Memoirs of a Geisha

The film Memoirs of a Geisha, is my all time favorite film. It attempts to portray the mentality of a different society, different mentality, as well as a different culture.

Although the director did a wonderful job with the formalist persepective of the film, many were quick to criticize the fact that Chinese actresses and actors portrayed a Japanese fairytale.

''Any doubts about three Chinese actresses speaking English with Japanese accents vanish in the face of their deeply felt performances and the world Marshall conjures with magical finesse,'' said Peter Travers.

This essay dives into stereotypes, nationalism and the acting in the film among other things.

Memoirs of a Geisha

The Quentin Tarantino Effect

Samuel Jackson and John Travolta in Pulp Fiction

In this article by Stanley Crouch, Quentin Tarantino is viewed as the leading young filmmakers of his time. Tarantino's movies, such as Natural Born Killers, Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs, True Romance, and Jackie Brown, hard-edged, ultra violence with shots of absurd and unexpected humor. Crouch sees Quentin as adding new energy, cool, comedy, and irony, to a low age in movies.

Some of Quentin's use of irony is discussed my Crouch, who sees Quentin discussing our ethnic identity through many of his movies. Examples are given from Pulp Ficton, Jackie Brown, and Reservoir Dogs. Crouch notices that in Reservoir Dogs, blacks are referred as inferiors by the Caucasian cast, but they talk about how attractive Pam Grier (a famous black actor) is. This ironic racism Tarantino adds continues when the undercover cop's mentor turns out to be a black man.

Those alterations reach far beyond the customary racial cliches that thud upon us frame by frame and the hostile or maudlin soap box oratory that washes all possible eloquence out of dialogue.

Crouch finishes by stating Quentin's film making is recognizable yet unfamiliar: "we feel we've seen it and not seen it before."

Science fiction films and religion

In this article by Anton Karl Kozlovic he discusses how he believes that there are religous ties intertwined in four science fiction films. Those films are The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), Blade Runner (1982), The Terminator (1984), and Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991). He argues that "SF films have frequently been the vehicles for hidden biblical characters, particularly Christ-figures." One example of this can be seen in Terminator 2: Judgment Day with the Terminator character. He is sent to save humanity. There are many more examples but it is interesting to see the similarities that he presents and how closely they are related they are to the bible itself.

300

300 is based on a battle that occurred in 480 B.C. I provided a link that explains what really happened. Some say that 300 did not accurately follow the true events of which took place at the battle ofThermopylae but according to this link from wikipedia it seems very accurate. King Leonidas and his army of 300 Spartans, along with a small army of other Greeks held off the vast army of the Persian Empire, led by King Xerxes. After 3 days of battle, someone informed the Persians of a small pathway to lead them into Greece. Although all the Spartans were killed, this proved to the rest of Greece that this war could be won. It also gave Athens time to prepare for battle, which led to the dismantling of the Persian naval fleet, and eventually to the victory of Greece.

300

300 is based on a battle that occurred in 480 B.C. I provided a link that explains what really happened. Some say that 300 did not accurately follow the true events of which took place at the battle ofThermopylae but according to this link from wikipedia it seems very accurate. King Leonidas and his army of 300 Spartans, along with a small army of other Greeks held off the vast army of the Persian Empire, led by King Xerxes. After 3 days of battle, someone informed the Persians of a small pathway to lead them into Greece. Although all the Spartans were killed, this proved to the rest of Greece that this war could be won. It also gave Athens time to prepare for battle, which led to the dismantling of the Persian naval fleet, and eventually to the victory of Greece.

Steven Spielberg's film style

Steven Spielberg is considered the most successful director in film history. He has done many films such as Close Encounters, Jurassic Park, Indiana Jones, and E.T., just to name a few. His filming style can been caried over throughout all of his movies. This link compares many of his works with one another. The link also shows his maturity as a film maker as time goes by.

Full Metal Jacket

Stanley Kubrick's Film Full Metal Jacket uses a historical reference to the vietnam war. Kubrick also uses the history of the US military training. In the film the soon to be soldiers go to boot camp in order to become US soldiers. Kubrick shows the harsh nature of the commanding officers in order to remove any sense of individuality and add any information that they wish on the privates. During boot camp there is an emphasis on team work. If your team succeeds you share the benefits. If you fail you share the consequences. In the first section of Full Metal Jacket Kubrick shows a private who is unable to handle the physical and mental strain of boot camp. This private is hasseled by both the commanding officer as well as his squad. This link elaborates on US military training and what their goal is.

Lost in Translation: Sophia's Farce??

The article here is only the first post from Imomus.com. The article is title "Lost on Me" and contains a great deal of insight into the acting of the characters in Sophia Coppola's Lost in Translation. The following quote is taken from the article explaining Bill Murray's comedy:

Does Murray's charisma have to come at the expense of someone else all the
time? (Let's not even talk about the portrayal of the prostitute or the
commercial director.) In a hospital scene, an old lady asks Murray why he took
this long trip to Japan. Murray responds again by playing to the gallery, miming
her as if she were doing a ludicrous choreographed song. He's the odd one out,
the foreigner, and yet he's treating those around him as if they were
foreigners. This is bad manners and bad traveller etiquette. It prompts the
question, is it possible to be American and foreign? I suspect the answer is
'No', at least if one is in an American film, wherever it may be set.

The author describes, in great detail, the other actors and actresses and they're strong points and weaknesses in the film. There is also a great deal of ideological analysis which analyzes the socialogical behavior in the film.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

This is Harry's fourth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. This year he finds himself facing the triwizard tournament as the fourth opponent, which breaks the rules of the tournament. This, however, was not the doing of Harry but of a more sinister force. On can feel the evil in this movie because of all of the darkness in it. Professor Alastor Moody, for example who turns out to be a traitor in disguise, is shrouded in ambiguity as a foreboding that this character would turn out evil. He is consistently dressed in dark colors and in shadows, which signify evil about him. Lord Voldemort himself is always carried in a black cloth which archetypally means death, this is fitting because Voldemort is technically dead; however, he can not die because of precautionary magic used. Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore is the exact opposite of Lord Voldemort, he is the Jesus Character in a sense whereas Voldemort would be the devil. Dumbledore is ever omnisicent and is always shrouded in the light which is an archetype for goodness. The Gryffindors colors are crimson and yellow, crimson being a color that indicates passion which tends to be true for the greater majority if not all of the gryffindors. The gray in the colors of the Slytherins represents ambiguity because one is not born evil, one is made that way. In this case it more specifically represents their stuggle of children to try to live up ti the expectations of their parent,wheter they want to or not.

spiderman ideological analysis

The movie "spiderman" was directed by Sam Raimi and was released in 2002. The movie is about a high school student who gains supernatural powers when a spider bites him. He uses his power to fight the evil.

This movie claims that "with great power comes great responsibility" and those powers should be used with care and for the greater good of the world. This theme runs through the whole movie. At first Peter Parker, the main character in the movie, gains supernatural abilities, he uses his abilities for his own selfish purposes. One of the bad consequences was that his uncle gets killed by the same person whom he had helped earlier. This event makes him realizes that he shouldn't use his power for bad things. After this he uses his power to fight the evil and to protect people.

Another theme of the movie is goo vs. evil. Like many other films, this film reinforces the idea that the good always win against evil. In the end, Peter Parker who represents good survives and Norman Osborn dies in the end.

Hulk

In this site you will be able to retrieve information about the film Hulk. The author Rob Raux talks about the features of the film such as the giant characters and the exiting colors. Raux states “Ang Lee? The guy who did The Ice Storm?! This guy is heavy duty! What's he doing at the helm of a superhero flick?... And yet, looking at the results of his foray into Green Giant Land, you can't help but appreciate.” Also, Raux is fascinated with the color that was used in the film. Raux mentions “Lee possesses an unparalleled visual style (helped here by DP Frederick Elmes and editor Tim Squyres) which he applies with gusto to Hulk's four-color universe. Rather than centering on the world itself, with its spandex-clad figures and distorted architecture, he conveys the experience of reading a comic book in cinematic terms.” Also Raux discusses the great tools that was used by Hulk in the movie, which in his points of view it attract him more to the film. Raux affirms “The panels on the page become the focus: the connection between the images and the way they pull us through the story. Several films (notably George A. Romero's Creepshow) have toyed with the same concept, but Hulk comes loaded with a staggering array of formalistic tools: split screens, frames within frames, wipe cuts, and fade outs of all varieties. Overall this site contain very useful information about the Hulk film.

Terminator

Terminator was directed by James Cameron in 1984. This concept supposidly came to him in a dream. But, look at this review of the movie, Cyborg 2087. Now, if you ask me Cameron got his influence from this movie.

Both movies involve cyborgs that eventually take over the world in the future. Also, both movies have a cyborg go back into the past to right a wrong and save the world. It seems to me that James Cameron took his entire concept of Terminator right from this film.

In Cyborg 2087, a cyborg that is not controlled by the rest of the cyborgs is sent back in time to make sure that a scientist named Dr. Marx destroyed his new technology. This technology allows one person to take control of everyone else in the world. This in turn makes the future a place where no one is able to think freely.

In Terminator, a cyborg is sent into the past to make sure Sarah Connor stays alive. She is to produce a child that keeps the world in check.

"The Gun, the Pen, and the Cannoli: Orality and Writing in The Godfather, Part 1

The Godfather is an infamous movie, known for its one-liner's, violence, and the Corleone family. David Sutton, from Southern Illinois University, and Peter Wogan, from Wilmetter University wrote an article entitled "The Gun, the Pen, and the Cannoli: Orality and Writing in The Godfather, Part 1 which analyzes The Godfather using many different approaches, including nationalism, formalism, and ideologically. I will focus on the nationalism perspective, and how the Corleone family operates differently from the U.S. government.
The authors mention how many people have discussed how The Godfather deals with capitalism. These authors agree, and will examine capitalism using " 'orality,' which stands for the gift economy, and 'writing,' which stands for capitalism and its legal arm." They use three scenes to defend their claim. The first scene is the wedding scene, which is the beginning of the movie.
The opening sentence examining the wedding scene states, "In the opening wedding scene, the symbolism of writing and food establishes a stark contrast between American and Sicilian society." The American society is exemplified through the writing aspect, where as Sicilian society is represented through orality. One example used is the way the FBI agents are writing down license plate numbers on notepads, and use their FBI identification cards as authority. Another major example the authors mention from the wedding scene of the movie is when Michael Corleone tells his girlfriend the story about the Don making a bandleader "an offer he can't refuse." It is explained how a written contract is used to trap the Don's singing star godson, but a gun held to his head by Luca Brasi over rules the contract. This is a direct contrast between writing and orality. To clarify, the authors state, "Moreover, his style of power is different. Whereas the state's power is abstract (based on laws), mediated (communicated through writing, not through face to face interaction), and supposedly inflexible (tied to the letter of the law), the Don's power is physical (the gun tot he head), personal (the Godfather-godson relationship), and flexible (allows for changes in circumstances)."
Other example from the wedding scene are seen in the Godfather's office, and how he "forms bonds with his supporters." His two guests, the undertaker, and the baker are compared as one follows American society and the other Sicilian society. Bonasera is explained to represent American society because when he asks a favor of the Don, he doesn't approach him as a friend, and offers money for the Godfather's service, where as the baker represents Sicilian society because he approaches the Godfather as as a friend, and offers a favor and friendship to the Don in return for a favor from him. The baker says "and wait till you see the beautiful wedding cake I made for your daughter," which is a friend to friend favor rather than a service, according to Wogan and Sutton. Don Corleone appreciates the baker's friendly gesture and treats him kindly, but scolds the undertaker saying "You don't ask with respect. You don't offer friendship. You don't even think to call me Godfather. Instead, you come into my house on the day my daughter is to be married and you, uh, ask me to do murder, for money." The authors relate the orality is related to cake, and friendship between the Don and the baker, whereas the writing is aspect that the money acts a contract between the Don and the undertaker. The undertaker is also said to be related to American society because his first line, and the first line of the movie for that matter is "I believe in America."
I agree with the claims these authors are making and see the relationships relating the American and Sicilian society. However, think the terms orality and writing are misleading, and don't classify all of the examples the authors are mentioning. Two more scenes are examined by the author which are Michael's Murder scene and the Moe Green Casino scene. Each gives similar examples to defend the contrasting claims about American and Sicilian society.

Desperado: A Robert Rodriguez Flick

Desperado, a flick directed by Robert Rodriguez in 1995, has to be one of the most memorable films to ever grace the silver screen. I feel the reason why it is so memorable is due to the amazing shots and the attention to setting details.

From a formalist point of analysis, Desperado has plenty to offer. The film starts with a fade in on a pair of shoes. As the scene progresses, the camera slowly moves up to reveal none other than Steve Buscemi. A quick cut scene is then shown of the setting, which is a run-down bar in Mexico that is full of patrons. Robert Rodriguez gets the point across that this is not a comfortable place to be by making use of colors. The bar is presented in various tones of orange and brown. Throughout the film, the viewers can see these colors as a recurring pattern. There are very few times when colors such as blue or green are utilized. When I see the colors of orange and brown in collaboration, I automatically think of the desert and an uncomfortable setting.

Rodriguez' superb angles throughout the film keep the movie moving at an intense pace. The bar shoot-out is probably the most recognizable part of the whole film. Yet, I feel it is recognizable not because of the cool gun-slinger moves that Antonio Banderas displays, but because of the way that the entire scene is shot. Throughout the entire scene, a variety of shots are utilized. A crane shot is used to see Banderas sliding back, and the bullets zoom right into the camera. One shot is used to see through the eyes of one of the victims, played by Quentin Tarantino. The most impressive shot can be seen towards the end of the shoot-out. Banderas, in an attempt to kill an out-of-reach enemy, shoots a ceiling fan in hopes of it landing on his unfortunate foe. Rodriguez captures the fan as it's falling from the ceiling, and does so by lying down underneath the actor that is playing Banderas' enemy. The shot is very impressive, and it's very interesting to know that Rodriguez actually risked injury to get the shot.

The final thing that I would like to point out is the excellent selection of music. A major component of any Robert Rodriguez film is an intriguing musical score. Desperado features a few songs from a band known as Tito & Tarantula, which is fronted by Tito Larriva who had a small role in the film. Their music really captures the dark, up-to-no-good tones that Rodriguez tries to present. The intro of "Back to the House that Love Built", which is used as Banderas walks into the bar for the first time, really gives the audience the feeling that El Mariachi is going to take no prisoners in this tavern. The music of Los Lobos is also featured, which keeps the Mexican themes in the movie alive for its entire duration. "Bella", performed by Santana, helps to capture the more sultry side of the film.

The link that is atttached is the film's Wikipedia page, which gives some interesting trivia on the film. The video below is a clip of the shoot-out scene I mentioned earlier. As I stated before, this scene makes use of many different camera angles and showcases Robert Rodriguez' directing skills. Two of Tito & Tarantula's songs are featured in this clip as well.

Tobacco and Alcohol Use in Disney Films!

According to the Journal of American Medical Association, "More than two thirds of animated children's films feature tobacco or alcohol use in story plots without clear verbal messages of any negative long-term health effects associated with use of either substance." The impact of tobacco and alcohol in these G-rated films promotes the use of these substances to its underage viewers. Use of tobacco and alcohol lead to major health problems. In effort to prevent these future health problems, 50 films were reviewed to screen incidents of substance use. According to these screenings,

"34 (68%) displayed at least 1 episode of tobacco or alcohol use. Twenty-eight (56%) portrayed 1 or more incidences of tobacco use, including all 7 films released in 1996 and 1997. Twenty-five films (50%) included alcohol use. Smoking was portrayed on screen by 76 characters for more than 45 minutes in duration; alcohol use was portrayed by 63 characters for 27 minutes. Good characters use tobacco and alcohol as frequently as bad characters. Cigars and wine are shown in these films more often than other tobacco or alcohol substances."

For example, one film which reflects this use is Disney's Dumbo. In Disney's Dumbo, Dumbo is portrayed getting "drunk" off of the bubbles in his bath. His "drunk" hallucinations lead him into a trippy exciting daze, promoting the use of alcohol to an impressionable audience.

Gurinder Chadha - a british director

I am doing an auteur approach on Gurinder Chadha. I am providing a link to the Allocine website which is a website dedicated to the history of British film and television.

From this website I learned a lot more about Chadha's previous work as well as a little about where she grew up and how she became a director. We learn that she was orginally born in Kenya and that she moved to England at the age of one. In addition, I find out that Bend it Like Beckham was not one of her first films. Instead, it turns out that that was the most successful ones and that she has done quite a few films before that with her first one releasing in 1990 . These include Nice Arrangement, Acting Our Age and Bhaji on the Beach. Although, Bend it Like Beckham was the most successful, we find out that Chadha has a common theme in all of her films, the theme being cultural diversity. She tends to focus on the British Asian scene and incorporates this idea in many of her films, especially in Bend it Like Beckham. It turns out that the main character, Jasminder, was aimed to reflect Chadha and the difficulties she faced while being an Indian and growing up in England.

Finally, the website also provides links to more information and reviews of all the films she has directed.

Cool Runnings

This film takes an interesting look at couple of track stars turned bobsledders. After failing to qualify for the summer olympics in track, the track stars turn to another event. This event, which is not even part of the summer olympics but instead the winter olympics, would be a first. The group opts to get together a bobsledd team. What's the irony here? This would be the first bobsled team from Jamaica. This film filled with bright colors which consistently express hope is one to watch. Although the film's actual facts for the Jamaican team are altered, one should approuch this film with an ope mind. Made by Disney, Cool Runnings is a film worth watching by any age. Its layed back introduction to its misfortunate ending will keep viewers wanting more.

Gandhi

The film Gandhi was directed by Richard Attenborough in 1982. The film was nominated and received numerous awards such as best picture, best director, and best actor (Ben Kingsley). In a historical perspective, many claimed that the film was historically inaccurate. According to the author of the article, Michael Hofland, many people criticized the portrayal of Mohammed Al Jinnah, a revolutionary in the Muslim world. Jinnah is portrayed as a terrible person, unwilling to create a cooperation between Hindus and Muslims, according to the critics. Hofland states that many people feel that Gandhi had flaws too and was not always right. The critics believe that "the film portrays him basically without a flaw, when it should show his true self." Some say that a large part film is propaganda, but nevertheless, "Gandhi was honored with many Hollywood awards and continues to be a beloved film," states Hofland.

DOOM 3 ANALYSIS

DOOM 3 is a movie that takes place in the Year 2026. There are many Dark colors and shadows in this Movie. there is a lot of Blue colors, and Dark shadows. The Blood is a VERY Dark Red, and is Very little bright colors in the movie. There is also the tempo (Music), it changes from somewhat slow to Very fast when they are battling, or when they are running away. They Us Very fast paced camera shots, and move back and forth between camera angles. It would be quite and then music would start get louder and louder until that is almost all you hear. This movie Puts emphasis on the "beasts" by placing the camera at feet level and have it looking up at them.