city. They are also separated from the natural processes of life. They are incubated in nurseries, rather than being born, and they neither marry nor know their children. It is only natural, in their eyes, for sex to be purely a form of entertainment, unconnected to intimacy or procreation. Nor do they know anything of the natural process of aging. Because space is limited in the city, the computer simply does away with everyone on their 30th birthday. To lead these lambs willingly to their slaughter, it has given...
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... | | |PHOTO BY THOMAS PETERS | | |"Action movies with violence take heat from adults who blame | | |them for real life violence because they are closer to reality | | |than other movies." | | "The question whether movie violence should be regulated or not is a difficult and complicated matter." Although many people criticize violent movies, if there is a movie which does not contain sex and violence, who will go to see that movie? Most major movies, such as "Lethal Weapon", "Die Hard", and "Independence Day", were really popular in spite of the fact that the "good guy" killed more people than the "bad guy" did. In my opinion, Hollywood tends to produce few kinds of movies--action, panic, love story, and comedy. Whenever I watch a movie or a video, there is at least one murder in each movie. The biggest number of deaths are in the panic movies, in my opinion. Action movies with violence take heat from adults who blame them for real life violence because they are closer to reality than other movies. For example, in "Natural Born Killers" we can see around 50 deaths, whereas in "Independence Day" thousands of people die. In both movies, tons of people are killed, though the ways to kill are different. The big difference between them is about reality. |[pic] | |PHOTO BY THOMAS PETERS ...
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...CAVUMC05_124-157hr 10/10/07 1:41 PM Page 124 c h a p t e r 5 The Cultural Environment of International Business Learning Objectives In this chapter, you will learn about: 1. The challenge of crossing cultural boundaries 2. The meaning of culture: foundation concepts 3. Why culture matters in international business 4. National, professional, and corporate culture 5. Interpretations of culture 6. Key dimensions of culture 7. Language as a key dimension of culture 8. Culture and contemporary issues 9. Managerial guidelines for crosscultural success > American Football . . . in Europe? There are few things more representative of U.S. culture than American football. It is an extravaganza, complete with exciting halftime shows and peppy cheerleaders. The game exemplifies national pride. The national anthem is played, flags are unfurled, and uniformed players charge up and down the field like an army in the throes of often violent conflict. The teams’ huddles divide the game into small planning sessions for the next play. In the United States, the National Football League (NFL) oversees the sport and, like any successful business, wants to score in new markets. The NFL first tackled Europe in 1991, with plans to establish American football there. After years of failed attempts, NFL Europe emerged as six teams, five of which were based in Germany (such as the Berlin Thunder, the Cologne Centurions, and the Hamburg Sea Devils). Earlier teams established in Spain...
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...The Story of the Fourth of July The Declaration of Independence We celebrate American Independence Day on the Fourth of July every year. We think of July 4, 1776, as a day that represents the Declaration of Independence and the birth of the United States of America as an independent nation. But July 4, 1776 wasn't the day that the Continental Congress decided to declare independence (they did that on July 2, 1776). It wasn’t the day we started the American Revolution either (that had happened back in April 1775). And it wasn't the day Thomas Jefferson wrote the first draft of the Declaration of Independence (that was in June 1776). Or the date on which the Declaration was delivered to Great Britain (that didn't happen until November 1776). Or the date it was signed (that was August 2, 1776). So what did happen on July 4, 1776? The Continental Congress approved the final wording of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. They'd been working on it for a couple of days after the draft was submitted on July 2nd and finally agreed on all of the edits and changes. July 4, 1776, became the date that was included on the Declaration of Independence, and the fancy handwritten copy that was signed in August (the copy now displayed at the National Archives in Washington, D.C.) It’s also the date that was printed on the Dunlap Broadsides, the original printed copies of the Declaration that were circulated throughout the new nation. So when people thought of the Declaration of Independence...
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...T S CHAPTER 1 Early America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 CHAPTER 2 The Colonial Period . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 CHAPTER 3 The Road to Independence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 CHAPTER 4 The Formation of a National Government . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 CHAPTER 5 Westward Expansion and Regional Differences . . . . . . . 110 CHAPTER 6 Sectional Conflict . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128 CHAPTER 7 The Civil War and Reconstruction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140 CHAPTER 8 Growth and Transformation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154 CHAPTER 9 Discontent and Reform . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188 CHAPTER 10 War, Prosperity, and Depression . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202 CHAPTER 11 The New Deal and World War I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212 CHAPTER 12 Postwar America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256 CHAPTER 13 Decades of Change: 1960-1980 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274 CHAPTER 14 The New Conservatism and a New World Order . . . . . . 304 CHAPTER 15 Bridge to the 21st Century . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320 PICTURE PROFILES Becoming a Nation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Transforming a Nation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...
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