...Madison Gensurowsky Film analysis Steven Spielberg’s film “Lincoln” begins at the time of the Civil War when President Lincoln was demanding the war’s end. Within the first scene the brutality of the war is shown, mainly against black soldiers. Race was a huge issue at the time the film takes place and that was Lincoln’s largest struggle as he tried to keep the nation as one. The film takes place in the 1860’s and reveals that white privilege was a central belief at the time. However, the way that white people are portrayed in the film suggests that not much has changed in that respect. The idea of white privilege suggests that white people see themselves as just humans, people without a race. Privilege is a way of thinking that “generally allows people to assume a certain level of acceptance, inclusion, and respect in the world, to operate within a relatively wide comfort zone” (Rothenberg, 103). At the time of the civil war, white people took it upon themselves to decide who gets taken seriously and who is accountable to whom for what. They assumed superiority among every other race, as they were humans who had no race, they were simply humans. White people, men in particular, were entitled to any and every freedom that the Constitution allowed. In this film, Lincoln is fighting to pass the thirteenth amendment, which would free the slaves and end the devastation of the Civil War. The white soldiers are praised in the film for the battle that they are fighting, although...
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...Final Film Critique: Crash (2004) Jay Dennis ENG 225 Introduction to Film Instructor: Cicely Young April 13, 2014 Final Film Critique Draft: Crash (2004) There are many different critical elements and artistic aspects to examine when analyzing and critiquing any film. In 2004 Paul Haggis wrote and directed the award winning drama Crash about various intertwining experiences involving racial relations and the socioeconomic status levels of the diverse cast of characters. This film addresses how humans being deal with real life circumstances and addresses how racial stereotypes and prejudices impact our society by causing a separation of customs, ignoring human and civil rights, and demonstrating how racism can cause moral, cultural and economical suffering. This detailed essay will address the cinematic elements employed throughout the movie, and provide a critical analysis on the various components and techniques used to create this compelling and powerful film. Crash is a movie that involves several different stories and plots that all manage to somehow connect the characters to each other in a series of events that take place during two days in California. America’s ever-growing melting pot is distinctly represented in the film as the audience is introduced to a black LAPD detective, two black mischievous car thieves, a white district attorney and his prejudice wife, a white racist beat cop and his neophyte partner, a black Hollywood director and his wife, an...
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...shown that Black men academically underperform all groups throughout the educational pipeline (Hood, 1992; Jackson, 2003; Polite, 1994; Watson & Hodges, 1991). Jameson (1991) explains that film can be a useful vehicle for unveiling harsh realities about the lived experiences of sundry people. In Boyz N The Hood (1991), John Singleton offers an alarming account of the survived experiences of Black people, particularly Black men, in a poverty-ravaged South Central Los Angeles neighborhood. At the center of the film’s narrative is the relationship and interactions between three young Black males: Tre Styles, Darrin “Doughboy” Baker, and Ricky Baker. The audience sees how racism, indifference, rampant violence, and the increasing disintegration of the Black family in South Central Los Angeles militate against the coming of age of these three Black males. As a contribution to the scholarly discourse on Boyz N The Hood, this paper provides an examination of how structural dimensions of the setting in which the film is set (South Central Los Angeles) have a damaging impact on the progression of these Black males. The structural frame championed by Bolman and Deal (2008) serves as the dominant lens through which this film is analyzed. John Singleton's movie Boyz N The Hood is the story of three young men who are forced to deal with the reality of life in South Central, Los Angeles. Singleton uses this setting to illustrate the obstacles facing these young black men who unavoidably...
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...The Boondock Saints I chose to view and analyze the film The Boondock Saints. There were many different elements I focused on while viewing the film. These elements were broken down into the following categories: narrative, theatrical elements, cinematography, editing, sound, and the overall experience. I will begin with stating my personal interpretations and my own understandings of the narrative. Throughout the film there are two main characters. These two characters are Irish brothers that share a deep sense of their Catholic religion. Their names are Murphy and Connor McManus. Murphy and Connor are two ordinary men who are put in an extraordinary situation; Connor risks his own life to save the life of his brother. The situation starts from a bar fight with two Russian mafia soldiers. The Russians lose the fight with the two brothers; the next morning they come after the McManus brothers for revenge. Murphy and Connor kill the two men in self defense and go to the police station. While in the holding cell, they are given a message from a spiritual force to rid the world of evil men. From that moment they devote themselves to a battle between good and evil. Another important character is David Della Rocco, also known as the “Funny Man” or just Rocco. Rocco is a package boy for the Yakaveta family Italian mafia. The head of the Yakaveta family is “Papa” Joe Yakaveta. “Papa” Joe sets up Rocco in a situation to have him killed; Rocco finds out about “Papa” Joe’s plans and...
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...people of Caucasian or white decent receive more rights or benefits than another racial group such as African Americans. In Steven Spielberg’s 2012 film, Lincoln, white privilege can not be surpassed without the support of a higher leader, such as Lincoln and his colleagues. Thus being said, there are two specific scenes in the movie where racial problems occur leading to the idea of white privilege and how it prevails. Lincoln has always supported the abolition of slavery and we can see that in the first few minutes of the Lincoln film. However, at the beginning, there is an incident that exemplifies how Lincoln treated the African Americans he is fighting for and how white people treat the blacks. The movie starts out with a battle scene and right after we see Lincoln under a canopy talking to two black soldiers, Ira Clark and Harold Green. Green says to Lincoln, “Us 2nd Kansas boys, whenever we fight now we-…” and Clark jumps into the conversation and says, “Another three dollars subtracted from our pay for our uniforms…” This comes as a surprise to Green because Clark is complaining to Lincoln, a man who has a lot of power over these black soldiers. The conversation continues and mentions, “… still no commissioned Negro officers.” Green becomes embarrassed by Clark’s actions so he tries to change the subject. As the two black soldiers are talking to Lincoln, we can see...
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...this class, I have decided to do a comparative analysis between the movies Higher Learning and Smoke Signals. I will briefly summarize each movie in a few paragraphs and then I will discuss the similarities and differences between the themes in each movie before I discuss overall comparisons between characters, filming techniques used, and racial stereotypes. "Higher Learning" takes place at the fictitious Columbus University, where the producer makes use of a Christopher Columbus statue to suggest a racist atmosphere. Still, he does this effectively during harsh, well-observed opening scenes that capture different attitudes of white and black students on campus. A white students' pep rally is given a frightening intensity. A young white woman clutches her purse tightly when she finds herself in an elevator with a black student. The two groups' different musical tastes present an amusing contrast and a great use of sound design which is described in our textbook American On Film by Benshoff and Griffin. Mr. Singleton creates a lively air of expectation as his half-dozen main characters settle into their dorm rooms and the battle lines are drawn. John Singleton's film, Higher Learning, about the racial and sexual prejudices that color life on a college campus turns out to be an involuntary example of the same small-mindedness it deplores. Everyone here, from beer drinking white fraternity boys to rap-loving, marijuana smoking black students harassed by the campus police, can be...
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...two distinguishing traits that separate us. I think it's what keeps us apart. That leaves several abstract questions that the film Crash illustrates. What are the origins of personal prejudice? Do individual experiences fuel standing stereotypes? Is it easier to perpetuate existing stereotypes because "things will never change?" Can people battle internal struggles within their own ethnic group? What prohibits us from overcoming these prejudices? The writers of the Crash managed to extend my viewing experience beyond the 90 minute film, thus forcing me to analyze my own prejudices and racial stereotypes towards others. I always thought that racism occurred as a result of a person's upbringing. If your parents were racist, there is a good chance that you will be a racist too. At first glance, Matt Dillon's character exhibits characteristics typical of this theory. Dillon exhibited a close bond with his father and later, we discover the roots of his racism. I naively assumed that Dillon was absorbing external cues from his father regarding his attitudes towards black people. It turns out that his father was not racist towards black people. It was Dillon who, in combination with his father's negative experiences and his own as a member of the LAPD, formed his own perceptions towards blacks. Another example of this occurred at the beginning of the film when the Persian family was attempting to purchase a gun. The clerk at the gun shop made a few blatantly racist comments about...
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...Classism and Racism A Narrative Analysis of Paul Haggis’s Film: Crash By: Alexis Couillard Introduction: In 2004, Paul Haggis directed the Oscar winning film crash, a drama about race and class and its effects on those residing in Los Angeles, California. This film paints a vivid picture of the harsh reality that classism has and will always exist and it is intertwined with racism in this film and in our realities. This film promotes racial awareness which is a topic not typically seen on the big screen and it demands a close inspection. Haggis wanted us to understand each character and to see them as real flesh bleeding humans that make mistakes and aren’t perfect. We see different races involved in the film such as African American, Persian, Hispanic, white and several Asians. Each scene intertwines with the next and we find out that all the characters are connected in some way or another. This technique of the characters being connected keeps the viewers on their toes. The audience is not stuck on one story or scene for too long. An idea or event is presented from the perspective of one person or family, and then the same event is expanded on by another characters connection to that particular event. Different ethnic stereotypes and racial prejudices are presented within the film such as the so called “gangbanger” who has tattoos and is Hispanic, and the black man who steals cars Anthony aka “Ludacris”. The director delivers and promotes this awareness but...
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...The movie Crash, daringly tackles the issues of intercultural communication, and race in an unconventional way. It takes racism and makes it an open conversation amongst the characters to ensure the viewers can clearly identify each characters racial bias. As the characters in this movie communicate, there is frequent use of racial slurs, profanity, as well as racially driven insults and stereotypes, to further exaggerate the bigotry present in the film. Crash provides a series of examples that show just how powerful effective and ineffective communication can be when it comes to social relations. This film touches on various communication theories and concepts, in which many of the scenarios presented in Crash can be explained. These theories and concepts include: symbolic interaction theory (self concept), assumptions of communication accommodation theory (indirect stereotyping), assumptions of expectancy violations theory (violation valence), and cultural communication. Synopsis Director Paul Haggis’s, 2005 explosive film, Crash, tells a very provocative story of how absolute strangers can impact each others lives in both negative and positive ways. In a seemingly coincidental chain of events the multicultural characters of this movie are in one way or another connected. Within a thirty – six hour period in Los Angeles California, about eight main characters lives are intertwined, as they...
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...Yvonne Lara Professor Hall Sociology 101 20 April 2015 Content Analysis Essay: “Crash” The movie Crash is a sensational film that is as much thrilling as it is tragic. The film was released in 2004 as an ensemble drama, and ended up becoming a box-office hit in the spring of 2005. The producer, Paul Haggis, not only directed the film, but was a co-writer as well. It includes enough comedy, action, suspense, and emotion that it appeals to all types of film genre fans. Moreover, Crash had a very popular cast of various types of actors, actresses, rappers, and entertainers. Crash won Best Picture at the 78th annual Academy Awards. Crash is a narrative of many different life events that affect a group of individuals who are of different races, social classes, occupations, education levels, economic statuses, and gender. The film is attempting to portray the current social structure of race, social class, and gender in Los Angeles. Almost each character in “Crash” has a connection, whether direct or indirect, with every other character. Metaphorically speaking, the narrative of the film can be compared to the Domino Effect. One domino falls, and then a chain reaction starts, and one by one, the first domino brings all the rest of them down with it. The first scene opens with Detective Graham Walters speaking. He is a black man portrayed by Don Cheadle. He says, “It’s the sense of touch. In any real city, you walk, you know? You brush past people; people bump into you....
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...Stratification Media Analysis Adriane Benjamin SOC/100 Becky Russell Stratification Media Analysis A Time to kill is a film about an African American family living in a small town in Mississippi, where the daughter of an African American couple was raped by a white male that was an affiliated with the Klu Klux Klan. The father of the little girl ended up having to stand trial because he killed one of the men that were involved in his daughter’s rape. He had a long-time friend by the name of Jake Brigance, who were a white male. The main idea circled around whether a black man should ever be allowed to kill a white man, under any circumstances. The issue is not murder but discrimination, and it is compound by the fact that America is a primarily a white country. The issue through this all was racism and being in the south in 1984, where whites still treated the blacks poorly. “This was Mississippi, where for years whites shot blacks for any reason or no reason and no one cared; where whites raped blacks and it was considered sport; where blacks were hanged for fighting back.” ― John Grisham, A Time to Kill Set in the deep south of the back fields of northern Mississippi in the 1980’s, the setting was perfect for there to be battle between the blacks and the white, as it has been brewing since before the civil rights days. Placing the story in this time and place is the most natural discovery of buried hatchets and the most subtle revelations of festering wounds and double...
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...DWARFS 11 The Research: THE LITTLE MERMAID 18 The Research: THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG 24 Findings and Interpretation 31 Identity Formation 35 Conclusion 38 Literature 41 Media 43 Introduction The Walt Disney Company’s cultural products have been a great influence on popular culture since the 1930s and an inspiration for generations all over the world ever since. For many, including myself, the Princes, Princesses and fantastical creatures of Disney’s animated fairy tales have become symbols of their youth. Seeing the films gives rise to a feeling of nostalgia, they become a memento of one’s childhood world. But what kind of world is this? What kind of realities do Disney’s fantastical representations construct? In my thesis, I will analyze a specific element of Disney films: gender roles constructed through the representation of femininity in their animated features. I will study how this representation changes over time: has Disney’s highly criticized construction of gender roles changed over time, and if so, what realities do contemporary Disney discourses construct? I propose to research how femininity is represented in Walt Disney‘s animated features, how this representation changes over time and what kind of effects this has on the...
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...Demetria Brown COM 2010: Intro to Film Term Paper Assignment Spike Lee’s: “Do the Right Thing” Film Analysis: Do the Right Thing Spike Lee's 1989 film, Do the Right Thing is able to effectively explore the problem of racial conflict in America by skillfully manipulating cinematic devices such as staging, narrative, cinematography, editing and sound. The concentration and emphasis on characters' certain physical attributes with the use of photography and camera framing, the fast-pace editing style and manipulation of sound all contribute to film's overall meaning. In analyzing the short sequence beginning with a small girl drawing a chalk painting on the road and ending with Sal, the local pizzeria owner, making Radio Raheem, "a hulking misunderstood home-boy" , two slices of pizza, these devices are seen to illustrate the hostility between Black and Italian working class Americans. The narrative style in this double scene sequence encapsulates the major oppositions at work in the film, which is racial acceptance and alienation. This can be seen in the juxtaposition of two scenes that show Radio Raheem's acceptance of his Black friend Mookie and his rejection and disdain of the White Italian pizzeria owners. The story is told within the course of one day and scenes follow each other sequentially. This particular sequence begins with Mookie treading over the young girl's drawing of a harmonious scene with the sun shining and people smiling, implying to the viewer...
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...Analysis of the film ‘King Kong’ ‘King Kong’ in is a film published 1933. some people think it is a film about the love of wild beast to a beauty. In this essay, I will argue that King Kong is a film about race, and it is the particular race against between white people and black people. The first period of this film is that Denham wanted to publish a wonderful film so they went on an oceangoing voyage and found an island which is far away from American’s center New York. On that island they found black people, this implies that black people are not identical to white people, they were forced to live an island far away from cities which is backward and difficult to find. This shows the racial segregation between white and black people. At 30:31 a scene that was showed straight and ----angle , the angle gave the whole condition of which way black people were gathered and what kind of house they lived in, also how they wore was shown at the same time. At 31:00 a medium shot was given to the chief of aborigine, he’s upper part of the body was naked and his face was cover by white and black colors this gives a huge contrast with white people. White people wore shirts and dress while black people wore grass skirt and naked upper part of body no matter they were men or women. At 34:30 a straight angle recorded black people held with spear and shield while Denham said “Get ready the rifle”. This shows that white people are catching the pace of technology but black people are still...
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...Running Head: Analysis of 1960s gendered media norms from the perspective of the 1960s and 2000s Analysis of 1960s gendered media norms from the perspective of the 1960s and 2000s Univers Communications 30 Gendered film norms from the 1960s and 2000s: An Introduction From its most primitive years, popular films have discussed the part of gendered norms both on screen and as viewers. Actually, emphasizing its significance to different account and standard patterns, violence against women has been conceptualized as immanent in typical Hollywood and all over more recent popular cinema. Various feminist film theorists have judged conventional filmmaking as comprised of creation and display practices imbricate in a certain set of social and political power relationships. In the procedure, these writers have proposed complicated expression of the relationships between filmic representations and cinema's place in society. The mainstream feminist film theory that grew in the 1970s depended on the idea of cinematic equipment by the help of which film technologies interrelated with the ideological determinants of the cinematic associations. In her work, most remarkably the essay, "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema," (1975) Laura Mulvey stressed the problem of the female aspects in classical Hollywood and, particularly, in films of Josef von Sternberg and Alfred Hitchcock. Female spectators are presented with a choice to make out with either a male character or secondary...
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