Marxism/Ideological Criticism

This is actually the most informative website I found on the subject. It presents a Marxist view on the topic as well as informs the public on how ideology is used in criticism. It is easy to read because the whole site is presented in a slide form. I think this might have been a project. Either way, it's a good project with simple information.

"The primary goal of the ideological critic is to discover and make clear the dominant ideology or ideologies embedded in an artifact and the ideologies that are being muted in it. "
Okay.... I guess that isn't the best explanation. Here's another one:

¨systems of belief or thoughts
¨the study of the science of ideas "

Hope this helps!!

MORE IDEOLOGY!! WOOOOOOO

"So if you haven't guessed already, what ideological criticism comes down to is criticism which sets out to do political work, and that work, for those of you who weren't reading, is to reveal the workings and effects of particular ideological formations--from capitalist laissez-fairism (the target of Marxist criticism) to patriarchy (the target of feminist criticism). "

Okay another explanation of idological criticism. It's weird how so much of this topic focuses on feminism. I thought it was mostly about political references in films, I guess it also includes the gender issue as well...

Ideological Criticism

So this website is kinda bible-ish... but don't let that discourage you guys! It has some good information about the definition of Ideology and it mentions feminism among other topics. This mostly refers to the bible, however if you ignore the religious stuff and use the text and idea of ideology it is easy to understand.
"Some of the most visible forms of ideological biblical criticism include (among others) feminist criticism and liberationist approaches, although central to every form of ideological criticism is a working definition of “ideology” itself. Frequently in our mass media culture, “ideology” is simply equated with the notion of “political agenda,” “bias,” or even “worldview.”
I mostly just got the impression that ideology has to deal with culture and how we view certain topics with themes.

Culture and Film

Douglas Kellner wrote the article Cultural Studies, Multiculturalism, and Media Culture in a Journal for the University of California (UCLA). In this article, Kellner talks about how the ideological perspective of culture plays a role in our media, film and television. He discusses the different ways certain ideas of culture in film shape the way we watch a movie or television show. Using several movies, Kellner explains the different ways culture is depicted and also, how the viewer looks at these elements. The author uses cultural studies to analyse these different movies. He believes that these studies are important when trying to write about the culture in a film or television show.

Culture and Film

Douglas Kellner wrote the article Cultural Studies, Multiculturalism, and Media Culture in a Journal for the University of California (UCLA). In this article, Kellner talks about how the ideological perspective of culture plays a role in our media, film and television. He discusses the different ways certain ideas of culture in film shape the way we watch a movie or television show. Using several movies, Kellner explains the different ways culture is depicted and also, how the viewer looks at these elements. The author uses cultural studies to analyse these different movies. He believes that these studies are important when trying to write about the culture in a film or television show.

Are Social Classes Dying?

Terry Nichols Clark, a University of Chicago professor, recently wrote about his views on class studies. He discusses how new class systems are emerging. By stating, "Class analysis has grown increasingly inadequate in recent decades as traditional hierarchies have declined and new social differences have emerged." This quote demonstrates his feelings in how social standings are today. He claims that newer hierarchies are forming and therefore, diminshing current social groups. The main point of this article is that with the current economy, every social group changes in different ways. It is very noticable that he feels that there are more higher class social groups forming than lower class. Terry Nichols Clark makes his point known by using clear examples and concise words.

An Ideological Approach to The Simpsons

The article King-Size Homer, written by Barry Hodge, talks about a single episode of The Simpsons and portrays all the ideological approaches to it. The episode is when Homer decides to gain weight and so he can become physically handicapped. By doing so, he would be able to work from home and not have to deal with a typical working environment. The article goes through the episode thoroughly and gives ideological explanations for each of the characters involved. Towards the end of the article, there is a separate part entitled "Ideological Codes" which gives numerous examples of how The Simpsons contains all sorts of subliminal messages pertaining to the real world. For example "one character, Milhouse (sic), bares [Richard Nixon's] middle name (and one can only ascertain from his un-dominant ideological background – bespectacled, constantly bullied, hated – [that he is] a... true Nixon)." This article provides us with an ideological perspective of The Simpsons. Clicking on the link above should take you there.

An Ideological Approach to The Simpsons

The article King-Size Homer, written by Barry Hodge, talks about a single episode of The Simpsons and portrays all the ideological approaches to it. The episode is when Homer decides to gain weight and so he can become physically handicapped. By doing so, he would be able to work from home and not have to deal with a typical working environment. The article goes through the episode thoroughly and gives ideological explanations for each of the characters involved. Towards the end of the article, there is a separate part entitled "Ideological Codes" which gives numerous examples of how The Simpsons contains all sorts of subliminal messages pertaining to the real world. For example "one character, Milhouse (sic), bares [Richard Nixon's] middle name (and one can only ascertain from his un-dominant ideological background – bespectacled, constantly bullied, hated – [that he is] a... true Nixon)." This article provides us with an ideological perspective of The Simpsons. Clicking on the link above should take you there.

Racism and Sexism in Lord of the Rings Trilogy?

This PDF article was written by Christopher Knaus a professor of African American Studies in the University of California. At first, The Lord of the Rings seems like nothing more than a movie depicting the battles between good and evil. Are these films subliminally racist and biased towards women? Knaus points out several ideologies that appear throughout the film. According to Knaus, during the entire trilogy "there are only two significant roles played by women, and these are both, true to Hollywood form, highly sexualized." Some of the few non-Caucasian characters are portrayed as a "blend of stereotypes from India (Tamil? Hindu? Muslim?)", while the "Roma (although the stereotypes appear rooted in a derogatory Gypsy image... almost resemble ninjas." The article goes onto compare the film to American imperialism and how the war between "white people" and "evil non-human races... [coincides] with Western imperialism and American colonialism." Does Lord of the Rings really promote white supremacy and bigotry towards women?

Cultural Studies, Multiculturalism & Media Culture........What else is New?

In this example of an ideological approach Douglas Kellner the author explains the analysis or our society. Douglas discusses how to interpret our own society depending on the different factors. Kellner says that the contributions in the study of our own culture studies seems to be his focus. One example of ideology is the study of class and how the upper class degenerates the lower class.

Kellner says, "Radio, Television, film, and other products of media culture provide materials out of which we forge out our identities; our sense of selfhood;notion of male or female.......(and just keeps going by providing more examples)"

I highly recommend this example of ideological analysis. This example goes into really good detail.

"YOU'VE GOT TO PUT THE PAST BEHIND YOU BEFORE YOU CAN MOVE ON"

The article, "You've got to put the past behind you before you can move on," written by Peter Chumo II, expores the ideology in the film. Chumo II describes Forrest gump as fantasy movie. He claims movie suggest that we can rise over our ugly past. He writes,"Gump, then, carries in his very name America's racist history, and, by making him the redeemer of the nation, the film suggests that America itself, with the same racist roots, can transcend the ugly aspects of its past." According to Chumo II, the message of the film is "you've got to put the past behind you before you can move On." He also states that the film claims that we can change our destiny.

Examining And Writing About A Film Through Formalism

The included article was written by Ted Wing, a professor at Langara College. This is an interesting article due to the fact that it gives helpful tips on how to write a formalistic essay on any film. He does a great job by giving suggestions about what to specifically look for in a film, and he also provides examples. He makes formalistic allusions to films such as Metropolis, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and The Player. The following quote is an example of what this article can offer a film student.

A classic example of a formalist film from an earlier era is Metropolis, Fritz Lang's 1926 silent movie, which abounds with symbolism and visual exaggeration. It shows workers, dwelling in an underground city and so exploited by the capitalist system that they have turned into automata as they service the machines of industry.

some unknown film terms

This site I found features some terms that we have not talked about in class. It contains some simple terms like "film review" but goes deeper into explaining "anthropomorphism". By delving deeply into each and ever aspect of everything film this site contains a great deal of valuable information.

Formalism in Film

This article in the Wikipedia encyclopedia discusses formalist film theory, which is "a theory of film study that is focused on the formal, or technical, elements of a film: i.e., the lighting, scoring, sound and set design, use of colour, shot composition, and editing. It is a major theory of film study today." This page talks about formalism in general, formalism in an ideological sense, and formalism in auteur theory, and also discussing the difference between ideological formalism and auteur theory.

Formalist Approach

Answers.com is a website to answer various questions that you could have about anything. This website on answers.com talks about the the formalist approach and how a viewer would analyze a movie according to the technical elements in a movie like color and editing. Answers.com goes into the different theories of Formalism and the different approaches of Formalism.

Formalism Theory

This is a link to a the Wikipedia website which defines the theory of formalism in terms of its use in film. It provides a basic definition, however, it also goes into a little more detail by looking at ideological formalism as well as formalism in auteur theory. It particularly looks at the work of Alfred Hicthcock. I have provided some interesting quotes below.

Formalism, at its most general, considers the synthesis (or lack of synthesis) of the multiple elements of film production, and the effects, emotional and intellectual, of that synthesis and of the individual elements

Hitchcock is more or less universally lauded, his films dissected shot-by-shot, his work celebrated as being that of a master. And the study of this style, his variations, and obsessions all falls quite neatly under the umbrella of formalist film theory

Glossary of Film Terms

This website is consisted of an A-Z list of various film terms. The terms and their definitions are are from Bordwell/Thompson's Film Art and Monaco's How to Read a Film. Some of the terms are linked to another resourceful site with either more information about that term or images to support the defintion.

Formalism

In the Wikipidia website article, the term formalism is discussed in detail. It tells us that formalism is a trait in film making. It states that formalism includes editing, shot composition, camera movement, set design, and more.

Formalism in "Pulp Fiction"

In this link Jonanthan L. Bowen gives a review of "Pulp Fiction," but gives more of a formalist view on the film. He talks about the opening scenes and how Tarantino uses the same scence to open the film and also end with. Bowen gives details to the different shots that Tarantino uses and what kind of effect it has on the film. It is a good formalist review, but at the same time describes the what the film is about. "Much like Citizen Kane, Tarantino's techniques in Pulp Fiction are not totally new, unique inventions, but the way he combines numerous unusual elements into a single production makes the film simply unlike any movie viewers had seen previously." Enjoy!

Film Dictionary

This site has all types of definitions for many formalist terms. It actially has examples for each term. Each example is a screen shot and if you have Quicktime, it will actually play part of a movie that uses this term. It is actually very interesting, and I suggest that everyone take a look at it because it's one thing to learn about it, and another to actually see it in a movie.

A Glossary of Film terms

This website is a large dictionary of different film terms from A to Z. The term is shown and the defintion is given after. The entire glossary is alphabetized with detailed definitons. This is written and designed for the web by Joel Schlemowitz and is part of the New School's Film Production Department.

The Film Cultures Reader - Formalist approach to cinema

The following reading informs us on the components of film. This book is written by Graeme Turner. Turner claims that we are experiencing a transformation in technical means in which films are produced. He states that since the Terminator and Titanic, computer generated images (CGI) have become a standard element in feature film production. Those two films use computer generated imagery for the background as well as the action. Turner also comments on camera lighting and color to represent the theme of the films. The importance of understanding film sound is also essential. Film sound is composed of four elements according to Turner; effects, music, dialogue, and silence.

"The Godfather also did well in the international market thus spurring
an upturn in the overseas as well as domestic markets."

- Graeme Turner

Film Glossary

One cannot truly understand film without comprehending the terms that go along with cinema. It is very important to understand the film terms so that analyzing the film and cinematography is much more clear and formal. Attached is a link to a film glossary that provides film terms with their definitions. The terms and their definitions are largely drawn from Bordwell/Thompson's Film Art or Monaco's How to Read a Film.

Glossary of Film Terms

The above link is to “Glossary of Film Terms.” The web page is of “The Seventh Art – Art of Cinema” This is a web page which features a list of film terms, is followed by definitions of the term. “The terms and their definitions are largely drawn from Bordwell/Thompson's Film Art or Monaco's How to Read a Film.”

Batman begin

In this website, it shows formalist article about the film Batman Begin. This site talks about the lighting when Batman appears at night. It also talks about the costumes of batman when he faced his enemies. In addition, this website talks about visual effect in the film Batman Begin .













Quotes:
“Bruce sets about his own version of a clean-up mission. And here the camera typically dotes on origin story highlights -- the design of the cowl, the darkness of the cave, the creation of the cape, and the decision on the "image," all important, as it must strike fear into the hearts of bad guys”.

“the film repeats this scary trauma image every time Bruce has a bit of a hesitation over what to do next”.

“The thematic connection between Lyne and Nolan's visions is perhaps more compelling than the visual effects”.

About a Boy

In About a Boy, Will Freeman (Hugh Grant) live in London. He is taking the responsibility of taking care of a boy. This film is filled with comedy scenes. Will life is totally a mess. Specifically, he is facing problem in managing his time of taking care of the boy. In the scenes, it seems that he is very angry, which is proven clearly by his angry face expression. Freeman’s costumes prove that he is a style person, which is proof that he does not know how to take responsibility of the child.





Quotes:
1) “North London bachelor Will Freeman (Hugh Grant) conceives his life as "The Will Show," built around a single star”.

2)“Will avoids entanglements of any kind. And while he might appear "naturally" glib and caddish, he works at it, carefully scheduling his time into "units,"

3) Will nods and smiles and acts as though he knows something about feeding 2-year-olds.

A Formal-Aesthetic Approach to Film

This article discusses both the idea of formalism and aestheticism in film. First, the writer gives a definition of both approaches and then describes how they combine to create one approach to film studies: formal-aesthetic. The writer explains how these two different approaches are similar through the way they both concentrate on a film's "internal elements" rather than viewing it from a cultural or political context.

The writer explains formalism by mentioning the same ideas that we have discussed in class, "Formalist analysis concentrates on matters of structure and style (thematic development, narrative structure, shot composition, recurring motifs) and ways in which a film organizes those elements in patterns that give meaning to the whole." So if a director wanted to communicate a character's superiority over another, he would demonstrate this idea through a certain camera angle that structures the scene in a way where one character will appear larger than the other. The director may also place the superior character near certain elements in the scene that will signify his dominance.

Transcendental Style in Film: Ozu, Bresson, Dreyer

In Paul Schrader's book, Transcendental Style in Film: Ozu, Bresson, Dreyer, he discusses the different styles of these film directors. One style that I found interesting was the topic of camerawork. Schrader goes on to argue that "Any possible shot...conveys a certain attitude towards a character." The article goes on to add about the way that each director edits their films. For example, Schrader claims that "Like Ozu, Bresson prefers the regular, unostentatious cut." This article explains how different directors have different techniques of portraying a film. Also, it is a good refence for examples of formilism.

Dictionary of film terms

The website is a link to the Filmsite's Film Terms Glossary were used, with permission and with some modification, as the basis for the Independent Film Channel's (IFC) Film School Multimedia Glossary (IFC's Film School Glossary), created by students for students so that they could learn terms used in the filmmaking industry by actually seeing video clips of those terms "in action."

The film terms range from describing the film and film types to the different camera angles that are used when making any movie.

Blog prompt: 5: Formalism

In this website is defines Formalism as techniques that compromise the film experience. Such techniques includes Editing, shots composition, camera movement, set design and etc. Editing is revising a document. Shot compostion is organization of shots, and film.

Formalism and its Discontents......

In this article by Dana B. Cohen she discusses about formalist in it having some discontents in the contemporary media. Media which includes a variety of Western and Foreign cinema. Cohen goes on to touch on other topics of film theory also.

Dana says, "Formalism is two fold. it grants force to a practice on the basis of internal qualities of that practice.....
then second formalism assumes that the force which it has thus imputed to a form will tend to be the same for spectators."

A Glossary of Film Terms

The web page that is linked to above is an extensive dictionary of film terms. The A-Z links at the top of the page send you directly to the terms that begin with the corresponding letter making this page easy to navigate. The page was written and designed by Joel Schlemowitz.

Film terms

Here's a site I came to by chance. The webpage is by Pennsylvania State University and gives a long list of camera shots and actions. It explains them and gives definitions of other film terms.

LARGE Glossary of Film Terms

This website has a ton of film terms!! It;s a long A-Z list of film terms and you should be able to find almost any that you don't understand. It's by Joel Schlemowitz through New School Film Production. A very credible and useful website to understand film terminology in your articles, as well as analyze your movie yourself and write your paper.

Film Terms from Corrigan

I actually found a Corrigan website with film terms, abbreviations, and actualy pictures to help understand any film terms. The class is obviously supposed to have Corrigan's book, but if you don't, this site should be helpful. It is also nice to see actual picture's to help explain some film terms, such as close-up. This a great site to look at when you just want to look at the pure definitions and main points in Corrigan's book as well.

Formalist Themes in Kubrik's Films,

The article that I found to fufill a formalist approcah to film was from a website for Stanley Kubrick, a well known director in Hollywood. The article, for the most part, deals with different elements of mise-en-scene in many of Kubrick's films. Different items are mentioned and their significance explained.

On board of the B-52 bomber piloted by Major T.J. "King" Kong in DR. STRANGELOVE Stanley Kubrick placed as a symbol of the Cold War the curious Survival Kit. During a security check on the flight Major Kong reads out loud the list of the Kit's contents: "Survival Kit contents check. In them you will find: one 45 caliber automatic, two boxes of ammunition, four day's concentrated emergency rations, one drug issue containing antibiotics, morphine, vitamin pills, pep pills, sleeping pills, tranquilizer pills, one miniature combination Rooshan phrase book and Bible, one hundred dollars in rubles, one hundred dollars in gold, nine packs of chewing gum, one issue of prophylactics, three lipsticks, three pairs of nylon stockings - shoot, a fellah could have a pretty good weekend in Vegas with all that stuff ...".

The article is formalist because of the mise-en-scence, in this case the "survival kit", relates the film to the feelings of the era, the Cold War. Kubrick is well known for inserting either a character or an object that somehow relates the film to present day feelings on present day world moods. Full Metal Jacket is an example of such a film, with the attitude of the soliders, in some cases madness, reflecting the mood of many American GIs who were serving in the war.

Silent Film Formalism

This site mentions the history of silent films and how they developed. It also describes how formalism was used considering the lack of sounds. It is interesting how these films are viewed. The styles used to illustrate a scene are enforced through other elements such as the organization used to allow viewers to comprehend the plot...etc

Formalism-Definition

This is also another definition of fomalism to further describe how it is used in films.

Film Terms

This website mentions formalism as well as other film terms we could be using for the rest of the semester and our final paper... This is just to help out the class with the terminology we may find in critical articles.

A Critical Essay

The author, Bill Van Wert, of the critical essay, The Exorcist, Radical Therapy, goes into complete depth in describing this movies contents. In this essay the author gives a brief overview of plot and elaborates more on scenes in the movie, while also giving his different opinions. Bill begins the essay negative by decribing a flawed scene. "The film opens with a flaw. I am speaking of the northern Iraq sequence, beautifully photographed by Billy Williams...."

This link is a good example of a critical essay....Check it out http://www.ejumpcut.org/archive/onlinessays/JC01folder/exorcist.html

Formalism in Walk the Line

This link to an article in Film Comment is a review on Walk the Line by Chris Norris. The beginning describes the first scene and the theme of a "Great American Bada**".

The movie opens to the faint stomping and cheering a crowd, as the camera slowly moves down a long hallway of empty prison cells. In the next shot a rowdy group of inmates clap their hands awaiting Johnny Cash. The following scene is the back room where Johnny Cash is waiting to go on stage. The warden asks him if he could try not to remind the inmates that they are in prison, and Cash responds, "You think they forgot."

The prison represent the themes of sin, criminals, and possibly fear and Cash's attitude toward the warden represents rebellion because when Cash goes on stage he praises the inmates for having to drink with the nasty looking water of Folsom Prison.

Formalism in Psycho

This website talks about Hitchcock's "artistry in lighting, camera angle, and mise-en-scene."

The scene Michael Schmidt looks at is the parlor scene. In this scene he describes some of the fine details from the parlor itself to the objects on the wall. What is interesting is how Michael mentions how the actors and actresses are placed versus the background setting to emphasize the main theme of the movie. Michael also defines the different formalistic features of the film and how that relates to the theme of the movie and what Hitchcock's intent was do so.

Formalism in films

This article that I am linking to is a good reference that talks about what a formalist approach to a movie is. It also gives some definitions that describes different types of formalism. The article describes it as "a theory of film study that is focused on the formal, or technical, elements of a film: i.e., the lighting, scoring, sound and set design, use of colour, shot composition, and editing." The article gives a summary of formalism and talks about how it is used in films. I think this would be a good article to look at for anyone who still finds trouble understanding formalism. Clicking on the link above should take you to the article.

Theme "Crash"

http://www.ithaca.edu/ithacan/articles/0510/06/accent/8lsquocr.htm

This website focuses on the movie "Crash." The movie discusses various scenes throughout the movie that deal with racial issues. This is all part of Haggis’ plan in a film he describes as a "passion piece."
"He simply takes each of these characters, places them in intense circumstances and captures the results, leaving the reasons for certain actions open to the viewer’s interpretation."(Josh Mellman)
In this website the writer John Mellman
focuses on the five families and how each of their issues with race tie into one.

What Does That Mean???

I found a great website that lists film terms and their definitions that contextualize "formalism." The website that I used was created by students for students from Independent Film Channel's (IFC) Film School. Students from IFC received permission to publish their information using the Film Terms Glossary.
I found this website to be a very informative guide since I, like most of the students, do not have a background in the technicalities and term of the film industry. The website contains illustration and examples for the terms, which help to further comprehend the meaning of the word. According to Independent Film Channel's (IFC) Film School,

In order to be knowledgeable about film-making, the vocabulary of film studies and the techniques of cinema, some of the most basic and common terms must be defined.

In addition, the site includes tips on how to critically view a film; therefore, becoming more aware of the mise-en-scene to get a better understanding.

Quick Information about Formalism

I linked to a site featuring film terms. The site briefly describes formalism in terms of how this technique may include six different types of shots, five possible camera angles, the lighting, and the color of a film. For instance, the site mentions how avant-garde films generally demonstrate aspects of

"...distort[ed] raw materials so that no one would mistake a manipulated image of an object or event for the real thing; the stylization calls attention to itself, often, so the style of expression is at least as important as the subject matter itself."

This quote explains how the author believes that the genre of avant-garde films oftentimes portrays altered images and events to suggest that the manner in which a film is directed and shot holds as much importance as the film itself.

Pulp Fiction

The author is Dr. Alan A. Stone who is the Touroff-Glueck Professor of Law and Psychiatry in the Faculty of Law and the Faculty of Medicine, Harvard University. He has talked about the violence and other plot angles of the movie that affect us psychologically. The article talks about the view that movies like Pulp Fiction are thought to be promoting violence by arguing that the movie is not just about violence but has a plot structure of its own. Basically, Tarantino's movies have much more deeper meaning than what is being perceived by many people.

This below quote is one of the most important quotes in the article. It gives us an idea as to how this name of "Pulp Fiction" might have come about;

"The title "Pulp Fiction" refers, of course, to the pop literary genre of the hard-nosed private investigator, which peaked in the 1930s and 1940s with the work of Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, and James M. Cain. Newsstands of their era bulged with monthly pulp fiction magazines that vied for the reader's attention with stories that began luridly on the cover and jumped to the back. Tarantino echoes this structure in his film, which opens with one short story, then breaks to two others."

The link is from the AccessMyLibrary website which you can access using your UIC library card or your local public library card. Alternatively, you can also register at their site for free access.

Death in Kurosawa's "Ran"

In this critical article, Zvika Serper argues that Kurosawa, the director of Ran, depicts the murders of two characters in a contrasting but yet harmonious way. Lady Sue, who is beheaded by the agents of Kaede, is innocent and is therefore presented in an honorable fashion according to Japanese theater. Kaede on the other hand has destroyed the house of Ichimonji and killed Lady Sue and therefore is beheaded ruthlessly the scene following Lady Sue's death. Kaede's death however is presented in a dishonorable fashion with blood spurting and taking up the scene. Serper concludes that the depiction of death in Ran allows the movie to represent Japanese theater and culture.

GLADIATOR AND THE MYTHS OF ROME.

This article covers the relation between the fall of the Roman Empire as portrayed in the film Gladiator. Wiseman (the author) claims that although the movie is not historically accurate, it is true to the Roman myths. Maximus is like the Roman heroes of the ancient world that inspired citizens of the empire to be honorable and lead good lives.

Gladiator critical article

This article is about how the movie Gladiator shows the power of man. This is shown by Maximus who was a top Roman General who falls to become a gladiator slave and then was able to rise again to even more power then the Emperor. The writer of this article is Jacqui Sadashige, who is a professor at the University of Pennsylvania. The article appeared in a book call The American Historical Review: volume 105, number 4 and it came out in October 2000. As Sadashige described "the late twentieth century would seem exclusively populated by physically, emotionally, and sexually compromised males." Gladiator is an example of this in many ways all throughout the movie. Sadashige explains that "Ridley Scott's Gladiator provides physically and cinematically muscled reassurance that there was once a time when men were men and the world loved them for it."

The Representation of Ethnicity in The Godfather

The writer of this critical essay is Nick Browne. This article was found in a book that he wrote called "Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather Trilogy." this article is about how Italian-Americans have a criminal image. Browne states that although some Italians are offended by it, many feel it is "glamorous" and "fascinating." This film according to Browne has a central theme about power and order of "traditional" Italian qualities. The following quote shows the audience that The Godfather provides "authenticity" of Italian-Americans.

"It must be noted that The Godfather brings to us...the notion of authenticity when presenting Italian-Americans as an ethnic group."

Shawshank Redemption

In this article, Tim Dirks explains how the director of Shawshank Redemption, Frank Darabont, adapted from Steven King's books in order to obtain the theme for this film. Dirks explains that,

Posters for the film illustrate the liberating, redemptive power of hope and the religious themes of freedom and resurrection...

In the end, Tim Dirks explains how Shawshank Redemption's cinematography is unique and is one that people will want to see. Dirks also includes dialogue from the film in order to get his point across.

Publish

"Braveheart" and Homophobia

The movie, Braveheart, is based on the Scottish struggle against English rule in the 13th century. Braveheart was written, directed, and produced by Mel Gibson. Sid Ray, both an author and editor of various medieval books, wrote an article for Pace University called, “Hunks, History, and Homophobia: Masculinity Politics in Braveheart and Edward II.” Ray illustrates how Gibson twisted the history regarding the life of Edward II to make him seem as though he were an insignificant homosexual male. Indeed, it is true that Edward II was a homosexual, but he was definitely not as insignificant as Gibson portrays him to be in Braveheart. Ray presents us with the facts as he explains the real qualities of Edward II. Rather than being a careless, young homosexual fool as Gibson makes him seem to be, Edward II was a strong warrior who led thousands of troops in England. He was a very strong, tall, masculine man; however he lacked all of these physical and mental qualities in Braveheart. Ray believes that Gibson failed to portray the real characteristics of Edward II, because he (Gibson) wanted to stress upon Edward’s homosexual qualities so that he seemed to be unimportant and effeminate. Gibson’s character, Wallace, contrasted greatly with Edward II in the film. Wallace seemed to be more masculine because of his physical and mental strength to go into battle. Not only that, but Gibson, as Ray explains, portrays many of the characters’ masculine qualities through the words that they use. For example, at one point of the film, as Ray mentions, Wallace says that Scots make spears “twice as long as a man” to defeat the English. Next, Hamish, Wallace’s friend, says, “Some men are longer than others.” Ray explains that, “This word play emphasizes that winning involves active sexual agency.” As Ray demonstrates, Gibson illustrates the inferiority of gay men by using such words that imply the idea that heterosexual men are more masculine than homosexual men due to the phallic signification included in various scenes such as the one described above. Overall, what Ray wants his readers to notice is that Gibson includes his own homophobic views in his film, which portray homosexuals as being weak and insignificant.

"Donnie Darko, Perfect Example of a 'Cult' Movie"

This article that provides its personal opinion of the film Donnie Darko was found on FutureMoives.com and was written by Nik Huggins. It exemplifies the meaning of what it means to be a cult film. This movie was unpopular and remained unnoticed while it appeared in theaters. However, when the movie was released it began to become a favorite for many viewers. Donnie Darko contains a universal message that uniquely displays the truth of human behavior. Moreover, the film portrays the truth of America's youth. Nick Huggins states,

..it is a film that I believe many viewers will come to cherish as thoughtful, imaginative and moving with a good smattering of the perfect elements that will endear it to a cinema-goer. One specifically who is drawn to a film that stimulates both intellectually and visually, and leaves a lasting emotional mark through its articulation of a number of highly topical themes.

I believe what distinguishes Donnie Darko from other films is how the character of Donnie is portrayed. He is not portrayed as the teenage character that is so typical in many American films.
The themes and events that take place throughout the plot of the film border between abnormal and normal; however, the symbolism and metaphors that these events produce exemplify a deeper meaning that audiences can relate to, such that of fate and of supernatural powers that are much greater than him.

Saving Private Ryan: True to Genre and WWII

"Saving Private Ryan and American triumphalism" was featured in Journal of Popular Film and Television and was written by Albert Auster. Unlike David Walsh's opinion that Saving Private Ryan was a bogus movie, Auster believes that the film was true to the war and was depicted in a very truthful form. He provides many reasons why he believes that the film is very accurate, including references to other films such as A Walk in the Sun, and by referring to specific scenes. Overall, Albert Auster's argument is supported by many examples and is completely viable.

I feel that the following quote justly describes Auster's knowledge of the topic he is arguing and captivates the entire piece.

Despite the originality of the ground-level shots, drained colors, camera lenses spotted with water and blood, and the hellish scenes of GIs screaming or searching for severed limbs, the images still rely for their inspiration on those old, grainy combat photos and newsreels that have been the iconic symbol of the D-Day invasion since the end of the war.

Saving Private Ryan: Truth or Fiction?

"Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan: Small truths at the expense of big ones" is a critical article that was written by David Walsh exclusively for the World Socialist Web Site. The largest point that Walsh tries to convey is that this movie is exactly what it is, a movie. He feels that the movie tries to transform ordinary soldiers into enormous heroes, which he believes did not exist in World War II. He feels that the acting was very sub-par and that it did not convey the real essence of the war.

This link will take you to the controversial article that David Walsh wrote and it may provoke your initial thoughts of the epic movie that is Saving Private Ryan.

I feel that the following quote is a good representation of the argument that David Walsh is presenting.

I would say that Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan is a film that is truthful about small or obvious things and untruthful about big or complex ones.

Is Forrest Gump sending out the right message?

The article titled "The Forrest Gump Morality Massacre," is written by Gregory Dorr, a web developer and video editor. In his article, he discusses and criticizes the film using a comparative approach. He compare the films lead character Gump, to the lead character of, "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre," Leatherface. He focuses on the morality message sent out by each character and generally argues that Leatherface is morally superior to Gump. In addition, he discusses how the American society is wrong for viewing Gump as highly moral and gives reasons for why he thinks Leatherface should be considered a better person. The following is a quote that gives an insight into the article.

The two figures actually share much in common: both were raised in rural surroundings, dutifully obeying the instruction of attentive parents. Yet one is the object of mass affection; the other reviled as a monster.

What the Hell is Spinoza's Stone? Donnie Darko Relates?

This article is the only known location of an article by Peter Mathews, Spinoza's Stone: The Logic of Donnie Darko. New views of the film are dicussed, with themes related to Alice in Wonderland, Faust, and Schrodinger. In the end the film is divided into many sets of two extremes. Life and Death, Dukakis vs. Bush, and Fear vs. Love. Donnies main theme is that he breaks away from the mold, breaks away from the two extremes; to Donnie, there is so much more. But in the end, Donnie gets stuck in the mold of two extremes. Basically, the film can be viewed as "Spinoza's Stone".

"Further conceive, I beg, that a stone, while continuing in motion, should be capable of thinking and knowing, that it is endeavoring, as far as it can, to continue to move. Such a stone, being conscious merely of its own endeavor and not at all indifferent, would believe itself to be completely free, and would think that it continued in motion solely because of its own wish. This is that human freedom, which all boast that they possess, and which consists solely in the fact, that men are conscious of their own desire, but are ignorant of the causes whereby that desire has been determined.

--Spinoza, Letter to G.H. Schaller (October 1674)"

Mathews' article appeared in the September 2005 publication of
Post Script Magazine.

2001: A Space Odyssey

This article by Robert Poole, which appears in the journal History Today, discusses in detail many aspects of our film 2001: A Space Odyssey by Stanley Kubrick. Poole goes into detail about the very mixed reactions of many different movie critics and the impact the film had on the audience. He talks about how the movie reflects the space exploration of the time, not in the sense of technology but in the way that the space age was advancing quite rapidly at the time. He also goes into detail about important scenes and cuts in the movie, like the jump cut from Kubrick's opening scene "Dawn of Man" to the main portion of the film. He describes this cut as "the longest cut in all of cinema: millions of years of human evolution in a single frame." Overall, this journal article seems to work very well for our major project.

Is Braveheart Homophobic???

According to James R. Keller homophobia is a central theme in Mel Gibson's Braveheart. "The juxtaposition of competing masculinities" between Gibson's rugged manly character William Wallace, and the effeminate Prince Edward conveys stereotypical perceptions of the negativity of homosexuality Keller argues. For example, evidence for his claimed is backed by the scene in which "his father and William Wallace are busy attending to the affairs of war, the prince is shown vainly posing and modeling his new clothes in front of the mirror, surrounded by an entourage of courtly butterflies..." Prince Edwards disinterest in political affairs implicates the notion "that gays have no place in the serious affairs of men," states Keller. Whether Gibson purposely conveys homophobic notions such as this example intentionally, or is basing these scenes on historical evidence is not outlined in Keller's essay he argues"...the image of Edward preening himself before a mirror contrasted to the image of Wallace, covered in the blood of battle, shouting "Freedom"" does hold its own implications.

"Coppola is the most talented and interesting filmmaker to come to prominence in the 1970s."

Brian Dauth takes a critical approach towards The Godfather, but rather than point out all the negative aspects of the movie, he praises Francis Ford Coppola for all of his successes with the movie. He expresses Coppola's love of family's and how they exist within society. He explored the depths of which people inside the family and the family coexist within a greater society both socially and economically. Also, Dauth takes at how Coppola positions the camera to emphasize the importance of each character. He took a look at all possibilities for his characters to grow throughout the film. In short, The Godfather made Coppola an overnight success and left the question of where could he go from there?

Schindler's List: My Father is a Schindler Jew

This article is great for us to use in our major project. The author, Les White, does a great job telling us about many of characteristics Corrigan describes in his book. He talks about cinematography, auteur and gives many different examples. Below are some really good ones that we can use in our final project.White argues that while many liked the black and white cinematography and felt that it was a symbol of the dark events that took place, he feels it took away from the reality of the movie.

“The film’s Holocaust is removed from reality. Yet the Holocaust deserves to be rendered truthfully in all its detail because it challenges and contradicts any advances made by human beings.”

White illustrates this point by giving an example in the movie where the lack of color takes away from the larger picture.

“Without color, the ash from the crematoriums resembles white, purifying snow and not dirty, non-melting ash.”

By only using black and white, White argues that the movie watchers lose some perspective on just how bad the situation was.

"Braveheart" Anti-English??

The article that I am writing about concerns the anti-English sentiments that the film "Bravehear"t stirred up after it's release. In Scotland, many youths who viewed the film screamed anti-English remarks during the viewing of the film.
Colin McArthur, the author of Brigadoon, Braveheart and the Scots: Distortions of Scotland in Hollywood Cinema says that

“It’s incredible the way that the film has percolated into Scottish imagination,” he says. “The political effects are truly pernicious. It’s a xenophobic film. With young men in particular, it has done terrible things to their attitude towards England.”

The article also makes mention of the fact that the movie is very anti-establishment. This led to more problems, as a KKK website made use of this fact. This website asks the reader to

“Put yourself in Mel Gibson’s character . . . and imagine how you might react when pushed far enough. This may give you a sense of why the Klan was formed . . . In Braveheart, it was Wallace’s troops; in the South it was the Klan. All groups fighting for liberty against a tyrannical, overpowering force.”

Many groups have tried to play on the success of the film, many to less-than-honorable ends. Be that as it may, "Braveheart" is a film that brought forth a character that many can identify with, one who opposes the political system thrust upon him.

Violence of Forrest Gump

"New Man, Old Brutalisms? Reconstructing a Violent History in Forrest Gump" by Karen Boyle of University of Wolverhampton, UK wrote that the movie was well made, but the violence in the film was neglected by the viewers. She states that liberals hails Forrest Gump as a politically correct character, however Republicans sees it as a very conservative film. The reason is because of the comparison and contrast of Forrest Gump and Jenny’s life, his wife. Jenny, being the smarter person and a liberal lives a horrible life. Jenny got kicked out of school and did drugs while Forrest Gump became a war hero, millionaire and national celebrity. He was able to achieve all of this because he is a white dominate male. Filmmakers said that the film is apolitical, but it is very unconvincing. Boyle dislike the fact that the movie is male dominance and disregards women presence, except in the essence of evil. Boyle says that the role of Forrest Gump represent the dominate culture. Forrest Gump removed all liberalism; which was represented by bad deeds and events in the movie. The film backstabs minority groups and upheld the white males. Although Forrest Gump graphic is not bloody, the violence is just as bad as Pulp Fiction.

THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION: 'Feel-good Prison Movie Conceals Hidden Depths'

In this article written by Mark Kermode discusses by saying that Shawshank Redemption represents something of a paradox. Kermode also disputes in the article that this film does not arrive to be a 'homage to cinema'.

Kermode says, "How did a low key prison drama that failed to set the box office alight on its realease, go onto to achieve the status o being a movie milestone, rated by many as one of the greatest film of all time?"

"It dares to laugh in the face of the unthinkable"

Roberto Bengini's Life is Beautiful has been highly acclaimed; winning Oscars for best foreign film, best picture, and best soundtrack plus many awards all over the globe. Louise Katainen's article from National Forum brings to light some of the controversy behind the film's success. Katainen mentions some of the criticism about the film that 'dares to laugh in the face of the unthinkable.' She goes on to talk about Benigni's influences. He has had "a great deal of pleasure and fulfillment from making people laugh." But does his artistic talents justify his portrayal of the Holocaust?

Food for Thought

Hi Code Blu group and classmates!! I linked to the article by Luanne Roth called, “Beyond Communitas: Cinematic Food Events and the Negotiation of Power, Belonging, and Exclusion” which is the same article that I used for my summary essay. Although she discusses the similar idea of food as a defining factor in movies such as Along Came Polly and My Big Fat Greek Wedding, this article is still quite insightful I think. This article appears in the "Western Folklore" collection, but it's also available in electronic format as seen here. Roth analyzes American History X from a more thematic perspective. She elaborates on how crucial scenes in the film focus on references to food and how the mouth holds much symbolic meaning in American History X. For example, Roth introduces how the convenience store incident shows a dark-skinned cashier woman refusing unwanted sexual attention to support Roth’s belief that food is representative of the differences in race and culture in the film. The article continues discussing this point through how “three masked men hoist her screaming and struggling body onto the counter…” to present food “as a symbol of destroying the other [race]” because “the consumption of certain stinky foods is associated, however erroneously, with foreignness.” Luanne Roth’s article analyzes how scenes involving food and the mouth reflect how some people “create communitas through food…” as a result of how some people make judgments about a particular race based on the stereotypes surrounding the foods of their culture.


*** I provided the HTML link above, but when I tried accessing it, sometimes it brings me to a screen that says, “you have timed out” so I provided instructions to access the article below. I'm sorry if this confuses anybody, but please let me know if it's still hard/unable to be located, thanks! (you'll be able to view it in both HTML and PDF format).

1. go to www.uic.edu
2. click on the link to the library
3. under the quick links/shortcuts area, choose, electronic resources - alphabetical list
4. click on the letter "p" and click on "periodical abstracts"
5. it'll bring you to a search page; type in "American History X" with the parentheses
6. on the results page, Roth's article should appear as the third entry called, "Beyond Communitas: Cinematic Food Events and the Negotiation of Power, Belonging, and Exclusion”

You've got to put the past behind you before you can move on "

The article, "You've got to put the past behind you before you can move on " was written by Peter N. Chumo, a freelance writer from California. In this article, Chumo writes about 1994 the movie Forrest Gump and its relation to the National Reconstruction of the United States from the years 1950 to 1980. He used the character Forrest Gump to show how a divided nation hardships, problems and rehabilitation through the eyes of a slow man. Through out the article, Chumo gives numerous examples of how Forrest's character experienced and dealt with nation division, rehabilitation, reconstruction and racism. He explains how Forrest offered America a way get get on in life and not look back on the things that went wrong. Peter Chumo end his article with this quote,

Forrest Gump is a reassuring fantasy of a man who, in an almost mythic way, can transcend our divisions and heal the scars of our past"

Ideological Views in Forrest Gump

The article "A Struggle of Contending Stories": Race, Gender, and Political Memory in Forrest Gump," written by Jennifer Hyland Wang, explains how political conservatives use the film to articulate a traditional version of recent American history and to define their political background in the 1994 congressional elections. It discusses how Forrest became a cultural and political image to "re-define America." This article will help stimulate the ideological points in the final paper.

Trashing "Saving Private Ryan"?

The article titled Saving Private Ryan: Don't try to do no Thinkin'!, was written by Curtis White for the Reading Culture. White criticizes this WWII movie for its "unrealistic" scenes nad story line. He thinks that the movie over rated and pokes fun at different scenes. His take on the movie is a lot different from many otheres. Most people think that this movie was great and excellent but White had a total different point of view on it.

"Forget this plot......it's a cover for the real story."

American History X

This article, entitled American History X, Morrison's Song of Solomon, and the Psychological intersections of race, class, and place in contemporary America, discusses both the movie American History X, and also the book Song of Solomon. It starts by giving a short introduction of the main character of each text, and goes directly into discussing Derek Vinyard, the main character from American History X, in depth. The main point this article hits on is the unbelievable change Derek makes in becoming a neo-Nazi, and then completely straying away from his neo-Nazi ways. This point helps develop other, smaller points, illustrations, and evaluations, such as what led up to Derek's leadership in the Skinheads, the control another skinhead leader, Cameron, had on him, and the events in jail that made him disown the skinheads. After the section about American History X in the article, Song of Solomon is discussed, and the two are both finally concluded on in the final paragraph.

Donnie Darko-critical article

"Donnie Darko's themes include time travel, existentialism, nihilism, love, and personal sacrifice. The movie's plot suggests various paradoxes that are never fully explained and multiple interpretations of the film's storyline exist. There are some parallels with The Last Temptation of Christ." This website gives a detailed description of the cast, contents, and other film terminology that is useful to identify the themes and purpose of the story. It allows the reader to understand different meanings that have been discussed in the article. The site is a Donnie Darko research page so it contains a lot of information that covers more than just the cast and the finished product. It also includes the director's and author's interpretations as well as music and the production. I couldn't find the author of the article, but it comes from policybers.com or something. Enjoy!!!

Formalist Film Terms

This website gives numerous film terms along with there definitions. These terms are drawn from Film Art or How to Read a Film

"Saving Private Ryan'' is a powerful experience

This article on the World War II film "Saving Private Ryan" was written by Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times. Ebert gives a thorough review of the film that tells the story very well. He begins with an in-depth look at the opening sequence that he describes as "graphic as any war footage I've ever seen." He also notes the style in which the film is shot and describes it as giving the audience an extra "sense of action." Ebert gives credit to all of the actors and thinks they all add a strong presence to the film. He mentions the unique way Spielberg has created "a philosophical film about war almost entirely in terms of action." Ebert gives nothing but positive feedback about "Saving Private Ryan" throughout the entire article and even went as far as saying that a lot of people will weep during this powerful experience.

"'Saving Private Ryan' says things about war that are as complex and difficult as any essayist could possibly express, and does it with broad, strong images, with violence, with profanity, with action, with camaraderie. It is possible to express even the most thoughtful ideas in the simplest words and actions, and that's what Spielberg does."

Link : http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/
19980724/REVIEWS/807240304/1023
(or just click on title)

Life is Beautiful- A comedy?

The article on www.findarticles.com entitled "Nothing to Laugh About-Movie on Holocaust entitled 'Life is Beautiful'" written by Richard Alleva primarily focuses on the issue of why Life is Beautiful should not be a comedy. The author points out the reasons why the Holocaust is not to be something thought of as a joke as it took the lives of many innocent people. His main question is "does it deal with the Holocaust... [and] to be precise, is there a valid depiction of the Holocaust in this film?" Alleva gives many examples of why this topic should not be thought of lightly. He talks about Hitler and all the evil things done by him to explain the fact of how brutal and torturous concentration camps were. This article takes a critical approach to explain why the Holocaust is not accurately shown in Life is Beautiful and why this event in history cannot be taken with ease. Clicking on the title or quote above should take you to the article.

Pulp Fiction

The film initiates with two small-time thieves, Honey Bunny and Pumpkin, who spontaneously decide to hold up a restaurant. The film then shifts to the story of Jules and Vincent, who hit men for the well known and feared Marsellus Wallace, who is caught up in a deal gone wrong with struggling boxer Butch Coolidge.

The movie shows that tarantino is a genius. His idea of using narrative based action instead of things going in chronological order has since been copied by famous movies like Memento. But the biggest art of Tarantino is how he was able to let his character's evolve over the course of the film even though there were four different stories in the film, all connected to each other in different ways.

I think this quote best sums it up,

Back to the dialogue. It is the driving force of the film,

complementing the plot and allowing its characters to grow on us in

ways we never imagined they would. It's the way in which the dialogue

is deliberated that varies from most other examples of deliberation. ...

There are different levels of dialogue -- plot-driven, and realistic

-- but all dialogue is in service of its plot, just as all of what we

say to our friends or family has a deeper meaning and will no doubt

relate to the matter at hand. All dialogue relates to a larger scheme,

and so does the dialogue in "Pulp Fiction."

This is a link to the critical review:
http://us.imdb.com/Reviews/374/37494

Braveheart

In this site, the author criticizes several aspect of the film. He talkes from religious point of view. He said the film shows church beauty during 13 centuries. In addition, He talkes about costumes. He said that every man and woman wore the designated costumes that best fitting them according to their roles film. In addition, the author mentioned the armies who had hard time to make great fight scenes.

Quotes:
“The movie magicians have restored the church to its original beauty and glory, and when they leave it will be returned to its original ruins”.

“The performers include the noble ladies and gentlemen, the clergy, knights, trumpeters and guards, all in spectacular costumes, every one of which, of course, was made for the film”.

Rocky: The Story of an American Dream

Ira Shor gives his critical insight in this article by explaining the film's demonstration of the rise of a working-class hero by gaining dignity and recognition. Rocky is a a dim-witted but good-hearted debt collector for a loan shark in the grimy streets of Philadelphia. He is given the chance to fight in a huge boxing match where he ultimately gains recognition and respect. Shor discusses how Rocky demonstrates every man's will to rise to the top; from rags-to-riches. Shor states that, "Rocky has no choice but to either rise above his class or sink below it. He’s offered no chance to rise with his class, and can't fit into the respectable routines familiar to the working world." Since Rocky has been living with a dead-end job that deals with crime, he will never be able to fit in with the higher class; he can only rise above his own class by proving himself in the fight. This is where the viewers experience an "opportunity" for a lower working-class man. Shor explains that "Rocky emerges as a working-class hero who answers the sudden call of the American Dream, going from disgrace to dignity in a magical moment. His bruised but handsome face mirrors the two faces of the American Dream." Rocky needed fight with others, and himself as well in order to succeed. Ira Shor outlines the film's idea that working class people must fight in order to overcome depravity.

The Godfather; The greatest film since Citizen Kane

The Godfather is considered the best Hollywood film since Citizen Kane. The Film integrates many of the Values taught to us such as respect, family-ties, security, the friendship between men, importance of religion, and individualism. Michael and Don Vito's segments are both correlated in a linear way. Coppola shows the scenes of Don Vito and then scenes of Michael. This shows that the Godfather is a traditional dynasty film.

"The film always was a loose metaphor; Michael as America."
- Francis Ford Coppola

Spielberg, more than meets the eye.

With the example of A.I. Artificial Intelligence, Drehli Robnik shows how Steven Spielberg has had an effect on the American Blockbuster and vise versa. He also uses this article to demonstrate the affect of "cultural memory and cinema’s contribution to it." Drehli gives several examples in his article. Some draw from Spielbergs' own cinematic work, and some from outside sources as well. By drawing current examples on how Spielburg has been influenced, the article is clear in explaining its main idea.

Casino

In this article, the author looks at Martin Scorsese's direction of the movie Casino. Jerry Saravia, the author, is a recognized author of many works on numerous sites. These sites include RottenTomatoes.com, imdb.com, and many more recognized movie sites. While he has posted both reviews and articles, the piece that I chose was both part article and part synopsis of the film. The article appeared on a geocities.com page.The author criticized the predictable camera work of Scorsese.

"His signature camera moves were all there, including extensive Steadicam work, zoom-ins, fast tracking shots, etc."

However, the whole part of the article is a glowing critique of Scorsese's triumph in directing the movie. The only drawback was the length of the movie. He felt that the length of the film was too long for audiences to stay interested.

"Another drawback may have been the length of the film and the immorality of the story - not many will sit still for a 170-minute movie unless it is Titanic or Lord of the Rings. A nearly three-hour elegy about the mob is not exactly brisk, sentimental entertainment - Scorsese may be too heavy-hearted and unsentimental for most audiences."

The author of the article compares this Scorsese film to others that he had made. He also mentions that Scorsese's own experiences lent an authenticity to the film.

British youth subculture

In this article, the movie Trainspotting, British youth subculture is looked at through many different perspectives. The article explains the movie deals with the youth's situation and says:

The physical body, pop culture, genre categorization, moral judgment, individualism —all of these continually moved back and forth from extreme to extreme, reconfiguring themselves constantly in and around contemporary youth culture as the youth themselves struggled with them. In creating a movie of this experience, visual focus would not suffice; the movie producers, the characters of the film and the receiving audience needed an avenue along which to represent and understand the elements in flux.

The movie as makes use of how important noise is in this film as opposed to other British films. British filmstypically have the "sounds of scoiety" in the background like people talking and cars passing by, while Trainspotting uses the noise of a sort of "whooshing by" in important scenes taken by the fast pace of the British youth subculture. The article explains that the noises in the movie are also overexaggerated in doing things like opening a pop can or a bag of chips to emphasize this rapid pace. It is also done to show the there subculture renders mainstream society somewhat meaningless and trivial and is emphasized in one of the characters, Renton, by society not being part of his existence in that he is unemployed. This is also shown for their culture wanting to maintain some kind of individualism. The article ends its synopse on noise by saying, "The exaggeration of material objects’ noise serves a two-fold purpose: it highlights consumerism and the associated individualism of a capitalist, as well as separate youth culture".

Critique on Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

This critical essay from Images: Journal of film and popular culture touches on the outstanding usage of visual effects throughout Harry Potter and the Sorecer's Stone. This film is packed with creative eye-catching scenes that help to illustrate the many settings of Hogwarts. According to Images: Journal of film and popular culture, this particular essay comments on an important point for those who are interested in watching this film:

"...Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone is somewhat rushed and reliant upon Harry Potter fans bringing prior knowledge along with them to the movie theater."

In order to get a full understanding of this film it is important to read the book because a lot of scenes from the book are left out due to time. Despite the time constraint, the use of art design and visual effects makes Harry Potter and the Sorecer's Stone a truly unique film that captures audiences under its spell.

The Rebirth of Frankestein

According to Robert E. Terrill of Taylor & Francis Group
"... no other narrative has been so often revisited by film as the Frankenstein myth." For example, Terrill supports this claim on
the basis that movies such as Young Frankenstein,
the Terminators films, Edward Sissorhands, and The Matrix resemble
and/or have been inspired by Mary Schelley's novel Frankenstein.
Terrill identifies the similarities are intertwined between these films
and the novel by its premier and final chapters. Throughout all of these
movies there is a character depicted in experiences of life and death.
Many would identify Edward Sissorhands to be based on this premise,
in regards to Schelley's novel Frankenstein, due to the similarities in birth,
struggle, and death of a man too disfigured to survive.
Terrill believes the plot of the book Frankenstein is prevalent in movies, because

“[It’s] a cautionary tale about dangerous powers that can accrue to someone skilled in the art of stitching together coherence out of chaos resonates particularly strongly with film audiences.”

Whether or not audiences agree that these relationships exist, Terrill insists audiences will
continue to be intrigued by this plot development due to its “thorough and provocative exploration of some of the questions regarding the relationships [of man and creature].”

"I am gonna kill Bill!" A Critical Look

In this critical look at Quentin Tarantino's movie, "Kill Bill, Vol. 2," Gary Johnson finds a simplistic theme in the movie best summed up by the title of the movie. In the second installment, The Bride, as her character is known, goes after the other half of assassins who killed her fiancé and left her for dead. Her ultimate goal is revenge against Bill, the man responsible. Johnson says that Tarantino's abilities lie in his contradictions, "to value carnage in one scene and to value the spoken word in the next." Making the movie special, Johnson says, is his unique camera angles, images and overly simplistic plot, though the characters become more developed. For more information the link above is will connect you to Johnson's article on Imagesjournal.com.

Critical Essay about "American History X" and "Apt Pupil"

Robert W. Welkos' article entitled "A Thin Line Between...FEAR and HATE" give a short summary and analyses about two neo-Nazi movies that came out in 1998, "American History X" and "Apt Pupil." He begins his article about comparing these movies to older movies about racism such as "Mississippi Burning" and "Rosewood" and discusses how those movies only mentioned racism in the south, whereas the two newer movies show how racism can be found in "suburban neighborhoods." "American History X" and "Apt Pupil" are compared by Welkos by saying,

"In much the same way that 'Apt Pupil' charts one youth's linear descent into evil and corruption, 'American History X' presents a circular journey that ends with the young man's redemption."

After Welkos gives a quick summary of both movies, the controversy of "American History X's" director's battle to remove his name from the movie is discussed in depth. Through interviews with director Tony Kaye, Welkos discovered the reason Kaye turned his back on the film was that he believed New Line Cinema changed his vision of the movie saying he wanted to use the dialogue to "move[s] things forward, but not in a preachy way, which, unfortunately, a lot of 'American History X' does now." In summary, Welkos gets the point across that how the movie proves that "racism is bad" was the major battle between the sides.

Welkos mentions that New Line Cinema teamed up with a human rights organization, Amnesty International, in order to help market this controversial film, and Amnesty representative Paula Ramsey states that "American History X" gets the major lesson across saying, "Therein lies the lesson: Everyone suffers from hate crimes."

I believe that this lesson is the most important part of the movie, and "American History X" definitely does the job.

Click on the link to read Welkos' full essay from the Los Angeles Times, which is found on the "American History X" web page. There's also another link to the movie Trailer on You Tube!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tY8s5sooMsI&mode=related&search=

RUN LOLA RUN

This review by Crissa-Jean Chappell appears in imagesjournal.com. It discusses the 34 year old German director, Tom Tykwer, and his strange but interesting film called: RUN LOLA RUN. The author of this review explains the overall plot and also provides a critical analysis of the film. He comes up with a theory in which he states:

"every innocent choice, no matter how insignificant, can ignite a chain reaction of possible consequences. "

He comes up with this theory through the three flashforwards of the film. Lola runs past the same people each time, however, as she does this, something different happens to these strangers in the future. For more information about this theory or about anything else on the film, just click on the link. Enjoy!

Jackie Chan: Martial Artist or Dancer?

The article I have linked is from http://www.ejumpcut.org/, where there are many interesting critical essays that don't require a subscription. The author Aaron Anderson looks at choreographed scenes of violence as dance. Combat is something that is natural and is difficult to fake. Anderson emphasizes the work of martial arts filmmaker and actor Jackie Chan. Chan's films are particularly entertaining because of the high level of stylization he puts into each fight scene. Anderson states,

"I have been a practicing martial artist, stage and film fight director, and certified teacher of staged combat for a number of years, and Chan’s fight sequences are (almost universally) regarded among my colleagues as among the best in the business."

There are two reasons why Jackie is the best. First of all he practices each movement of each scene as many times as he needs to until he can put it all together perfectly, exactly like a ballerina would do for a ballet. The second factor is that nearly all of his stunts are real. The reality of Jackie Chan's action scenes is what makes his movies what they are.

WHEN THE LEEVES BROKE

http://www.cineaste.com/321images/321imagelevees2.jpg In this film review Michael Sicinski criticizes the Spike Lee film, WHEN THE LEEVES BROKE. Michael gives us background information of the director Spike Lee. He mentions how the director's year was not very productive filmwise. Michael says " WHEN THE LEEVES BROKE is a a one year anniversary marker that mostly demonstrates the continuing lack of assistance, the gross incompetence, and the day to day grind of trying to rebuild-with virtually no adequate governmental support". For more information click on link.

Fahrenheit 9/11

This is an article from Ejumpcut written by Nicole Laskowski. The article starts out at the 2003 Oscars when Michael Moore won for best documentary. In his speech he bashes on Bush and his whole cabinet. Then it goes into some background info of Moore's documentary Fahrenheit 9/11. Then Nicole gets into the theme and meaning of the movie in an argumentative way. In this part of the essay, Nicole compares Michael's earlier work with Fahrenheit 9/11. The nest part of the article talks about the montage technique that Moore uses to convey a points. Nicole uses two examples from the movie to support her claim. Nicole then goes on to specif techniques such as melodrama to support and even exagerate his theme of the movie. He does this by talking more to the people, US citizens, than political figures. By doing this he is able to connect what is shown in the documentary to the people watching it.

Home Alone

Home Alone is Chris Columbus' comedy about a young boy who is left home alone for Christmas and realizes the importance of family to him.Throughout the course of the movie McCaulay Culkin's character, Kevin, has to fend off a pair of bungling robbers (Joe Peschi and Daniel Stern). The essay I am linking to describes the success of Christopher Columbus and John Hughes as well as contrasting Home alone with their other hits.