The love-making scene in this film involving Ben Loy and his wife is the scene I chose to perform a close analysis on. I am going to look at the ways in which this scene makes use of mise-en-scène, camera angles, camera movement, sounds, and other visual information to communicate and influence audience perceptions of race and or ethnicity.
Released in the summer of 1994, the movie “When a Man Loves a Women” produced by Touchstone Pictures’ producer Jon Avnet created a film that touches on a female alcoholic. This film included stars like Meg Ryan, Andy Garcia, and Lauren Tom. An airline pilot played by Garcia as Michael and his wife Alice portrayed by Ryan are forced to deal with her alcoholism. Within this family it includes that of her two children and the nanny (Lauren Tom). The film offers several hinting scenes to Alice’s addiction. Alcoholism is a disease of denial, the movie focuses on not only the alcoholic but those around her that deny and have even grown accustomed to her drinking.
In the film ‘Crash’ directed by Paul Haggis in 2004, several lives cross paths because of an adage, ‘it’s a small world’. The characters come from different backgrounds and social class, consequence, the underlying tone of race is presented in a facet which is a cause for concern. In today’s current tension infested race topic, stereotypes tend to push the notion that one’s perception of race, gender and class must be reality. The question becomes, where does an individual develop these notion and perception and does the blame belong to media and film. Looking at the movie ‘Crash’, it was nominated for over 100 awards and won 3 Oscars; impeccably depicted the intertwining of gender, race and social class that one would assume that the movie’s a depiction of reality. One may conclude that movies are responsible for the perpetual class and virtue given to the middle and upper classes only. Although Parenti’s belief that Hollywood films always attach virtue to the well-off middle and upper classes this is not always the class. Hollywood media and films are guilty of assigning privilege to some and strife to others, however the characters in the movie Crash, Brenden Fraser, Chris Bridges and Thandie Newton all form different economical classes display different types of class and virtue.
Cultural diversity includes opinions, appearances, values, and beliefs, as well as the categories of race, ethnicity, social class, gender, sexual orientation, and disability (Koppelman, 2011). One method of understanding cultural diversity is through films. Films are often used as vehicles to reveal, discuss, and explore relationships, conflicts, lessons, and/or history. In an attempt to analyze the cultural diversity portrayed in a film, I have chosen to watch and analyze “Gentleman’s Agreement”.
It’s evident that black performers in Hollywood cinema are customarily depicted as unpleasant based on the clichéd roles they play, for example: the mammy, the promiscuous character, or the angry black woman. Within this paper, I will incorporate Bell Hooks idea of “The Oppositional Gaze”, and Marina Heung ideas discussed in the article "What 's the Matter with Sara Jane?” Daughters and Mothers in Douglas Sirk 's "Imitation of Life”. The film of focus is Imitation of Life (1959) by Douglas Sirk, the film will be analyzed, but I will scrutinize representation of black female characters within this film; in attempt to verify if this portrayal of the mammy and the mulatto child is a positive reference for black females in cinema (because they
Racial segregation highlights the racial theme within both films of Mississippi Burning and American History X. The importance of setting establishes culture during a
All through the considered silent period, Blacks in film were typically pigeonholed as toms or coons. Nonetheless, the savage still showed up, particularly in the uncommon, in movies of “all colored cast”. These movies were aimed at portraying women as lesser beings because they could be used as dancers or sex tools in the Antebellum South, or in present-day Harlem. Extensive consideration has been given to the commonness and diligence of generalizations of the blacks in America (Bates 661). Yet one of these recognized generalizations or stereotyping, the “abysmal mulatto,” has gotten quick consideration from researchers and social pundits of film and pop culture in the United States. The Birth of a Nation portrays a society that is truly bent in keeping up the rigid social limits, this exclusion is very tricky. It is true that most films during this period, tried to dissect the film’s political capacities and sociological effect as far as race, sex, and class is concerned.
However, their acting careers are quite different; therefore, I will explore how in Hollywood film industry there is still a strong color bias. First of all, I will give an introduction about how skin color has being given privileges within Afro-American community, and then I will analyze how this affects on Hollywood film
As this film represents a microcosm of the injustices of the real world, Forman zooms in on characters during critical scenes of the movie to highlight the character’s message. The
I can see why this film is the required film in the section, it fits perfectly, I really can’t think of a better film to display stereotypes and behaviors related to them. This film really plays on a person’s emotions. There is so much that could be discussed. I have seen this film before, but I don’t remember it having such an impact on me after watching it through this context. I noticed a lot more stereotypes than I ever had before. It’s almost as if every contact we see there is stereotypes being presented, different ethnicities colliding.
The use of various camera techniques such as canted frames, low-angled, high-angled and close up shots, as well as camera distance, enhances the struggle between the characters. The use of such techniques not only allows the audience to get an extensive insight into the many different characters, but also helps us understand the relationships between them and how all of these factors contribute to the overarching theme of racism in the film. The use of these camera rapid movements
For the longest time, one of the biggest taboos in film has been the subject of interracial relationships. The best example of this taboo would have to be two earlier versions of William Shakespeare’s, ‘Othello’ (1952, 1965) a story that deals with the subject of interracial romance. In both cases, white actors in black face were cast to play the famous Moor of Venice (1952, 1965). But, nowadays story has changed, a black actor playing a black character and the climate of films has also changed, something as little as a kiss between a black man and a white woman on screen. The African-American image in the past that had been perpetuated by Yaphet Frederick Kotto as criminal has changed to loving role of African-American. In 1999’s ‘The
[1] Before I start this essay, I feel the need to remind the reader that I find slavery in all its forms to be an oppressive and terrible institution, and I firmly believe that for centuries (including this one) bigotry is one of the most terrible stains on our civilization. The views I intend to express in the following essay are in no way meant to condone the practices of slavery or racism; they are meant only to evaluate and interpret the construction of slavery in film.
This film explains the life experiences of not only sex workers but also the opinion of lawyers, policy-makers, and male buyers. It details the past about 4 women that have been through the struggle of being a prostitute ever since they were younger and now them showing it's the time to end it. Former sex worker Trisha Baptie explains what she had to go through in the industry especially with having kids and the friends she lost to Robert Pickton. Pickton is a serial killer that was convicted in 2007 for killing 6-49 women especially sex workers in Vancouver. One of the victims daughters appears in the video telling her story and what her mom had to deal with. This film also shows the men's side of buying sex as well as what they would buy and the advantages they would get from it.
The film I will be evaluating is Nymphomaniac a sprawling two-part sex drama that blurs the line between art and porn. It follows a sex addict named Joe as she’s found battered in an alleyway by an older bachelor named Seligman. In explaining how she came to be in such a condition, flashback scenes unfold in chapters introduced by snapping witty dialogue between Joe and Seligman. It begins with Joe throughout her teenage years, when she first begins to discover her insatiable sexual appetite. Then through her adult life as she is pushed out of normal society. The film whips through a wide range of topics, such as gender role conformity, consent, and, metal dysfunction.
Viewers of popular film often give little thought to the deeper, underlying themes within the narrative. Analysis of the film and knowledge of the cultural issues represented can be important for increased enjoyment, understanding and a wider awareness of society. Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001) (BJD) is a dry humoured, reality based, romantic comedy about the life of a single woman who is searching for a partner. Men in Black (1997) (MIB) is a fantasy science fiction film where agents protect the earth from extra-terrestrials. Although Bridget Jones’s Diary and Men in Black seem similarly light, comedic entertainment with customary conflicts, they differ in their approach to racial and feminist issues.