Write a statement reflecting on your film analysis. You may include your thesis and findings in regard to style of representation, denotative meanings, connotative meanings and overall evaluation of your film.
My analytical paper is on “The Jacksons: An American Dream”. This movie is known as a autobiography depicting the life of Katherine Jackson’s family. The movie shows the family growing together. It Displays everything from success to the sadder days. This film is executive produced by Suzanne de Passe and Stan Marguiles, produced by Joyce Eliason, Jermaine Jackson and Margaret Maldonado and directed by Karen Arthur. It was filmed on location in Pittsburgh, PA
The Jacksons are your average working-class family in Gary, Indiana; but when their father discovers the kids have an extraordinary musical talent they form a band. Winning talent show after talent show they soon hit it big when Motown calls. From there they become the now famous Jackson 5. But along the way their success brings trouble and turmoil
I. Foundation of The American Dream: The Jackson 5
The film stars Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs as the Jacksons' father Joseph Jackson, Angela Bassett as the family mother Katherine Jackson, Jason Weaver and Wylie Draper played Michael Jackson in different eras, while Bumper Robinson and Terrence Howard played Jackie Jackson in different eras, Angel Vargas played Tito Jackson, Margaret Avery as Katherine's mother Martha Scruse, Holly Robinson Peete as Diana Ross, Billy Dee Williams as Berry Gordy and Vanessa L. Williams as Suzanne de Passe. The opening titles of the film show footage of the real Jacksons rehearsing, performing on stage, a few clips from the "Can You Feel It" music video, album covers and pictures of the family. The film is mostly based on the autobiography written by Katherine Jackson, who issued the 1990 autobiography, My Family. Part one of the film was based on how Joseph and Katherine managed to raise their children, first in Gary, Indiana, then later dealing with The Jackson 5's early fame and its consequences. Part two of the film is based on the struggles of young Michael Jackson as he deals with his brothers marrying early into The Jackson 5 success, his problems with acne as a teenager, his eventual solo superstardom based on the success of his albums Off the Wall and Thriller and his legendary Motown 25 performance of "Billie Jean" as well as his difficult relationship with his father.
II. Explanation of the signifiers
The most important signifier/motif is the glittered glove that Jackson is known for, it represents performance and hard work
At the beginning of the movie it seems as Joseph Jackson is a bit pushy towards kat, that symbolizes him being a “push over” later on in their marriage.
Michael Jackson had a pet rat throughout the movie, which signifies loneliness throughout his life. The music all throughout the movie is a signifier, it sets the moods and foreshadows.
III. Connotation and Denotation
Joseph Jackson was so determined for his boys to become famous. He basically forced them to become musicians when he realized they had a bit of talent. Although they became famous, they had no childhood. Although the Jackson 5 is a black middle class family, they’re story touched many different type of people, including people of different backgrounds and ethnicities. Michael Jackson was a world known icon that many people loved and adored.
The Best Man was an all around great movie. It was not too much action or special effects nor was it a horror film to turn audiences away. This film is simply a romantic comedy that is so successful nowadays, because they often fascinate the audience with love and all its complexities. They are like rolling along a roller coaster of emotion, poking fun at our society's customs, twisting and turning towards a morally fulfilling conclusion. According the website titled Internet Movie Database, This film is not just your average “black movie”; it talks about different stages or effects that people go through every day. Like coming of age, career and love-life sacrifices, accepting adulthood, and appreciating commitment (Garabadian, 1999). The film has absolutely nothing to do with the color of one's skin. It's about love, friendship, trust, honesty, and forgiveness.
The director is Spike Lee who is African American, and he is all about black pride, so all of the cast are African American. Although the whole cast are black, the director intended to address issues in life that African Americans also endure. Malcolm Lee intended the men to discuss some issues such as women, but never facing their own double standard so that it addresses majority of the male population. For the reason that a lot of men have that denial stage, that many do not mature out of. The viewer of The Best Man could be interpreted in many different ways. One way that the audience could decode one of the meanings as it’s never too late to fix or mend things. One should never look back on life and have regrets. This issue is more prone to males in our society. Majority of them have this pride issue that tends to get in the way and that is one of the issues the director tried to display in this film. This film had two main motifs, which were the “kiss on the frontal lobe” that Harper does, and the cross that Lance Sullivan wears around his neck. Both motifs have connotative meanings that tie into the storyline of the film. The kiss on the frontal lobe is symbolic for Harper not wanting to get to close to a woman, he is afraid of commitment. This issue is later on resolved in the lesson of accepting commitment. This is a matter that many males in society face. The cross that Lance wears as a necklace is symbolic to religion. He plays the role of a religious, promiscuous football player; the role that Lance plays is considered to be a contradiction. He portrays himself to be religious, but at the same time very promiscuous. In the bible it says “thou shall not commit adultery”, but throughout his relationship with Mia he has been sleeping with a number of women. Lance loves Mia, and wants to marry her, but at the same time considers marriage to attract more women; this is also very common in a lot of men. The secrets in the novel written by Harper are a representation of that saying “sooner or later the past will catch up with you”. This was one of the lessons that the director intended the audience to receive from this film. Lies and secrets have no color or gender, with that being said everyone one has or have told lies in their lives. However those lies and secrets need to be taken care of before someone gets hurt, and that what the character Harper did not do. Those secrets came to light and the past caught up with him; this is something that could happen to anyone. In most cultures sex is supposed to be considering secrete, but in this particular movie, it was used as revenge, a substitute for loneliness, and for making up. Many people take different cultural aspects and transform it to fit their custom. An act committed by just about every human being in the world. The reason why I chose this movie was because of it is not your typical “black movie” like I said earlier. The director does not display African American males as criminals or women as promiscuous. In fact, he put on view African Americans as successful. Not only successful men, but successful women also. Many of the camera angle shots, where shot in group shots to represent that no one character was superior to the other. They all represent the image of successful African Americans at the same stauncher. The angles present each character speaking at eye level of each other. The director also incorporates all characters as equal in this film. Each role played by the actors had enough depth, so that the audience could choose two or more characters to identify with. Different camera angle shots were shot to help the viewers identify with the characters better. Some of the camera angle shots include: over the shoulder shots to show the point of view of the dialogue taking place in the scene, extreme close ups to show the emotions and expressions of the characters. Lastly, group shots to include all cast to show the love and friendship that they share for one another.
My analysis of Law Abiding Citizen revealed the corruption in our legal system. The movie’s plot describes a frustrated man (Gerard Butler) who decides to take justice into his own hands after a plea bargain sets one of his family's killers free. He targets not only the killer but also the district attorney, Academy Award winner, (Jamie Foxx) and others involved in the deal.
The style of representation was portrayed by a thriller and explored ideologies such as morality and justice. Morality was always at the surface of the film's message because the main character was constantly challenging it with his antics and he justified his behavior with the wrong that was done to him.
Motifs in the form of a bracelet and the phrase "you can't fight fate" were repetitious throughout the film. The bracelet was used to show the innocence of a child's life and how it was brutally taken from her, while the phrase "you can't fight fate" was used to explain the corruption in the film.
An example of denotative and connotative in the film: The denotative meaning of the "contempt of court" scene is the outburst of anger in a courtroom but the connotative perspective exposes the true meaning. It may appear as a simple “contempt of court” scenario but Clyde’s mission was to prove the corruption in the judicial system not only for the movie but in real life as well.
Overall, my analysis allowed me to get a deeper understanding of the film and to examine issues that I had not considered prior to learning these methods. I thought that Law Abiding Citizen was a great movie to dissect because it's relevant to how society works in the real world.
My film the "The Dark Knight" is action thriller about Comic book super hero Batman and his fight against his arch enemy The Joker.
DENOTATIVE:The film is your basic good versus evil dilemma but, it’s more psychological. Where people fighting themselves to not become evil. People have the ability to do bad thing but some choose not to others don’t. It is all a choice. Throughout the whole film, The Joker manipulates people to get them to do evil in order to create chaos and disturb the establishment. Deep down The Joker believes that everyone is truly evil like him and believes if you put people in crazy situations that they would turn on each other and people will so anything to survive.
CONNOTATIVE: Batman is the protector of Gotham City and The Joker is threatening the people of Gotham and it is up to Batman to stop him before there is nothing left to save. While, keeping his identity a secret from the public and making sacrifices that he chooses to make for the city of Gotham.
My overall analysis of this film is 5 out of 5 stars. In my mind it is the perfect movie, it has great acting and depth. A solid story with great action sequences that is easy to follow. While it is a comic book movie it was able to show some real world qualities but still having the ability to stay within its roots of old comic books.
My film "The Change-Up" is a comedy based on two best friends switching lives.
Denotative: Two best friends, one is a business guy, one is not. Both guys pee in a fountain, switch places and adapt to their new bodies until they are able to switch back.
Connotative: Two best friends where one grew up became successful, got married, and has a family, and the other stayed the same college frat guy who never grew up. They both thought each other had it made until they switched and realized things about their selves and once switched back decided to work on and embrace being who they are.
My Analysis: Freaky Friday" meets "The Hangover" in "The Change-Up". The film's final dialogue exchange reveals The Change-Up to be one long setup to a bromance about two straight men coming to terms with their true selves while being forcibly confronted by their fear. High-living bachelor and occasional lorno actor Ryan Reynolds and his longtime best friend, a straight-arrow husband and lawyer played by Jason Bateman, stumble across a wish-granting statue and end up swapping bodies, to frequently lewd, sometimes amusing, but rarely surprising effect. They're good at their specialties—Reynolds's casual jock studliness and Bateman's nervous white-collar introversion—and they're even better at switching into the other guy's body. With Leslie Mann, Olivia Wilde, and Alan Arkin. I gave this movie five stars. Call me corny but I thought the movie was absolutely hilarious. It had comedy, romance, and bromance. I definitely related to this movie. They used angles extremely well as far as luring the viewers in and the actors made you actually forget their characters prior to switching. I feel as if this movie is a must see for movie night.
Towelhead simply is a film meant to make people uncomfortable. Films such as this on that pushes buttons exude the common taboos of the world. Not many films can discuss rape, coming of age, and race all in one film. It is more difficult to do when the target audience for the film ranges from 13+. Over all the film speaks wonders as to what females and first generation children of immigrants have to endure in a country built upon "the American dream."
Awarding winning director Alan Ball debuts the dry-satire independent film, Towelhead, at the 2007 Toronto Film Festival. Opening the world to an awkwardly comedic film, Towelhead (Nothing is Private), embarks on the life of the main character, an Arabian-American teenager who struggles with identity crisis, while battling sexual desires for an African-American boy her age and an older White male, who is her fathers age. “Set in 1990 amidst the First Gulf War, Towelhead tells the coming-of-age story of a 13-year-old Lebanese American girl named Jasira [Summer Bishil).” III. Signified and Signifier a. Signified (mental understanding): In the film, the theme of innocence, being taken advantage off, self-discovery, and rebellion, depict the essence of what a teenager might go through, during the years of self-development. The message that is developed is that coming into adolescent can come with multiple discourses, but the audience understands the message because they too went through the awkward adolescent phase. b. Signifier (Symbol): The awkward scenes that occur between the main characters and everyone in her life, adds to the visual concept of being a teenager can be awkward. The main characters clothes and attitude, assist in the symbolism of the film.
IV. Denotative and Connotative a. Denotative (What we see): The main character of the film is transitioning from no longer being a little kid. She becomes a product of her environment and begins to explore herself through what she sees from the people around her. b. Connotative (How we feel): How a person relates to the film is through what they see, then how they process the visual. Although the film is about an Arabian girl, a young girl or adult could relate to the emotion aspect that is perceived through the film.
I ultimately chose to do my film on "The masque of the red death". This film was originally written by Edgar Allen Poe as a short story, and later published in 1842. Many believe Poe’s influences for writing shocking and horrifying situation short stories came from his early dysfunctional family life. Not only that, he also struggled with poverty, alcoholism, drug abuse, and the tragic loss of his beloved wife Virginia. It is also believed that he writing’s are influenced from his childhood, and tales from Greek and Roman mythology. Then he added his own interpretation to create his stories.
DESCRIPTION The Masque of the Red Death storyline is centered on a disease called Red death that’s threatening a village. Set in medieval Europe. Prince Prospero a corrupt Satanist invites several of the local wealthy to his castle for protection against a plaque (Red Death). Anyone who the Prince suspects of being infected by the plaque, are killed outside the castle walls. The Prince demands everyone to attend a masked ball held at his castle, under one stipulation no one is to wear red. Prospero notices the entry of a puzzling hooded stranger dressed in all red. Immediately he convinces himself that the figure is must be an ambassador from his master Satan. Suddenly the ball is altered into a dense gruesome scene. The figure in red asks the Prince why does he keep calling him “your Excellency”. Realizing the figure is not what he thought him to be the Prospero rips off the red mask, and sees his very own reflection. The figure dressed in red is Death himself. Prospero attempts to run away through the now infected crowd, but his red bloody body is always in front of him. Finally cornered by the figure Prospero is struck down by Red Death.
SEMIOTICS Death is the key concept in this film it’s represented literally, allegorically, in addition to through the use of signs and symbols.
DENOTATIVE MEANING Red Death being thought of as bubonic plaque, or Black Death. Diseases in that era, which had no cure, and killed thousands of people. In addition to that this film assures one that life along with death, humans are powerless and there is no method of dodging the control of death.
CONNOTATIVE The use of color as symbolism can be misrepresented thru cultural assumption. Different colors mean different things to people in other cultures. The color red for example is typically associated with anger, passion, or blood in western society we don’t have trouble seeing the negative connotation of this color, but for someone who share a different belief, like those in India who associate the color red as a symbol of purity, and is usually associated with weddings won’t.
FINDINGS OF THE ANALYSIS Prospero thinks because he has made a pack with Satan and believing that Satan rules the universe and is God and the only God that he will protect him from death because of his loyalty to him. But the red dressed figure informs him that “each person makes their own god, their own heaven, his own hell”. Furious Prospero snatches off the mask off the red dressed figure and sees his own face. Then the red dressed figure states “your hell Prince Prospero and the moment of your death”. Words that terrify Prospero because he now knows no matter what death cannot be escaped.
Signifier,lighting and filters use The first thing we see when the movie starts are shots of out of focus leaves alluding to a dream or something mythological. Not long after we begin to hear Islamic Music followed the prayers of a Man. The camera delivers close shots between the two subjects. One is older and the other a young man. We later find out that the two males are father and son. As the viewers listen to the words of the prayer and keep watching we see the son, Tariq, is leaving for college. The father is concerned that Tariq will stray away from Allah and bring the family shame similar to his mother. There director does a good job of placing the Father behind the moving vehicle as the son drives off as if to say that his dealing with his father are over. As he drives off we see the Karan once again a signifier of his Muslim beliefs and Islamic upbringing. As Tariq Drives off he throws his kufi out the window. The Taqiyah is a signifier. It represents the fact the Tariq is a Muslim; the action of throwing out the window represents his disregard for his religion and his father. As the scene closes we once again see the natural scenery of leaves then a transition into the title sequence. The Title says Mooz-Lum a very wrong and Disrespectful way Americans pronounce the word Muslim. The camera filter transitions to a sepia/black and white film, showing little variation in colors and skin tones. Ironic? No very deliberate. This is the way the Director Qasir shows us the flash back of Tariq. We notice that as a child he didn’t want to wear is kufi and his sister doesn’t where her hijab. This changes as the children become older. By the teacher shows the lack of respect Americans have for other cultures.
Connotative meaning We see a family who is struggling to survive because a lack of communication. We see a Black male who is internally struggling with the past present and future of his life. He is torn between what he knows and what he wants to know. The transition from boy to man is also seen. Denotative meaning Muslim male goes to school trying to establish himself outside of his religion. He begins to indulge in a more “worldly and secular life than he is used too. He is forced to come to grips with his past. Male has trouble adjusting to life outside his religion.
Taylor Scot The Connotative Analysis She has to be content. Showing that she is so uptight the deeper meaning is that it’s okay to have imperfections. Kenya (Sanaa Lathan) battles with acceptance not only wit her family but at her job and with herself. Struggling with acceptance from her friends and family
The Denotative Analysis meaning I took from this movie on a denotative analysis: Is in the end the main character came to realize that, trying new things is what will get you far in life, to step outside the box. With Kenya opening up to new options such as dating the oh so handsome Caucasian man Brian Kelly the blind date, Kenya was skeptical about how she took on a whole new perception of life. It’s okay to have flaws. The use of symbolism is used throughout the entire movie which is Color, it plays the biggest role in this film. Color ties everything together because everything reverts back to color if you look at the deeper meaning of the movie. Not only skin color which is visibly seen in the movie it’s the color of the scenes, the color in lighting, and color shows the moods and how the characters are portrayed in emotion, personalities, and characteristics all by color. In “Something New” the motif shown throughout the movie is Color. Because color was a reoccurring factor in the movie. It basically tied the entire movie together because in each scene there was a meaning behind certain color with a meaning that is hidden. For example in the beginning of the movie showed Kenya the main character as this High Classed African American women who couldn’t step out of her shell. She was very closed-minded and wasn’t open to new options. She wore neutral colors and had the “typical” long black weave. In her mind she had to be perfect in the corporate business world. She allowed no imperfections; therefore she never did anything exciting in life. Brian Kelly being of the opposite color was the total opposite of Kenya. Because he was an architect he saw color as a beautiful piece of art. That is a reason why he wanted to change Kenya. Kenya is an women of color in that Brian saw her as a beautiful piece of art. Changing Kenya’s perception throughout the movie Brian made a major impact on Kenya’s life. And I truly believe opposites attract!
Thesis Why does today’s society still emphasize the fact that women cannot have higher power or have the same opportunities as men in the corporate world? African American women struggle ten times as hard. Is it because of their gender and nationality? The film “Something New” A beautiful LA career woman, Kenya works as senior manager at an accounting firm and is on the verge of moving up to a higher position. But she has yet to find her own partner and a fulfilling personal life. After another Valentine's Day spent working late, she agrees to a blind date with Brian Kelly, free-spirited landscape architect who turns out to be not exactly what she's pictured for herself. Kenya McQueen is a successful African-American, working her way to the top of the corporate world -- but her life has become all work and no play. Urged on by her friends to try something new and to let go of her dream of the "ideal black man," she accepts a blind date with an architectural landscaper named Brian, only to cut the date short upon first sight, because Brian is white. The two meet again at a party, and Kenya hires Brian to landscape her new home. Over time, they hit it off, but Kenya's reservations about the acceptance their romance will find among her friends and family threatens everything. An intelligent romantic comedy that chooses to deal with issues of race and perception in a straight-forward way, from a point of view not often seen: that of a successful, upper-class black woman.
Poetic Justice which was written and directed by John Singleton involves all of the aspects that we have discussed in calls such as various sights of iconic language, various types of lighting, and different shots in the movie that are a grave importance. John Singleton did an awesome job incorporating numerous aspects that people normally do not look for. Many people in the urban community, more so women can relate a lot towards this film dealing the lost of someone in a tragic way has more of an impact to women than men do.
There were various uses of semiotics throughout this film to show the relationship between black culture and the expression of poetry. The man speaking at the African fair was a signifier to show how the races of African- Americans are being portrayed during this time of. John Singleton produced this film a following the infamous LA Riots that made headline news over the United States. The LA Riot were a series of race riots over the Los Angeles metropolitan area that last for six days. This was the result of the brutal beating of California native Rodney King. During these trialing days, the black communities burned down prominent establishments as well as physical attacks towards Los Angeles law enforcement. In the beginning of the movie the camera highlights various shots to show different places of where businesses were that are now destroyed. John Singleton presented these pictures to show the devastation of how prominent racism was during a time where change and growth was the focus.
This film has to be one of the better films written and directed by John Singleton. He takes the concepts of the common man and woman and elaborate on the emotions that people in the black community sometimes tend to feel in various situations. He used great ways of symbolism to incorporate historic events and highlight forms of poetry that represent aspects of a woman’s life.
My analysis on my film was that 4 brothers as a film depicted one thing while meaning something so much more.John Singleton made the audience believe they were brothers through various ways without presenting the obvious; he did this by often including the four men in the same frame. Framing shown in this film presents a sense of unity amongst the brothers. Color coding of their clothing was another way to symbolize synchronicity. Situations that the writer put into this film added to the thematic aspect of brotherly love through repetition of acts that would only be tolerated by brothers or such that relationships.
Cultural code is seen through the whole movie from the way the youth in the neighborhood wore their clothes and the dialect of their language. The Urban Lifestyle presented sets the tone for the movie beca,use it impliments the acts of the characters through sex, violence and drugs. The lower class neighborhood aided to the violence and recommended rough settings to the characters in this film.
The Social Involvement John Singleton made evident was made to be thought of in reality or (if you were walking in their shoes).Four Brothers shows the connection between social justice of the brothers and the audience. The audience is able to connect because God says don’t fight evil with evil but with love but when human nature is ignited everyone would want revenge for their mother’s death, especially if the police are making no efforts to make this a priority case. So with this film it brought the element of social justice to life and even gives hope for it at the end by getting off for all their crimes and being released from the precinct.
Fight Club is a film narrated from a subjective white male protagonist. They never say his name but his character is Edward Norton. He works as a traveling automobile employee his daily white collar life but he suffers form insomnia. His doctor suggests he attend support groups for his insomnia and he becomes addicted to them and turns into an imposter going to groups for testicluar cancer, brain cancer, etc. Here he finds a little emotional release pretending to be a victim and feeding off their emotions. His insomnia leads to creating an alter ego, Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt) that he lives through basically doing everything he wouldn't normally do like starting a fight club in a local bar basement. These fight clubs spread and turn into an organization called “project mayhem”. The master plan for this "Terrorist" group is to blow up credit card company buildings simultaneously in the city to erase debt and basically the order of society. The main character realizes he is Tyler Durden when he goes out of town and a project mayhem member calls him Tyler. They are two dissociated personalities in the same body.
At the time the movie was released critics shunned it off as a basic film relying too much on the "everyday man versus society order" theme. They labeled it a dud but youth everywhere took liking to the movie and attempted to recreate these "fight clubs" and "project mayhem" nationwide. This film using a lot of quick shots and frantic non diagetic music to show the chaos in the mind of the narrator. All of the scenes have really dark lighting with low saturation setting up a bland, dark, and gloomy environment. It was mostly filmed at night and daytime shots are in the shadows. In the beginning of the film if you pay close attention you will notice this Tyler Durden character passes by the narrator while he is in the airport. We don't know if this is in his mind or if he saw this man for real and emulated his existence as an alter ego, but we notice him.
Even though this has always been on elf my favorite movies I have never researched and analyzed it like I did for this class. I found out a few things that increased my love for the movie- like I watched behind the scenes footage.
Introduction There have been many great movies over time. Movies themselves are, in many ways, time capsules. They are like a window that gives a sneak peak into how people thought, behaved, and treated each other in the time that the movie was produced. A great movie opens challenges our opinions, blurs the line between fantasy and reality, and ignites our imaginations. Movies can also be an outlet in bad times. No movie does this better than The Sting, starring Robert Redford and Paul Newman. The Sting was released in 1973 amid the Watergate Crisis, Vietnam, rising gas prices, and a downward spiraling economy. How did The Sting provide an escape? It told a simple story in the middle of the worst economic period in United States history: The Great Depression. The two time periods, even though not quite identical, were similar and The Sting told a story of how far some people would go to survive and be loyal to one another. By doing so The Sting sent a simple message: Tough times never last, but tough people do.
Setting The setting is just as important as the plot itself. The story is set in Depression Era Chicago (1936). Times are tough and people barely have any money. This setting is the only time and place in which this movie could work. It is Depression Era Chicago. It is also during Prohibition times. At the time it was illegal to sell alcohol. However, everybody still drank. So, in a sense, because of tough economic times and people needing something to cope with, crime was more tolerated. Our setting allows the main villain, Lonnegan, to be able to pay off police officers and federal agents to let him carry out his various hustles. Without the setting, this movie would be largely fictional and untrue.
Music The music in this movie is almost like another character. It is from the ragtime era of the early 1900s (for example, Scott Joplin’s The Entertainer). Also, the music provides some kind of irony to a degree in the sense that it is from a happy prosperous time, whereas the movie is set in Depression Era United States. Because the music is upbeat and “happier” it gives the movie a lighter tone. We know that hard times have hit but from the tone that the movie sets audiences don’t get the feel of tough times. My favorite song in the movie is Scott Joplin’s Solace. It comes at a critical point in the movie where Hooker has just been captured by the FBI (we don’t know that they are on the good guys side yet), spoken with Gondorff, and shown up to Selino’s door. At the time, we are under the impression that the game is up and that, at the very least, Gondorff will be going to jail. The song (Solace) builds the tension nicely. It starts off slowly with only a couple chords and builds up to a nice bravado, just like the tension and suspense of the movie.
The film “For Colored Girls” is an adaptation of a choreopoem written in 1974 by Ms. Ntozake Shange called “For Colored Girls who have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf”. A choreopoem is not to be confused with a play because the whole piece is a collection of poems and not written in a typical play form. Not only is it not written in typical play form but there is also choreography which adds to the piece. The original choreopoem written by Ntozake Shange has a total of 7 characters. The characters do not have a real name but are women and identified by a color. The characters are lady in yellow, lady in blue, lady in green, lady in orange, lady in brown, lady in purple, and lady in green. In the film version by Mr. Tyler Perry he added a character of lady in white and a a couple of “colorless” women. All of the characters are a representation of an example of an African American woman or her emotions at one point and time in her life. The story progresses from childhood to adulthood in the life of an African American woman.
Signifier and Signified: The women are identified by their colors so their colors add to their character. The most significant of the signifier and signified is in Lady in Red’s office scene. In the office scene Lady in Red does not have on red clothing at all but different elements in her office lets you know that she is such as the apples and roses on her desk. Her portfolio and her coffee mug are red. Also if you look very closely the writing in her magazine spreads are read. Her lips and nails are faintly red but her entire office accept for those red accessories is in black and white to make the colors pop out at the audience.
In the film "Miracle at St. Anna," it is a movie based on a story of four courageous African-American soldiers during world war II. World renowned film-maker Spike Lee, directed the film in 2008, from a novel with the same title, written by James McBride. Throughout the film, the setting switches back and forth from 1944 in Italy to 1983 in Harlem, New York. This story demonstrates courage, revenge, betrayal, refuge and heroism.
The connotation in the film from the title and storyline is that miracles are the short things in life. Although miracles are common, they don't happen too often. The denotation in the film was when one of the main characters, Hector Negron was released from jail for a murder charge. Little does he know, he was bailed out of jail from the young boy accompanying them during their stay in Italy, who is now a millionaire from his inventions. Hector was also reunited by the statue head that was confiscated from his home when he was arrested.
My overall evalutation of the film was positive criticism of the adaptation of the film. It was a courageous story and received very little recognition of how great this movie turned out. I feel as if this film was underestimated from the line of actors, which did the movie justice. This was a great film explaining the buffalo soldier's story of the World War II.
The movie I chose was the newly award winning movie Django Unchained. Written and directed by Quentin Tarintino. As soon as I saw this movie at the movie theaters I knew it would be a favorite of mine. The reason I chose this film because it involves all of the aspects that we have discussed in calls such as various sights of iconic language, various types of lighting, and different shots in the movie that are a grave importance.
The movie I chose was the newly award winning movie Django Unchained. Written and directed by Quentin Tarintino. As soon as I saw this movie at the movie theaters I knew it would be a favorite of mine. The reason I chose this film because it involves all of the aspects that we have discussed in calls such as various sights of iconic language, various types of lighting, and different shots in the movie that are a grave importance.
When Quentin Tarantino is lurking, no genre is safe. After checking crime, kung fu, grind house and war movies off his list. Quentin Tarantino turns his sights on westerns with Django Unchained. Funny, action-packed and highly entertaining, Django Unchained may not be Tarantino's deepest of films but it is his most accessible.
The movie I chose was Hangover. The movie is about a group of friends who are taking a road trip they will never forget. Now they have to remember what happened. Their is a baby in the closet, tiger in the bathroom, Stu is missing a tooth and Doug is missing. The movie is field with mysteries and with every mystery solved it gives them a lead to the next mystery with hopes of finding Doug.
This movie is filled with good laughs. It gives you the idea of living free at times. We all have a little rebel in us and this movie shows that. The car was played as the major signified object and it highlighted brought out great connotative meaning of whjat happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.
My analysis was on the film Inception. It breaks down the language of the film to explain my final understandings of the film. The camera angles and lighting were used to make the viewer feel that they were in the dream with the cast. The music was used as a motif to signify when the "kick" was coming to wake the dreamers into the previous dream layer. This allowed the music to be both diegetic (in the layer it came from) to non-diegetic (in the layers below.) The connotative meaning in the film is that Cobb feels guilty for his wife's death. In order to understand the denotative meaning, the audience must decide on what is really going on in the film.
My final breakdown of the film, led me to believe that the whole film is actually Cobb's dream and that he was never awake during the movie, despite the main signifier (a spinning top) revealing to Cobb that he is indeed awake. The theory I developed is that Cobb's subconscious control the top within the dream to maintain the idea that he is in reality instead of creating his own. Because of this perpetual dream state, Cobb can never resolve his own issues about Mal's (his wife) death. All of this can be summarized to explain my analysis that the films denotative meaning is that in order to change reality, you must first accept reality.
The film I choose to analyze was Law Abiding Citizen. This Film really spoke out to me on many ways but it caught my attention, by the message it was giving throughout the movie using semiotics. Throughout the film you notice how all the characters are wearing very dark colors such as browns , blacks , and grays. The film was filmed in the winter and the editor also use a very cold filter throughout the film which really helped the whole feel of the film, which was a cold blood thriller movie.
The signifier in the movie was the " DADDY" bracelet that was given to Clyde Shelton by his daughter on the night of her death. This bracelet has both a denotative and connotative meaning. The denotative meaning of the bracelet is basically a keep sake for Clyde to remember his daughter and his wife. The connotative meaning of he bracelet is that it is motivation for Clyde to kill people that had anything to do with the trial of his family's slayers.
My final interpretation of Law Abiding Citizen is that the Justice system is nothing more than a game of chess between Clyde Shelton and NIck Rice. The film shows how both characters portray good guys and bad guys and how the writer leaves up to the characters to which one they want to be at the time.
I chose the movie Belly directed by Hype Williams and is basically about the story of two gangsters who get their money the fast way but go through many problems as they try to get their money.Tommy Brown and his friend Sincere are gangsters who have learned how to make a good living by dealing drugs and pulling armed robberies. Tommy and Sincere have been able to move out of the ghetto in Queens where they were raised and relocate to an upscale section of Manhattan; they would seem to have it made, but both realize that their lives are headed toward a dead end. Sincere begins getting in touch with his African roots and tries to convince his girlfriend Tionne that they should emigrate to the Motherland, while Tommy has a religious awakening and joins the Nation of Islam.The movie belly shows me that people will do anything for money and a better living even if it means takin what's not theirs. The term Belly seems to mean the belly of the beast, risking your life for money , always hungry tryin to feed your belly.
Lighting This blue light helps clue the audience in to things that go on in the characters' minds that actually differ from reality. The lighting in this movie is very effective. It helps to establish the characters very well.
The movie belly shows me that people will do anything for money and a better living even if it means takin what's not theirs. The term Belly seems to mean the belly of the beast, risking your life for money , always hungry tryin to feed your belly.
The movie I chose was The Color Purple. My analysis of this movie is of course the use of strong social codes in color and what they wore told a story beyond its denotative meaning. The colors, especially purple represents all the good thing in the world. At the beginning you could say that Celie has no sense of the color purple. She has such a horrible life and she just getting by with life. After meeting Shug Avery and learning the true concept of life Celie finally finds her purple and learns to love life. This film is showing that anybody’s situation, especially women, can change when women band together and support each other.
The movie i choose was Crash. Director Paul Haggis purposely made this film about race and everyday stereotypes to make his audience think about symbolism in the movie and how they can relate to a moment like that in their own life's. And until we as a society can take the time to understand the roots of discrimination and take a good look at our own thought patterns, we'll never move forward.
The movie that I've chosen is Shottas. Shottas was released in 2002 by Triumph and Destination Films but wasn't released in United States until 2006. Shottas is a gangster film written and directed by Cess Silvera. The film is about two young boys growing up in a rough area of Kingston, Jamaica. As younger boys, Biggs and Wayne robs a soda truck then shoots the driver. They used the money to purchase a visas to continue hustling and criminal activities in United States. The plot of the film is very realistic and well structured. The main characters are raised in a extremely violent area in Jamaica. They've seen people murdered and robbed on a daily basis. Themes in the movie includes, violence, revenge,and drama. Shottas involves race, social class, and culture to provide a sense of reality. Characters in this film are people that we would despise in real-life. Shottas goes into depth of scandalous scenes of seduction, illegal distribution of cocaine, extortion, and glorification of the gangster lifestyle. The overall acting was good which made each character believable. The film is subtitled because of the misunderstanding of some words of the Jamaican accent. After watching this movie over and over, I realize that it's very similar to Scarface. The denotative meaning of Shottas is derived from Jamaican origin meaning thug, gangster, or a man not to be messed with.
The Movie I will be analyzing is:The Nutty Professor. The Nutty Professor is a 1996 science fiction romantic comedy film starring Eddie Murphy. It is a remake of the 1963 film of the same name, which starred Jerry Lewis. Murphy portrays a university professor, Sherman Klump, who is morbidly obese. A research scientist, academic, and lecturer, Klump develops a experimental, weight-loss formula, and, hoping to win the affection of the girl of his dreams, tests it upon himself. Like the original film's Julius Kelp, Klump's trim, stylish, but arrogant alter ego also takes the name "Buddy Love”. The plot begins at Wellman College; thousands of hamsters overrun the entire campus, causing general chaos. This is due to professor Sherman Klump who accidentally releases them by grazing the switch that opens the hamster's cages the night before he left the university laboratory. Meanwhile, Sherman has constructed an experimental formula that reconstructs the DNA of an obese person in a way that allows them to lose weight more easily. After his chemistry class, Sherman meets and instantly falls in love with Carla Purty ,a chemistry graduate student who is a big fan of his work. After dinner with his obese, impolite family, Sherman asks Carla out on a date, which she accepts, much to Sherman's pleasant surprise. At the date, it begins well with Carla showing admiration for Sherman's work, but the club's wicked comic Reggie Warrington heckles him about his obesity in front of the entire nightclub. This causes Sherman to fall into depressed manner. He then has a nightmare in which he becomes a giant and wrecks the city with just a single fart, which is then accidentally lit on fire. He tests the serum on himself and loses 300 pounds in seconds. Sherman is transformed into the slim, trim, and handsome Buddy Love; however, the drug also boosts his testosterone level, turning the likable Sherman into the arrogant, skirt-chasing Buddy. The movie shows the result of cheating to gain success and happiness.In order to gain true happiness you must be yourself.
The movie that I chose to do my film analysis on is Cloud Atlas. Cloud Atlas is a wonderful yet confusing movie. It has 6 different stories that are put into one major movie and they are all connected in some way. The main focus of this movie is reincarnation and it focuses on how the deeds and crimes committed can effect the future.
Amber Maddox: For my film analysis I chose to do Crash. Crash is a hyperlink movie that was created in 2005 by Paul Haggis. It a movie about 12 main characters who are subjected to racism, racial profiling, and stereotypes.it also shines light on issues of a race and gender that eventually cause these characters to collide physically and emotionally. Eventually throughout the movie these characters live intersect hence the name Crash. . Detective Graham(Don Cheadle) works for the LAPD whose brother is a criminal. Det. Graham is disappointed by the fact his brother is adored more by his mother than him; who is successful. Ria (Jennifer Esposito) Graham’s partner and girlfriend is beginning to feel the emotional distance, as well as his occasional insensitivity over the face that he is black and she is Hispanic.
Rick Cabot played by actor (Brendan Fraser) is an L.A. district attorney whose wife, Jean played by (Sandra Bullock), makes it known of her fear and hatred of people that aren’t just like her. Jean's fear about people of color are confirmed when her SUV is carjacked by two African-American men -- Anthony played by rapper and actor (Chris Bridges, aka Ludacris). Anthony, dislikes white people as much as Jean hates blacks, and Peter (Larenz Tate), who is more open minded than Anthony. Cameron (Terrence Howard) is an African-American television producer with a beautiful wife, Christine (Thandie Newton). When coming home from a party, Cameron and Christine are pulled over by Officer Ryan (Matt Dillon), who subjects them to a unfair interrogation and her to an inappropriate search while his new partner, Officer Hansen (Ryan Phillippe), looks on.
Daniel (Michael Pena) is a hard-working locksmith and father who discovers that his looks lead many of his customers to not trust him. Farhad (Shaun Toub) a Middle Eastern shopkeeper is constantly threatened in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. He then decides he needs a gun to protect his family. . There were many connotative meanings and dennotative meanings throughout the film. Two of theses symbols stood out the most throughout the movie. One dennotative meaning would be the time of year. During the film it was Christmas time which is supposed to be a time of love, cheerfulness, joy, and celebration of the Birth of Christ however the connotative meaning of Christmas is shown. It is the complete opposite of joyous and cheerful. Many people are angry, saddened, and tormented which gives Christmas a whole new meaning.
Another symbol that had a denotative and connotative meaning was the St. Christopher statue. The statue is represented a good luck charm for travel. St. Christopher is known as the patron of safe travels. In the movie actor Larenz Tate who plays Peter keeps the statue in his pocket and places it on the dashboard of every car stolen by him and his partner Anthony. The two have everything but the meaning of the statue things seem to go terribly wrong whenever he places the statue on the dashboard. He and Anthony lose their car, almost get arrested, shot, and in the end Peter dies. The statue is the connotative because the things that happen to them on their travels from place to place isn't safe something bad always happen.This film shows its audience about the things that we tend to do without realizing it. It also educated the audience of things that need to be changed in order to progress and stop ignorance.
The symbols and/or connotations distributed are the significance of time i.e. “the clock”. In the very beginning, time was accessed first by the man that created the analog clock to perform backwards on purpose based on a personal situation in wanting to bring his son back that died in the war. The clock was then taken down and replaced with a digital clock accessing the technological change. In this new age and current use of time, digital reflects what instruments we use and what changes are relevant in today’s society.
The denotative value related to this film is that in the beginning of the story time was backwards when he was born and as time progressed the “clock” changed indicating that Benjamin changed as well. The significance of time was present through the entire film showing that time is very important and it should be used wisely. Most important, a person should take advantage of every moment and live it to the fullest. The popular phrase, “Time will wait for no one” is interesting because even Benjamin could not halt the moving of time as he aged backwards. Through each and every circumstance that Benjamin faced he was motivated by Queenie and Daisy who he loved very much. Through the passage of time Benjamin was able to genuinely live, learn and love through the journeys and the people that surrounded him.
My overall interpretation of the film is that it features an amazing and unique story line that has never been heard before. I was in awe that people do exist with this rare form of disease and I cannot imagine what it would be like to know of a person that experiences these things on a daily basis. I was eager and intrigued to visualize the life from Benjamin’s point of view through the various camera angles and various filming techniques. I was able to see the affects of Leukodystrophy through the effects used with natural lighting in the movie. The symbolic mechanism of the clock and the reversal of a time was an important element in the movie as well. The movie had me constantly engaged in the storyline, the characters, and the mystery of what would happen next.
The interpretation of the analysis of this movie and the evaluation of the movies is concluded in that the movie extends beyond anyone’s imagination to think of a scenario that would take the viewer on Benjamin Button’s journey in life while struggling to cope with the disease he was stricken with at birth. It shows how Benjamin transitions in life with his disease. Even with love, he lives and for a brief moment in time, becomes a man. The social issue is how Benjamin was able to cope and how society treated him. With his disease, Benjamin had both positive and negative experiences. Society treated him as a child with Special needs and in some cases avoided him.
Happy Feet is the type of movie that will have you dancing and leave you with joy in your heart. This movie highlights on how America is so focus upon everyone meeting the status quo, from the cloths to the different hairstyles. America has set up a system to where if you are not doing things like everyone else, its wrong or you are frowned upon, this was the case with Mambo . He could not sing like everybody else, so he was look as a weirdo but in all actually he had gift that no other penguin had. I feel they secretly admired him but didn’t understand him at the same time. Also highlighting another purposes not judging a book by its cover. The voices were one of the first denotative symbols I caught. All of the voices represented a different cultural background but the main character proves no matter what cultural background you come from; what you think is a flaw is really a talent in another place. The denotative and the connotative symbols are double accomplishments because this is something humans can see from two points of views. The overall meaning of the plastic soda ring choking the penguin was to show how detrimental littering in the ocean can be and how we should keep the environment liter and pollution free There are humans in some scenes that give their reaction to the littering and pollution, and the movie shows how they feel in this situation and the same with the penguins. From the humans point of view we can inference that humans are aware of this but some really don’t take it serious. On the penguins point we , we can conclude since the animals were actually talking and going through the situations of being choked by the plastic ring, that they don’t like littering and humans need to stop because it harming them.
It all start’s when main character Craig gets fired on his day off reason being his job claim they witness him on surveillance stealing boxes. So he spends the day hanging out with his buddy Smokey and trying to avoid his father, who wants him to find another job immediately. Smokey, a small time drug dealer has even more problems after smoking $200 worth of marijuana that was given by big worm; and if he can't come up with the money by the end of the day, he'll be in a world of hurt not to mention since Craig was brought into the situation so he is forced to help friend Smokey. Deebo , a oversize bully who roams the neighborhood on his bicycle, has it in for Craig, while Craig tries his best just to stay out of his way. Craig also has girlfriend issues from being accused of being at a club to trying to move on to his sisters friend Debbie. Craig also have to chose between hiding behind a gun or fighting like a man. Remind you these obstacles are all overcome on the day of Friday
Denotative Shoes on the electric line indicate that there in a low income area where neighbors only care about the interior of their homes. The Non-Diegetic music by the Isley Brother’s ‘’Try to see another day and make a better way” also explains the neighborhood. As the camera B- roll’s into Craigs room and the narrator starts to speak in a manly voice, it is clear that Craig is the man character. The bible held by the older ladies in scene one, shows that they were going door to door to preach about a certain religion. Connotative As I mention the older ladies in the first scene in the Denotative example When she first approach Craig she asked “ Are you prepared for Jehovah’s return” but after Craig slams the door in there face the lady replied “ Well Fuck You Half dead MoFo” This is shows how religion can be sort of hypercritical. The list of food such as Chicken, pig feet, collard greens, and hog mogs are what majority of the African Americans eat as a remembrance of their African decedents. The Word of today is JOB J-O-B this was said out of Willie’s mouth after he finds out Craig gets fired. This is quite common when you’re a young adult in the African American society you either get a job or go into the force. Teaching independence Craig’s girlfriend Joi has long 3inch nails and long big braids with short jean shorts and a strip colorful crop short indicates that she is what is GHETTO. Was the Digetic music 2 live crew-Hoochie mama was played everytime she was viewed clearly that was one of her favorite song during that decade and it also described her character. From what Lastly, I feel that this movie has taught me that we as African Americans have to better ourselves and stick together. Ladies should watch this movie and want to be more classy and man to be more wise and serious about education and working and also anti- violence.
Semiotics when Bishop (Tupac Shakur) gets his hands on a gun and decides the four of them should stick up the corner store. There is a sense in which the existence of the gun leads to the necessity of using it; without the cheap handgun, there would be no crime, and lives would be saved. Q doesn’t want anything to do with the stickup; his mind is focused on a DJ contest at a local club. But Bishop has the stronger personality, and badgers them all into coming along.
My interpetation of Juice No doubt, to me the most obvious theme in the film was the concept of fear versus respect. Most of us desire to be respected, but few know how to achieve it without imposing fear. And respect is very different from fear. Each character in the film struggled with the concept of respect; Q in his music, Bishop in the streets and Steel in his crew. The only character that seemed well respected in various circles was Raheem. Unfortunately, it was this very respect and Bishop’ led to his demise.
The Strangers directed by Bryan Bertino was released under Rogue Pictures, Universal Studios in 2008, the film was rated R for violence/ terror and language. The movie starred Liv Tyler who played Kristen McKay, Scott Speedman who played James Hoyt, Gemma Ward who played a masked stranger, Kip Weeks who played a masked stranger, Laura Margolis who played a masked stranger and Glenn Howerton who played Mike, James brother. Coming from a wedding reception, Kristen McKay and James Hoyt return to their remote vacation home in the middle of nowhere, at 4 am they receive a soft mellow knock on the door from a mysterious "stranger". Now James and Kristen find themselves being terrorized by three masked assailants who have broken into the home and have damaged all rescue plans they could think of. This movie brought a different element and feel to horror, The director made it so you felt like you were in the house fighting for survival yourself.
Something denotative would be the house and it's antique artifacts an decorative items in the house. It shows that the house is a old home which James and his brother Mike were raised in. Another denotative item would be the old style record player that kept getting bumped on whenever there was action going on in the film.
Connotative would be the orgin of the house and it's relevance to James past, in the film the saying kept coming up from the "strangers" "Is Tamara home", who is Tamara? Could it be someone from James past, seeing that it is his childhood home who would be asking him and his girlfriend that? Also another saying is when the "strangers were about to kill James and his Kristen, she screams and ask "why are you doing this", then one of the strangers says "Because your home". There are a lot of unanswered questions in this film, which makes you wonder and question will there be a sequel to answer the questions that left you scratching your head at the first film.
Honestly, the theme that was obvious to me in my movie, The Other Guys, was that those you overlook can one day become those you look up towards. Mark Wahlberg and Will Ferrell portrayed their characters perfectly down to the letter. What I also love about the movie from it's gut-busting comedy and over-the top action was that the plot was deeper than it should've been for an action-comedy in terms of it being about a Ponzi Scheme. The connotative meanings were slipped in perfectly from references to TLC songs to the terms "Yankee Clipper" and "Paper B@#ch". denotative meanings that were my favorite were the cars Will drove in the beginning and end of the film, being a red Prius to a red Mustang. Semiotics wise, one example would be the usage of the explosion of an accounting office that Mark and Will's characters took as a warning to stay away. Laslty, i loved the movie I did because Mark and Will's characters displayed skills and secrets about their past that make the audience understand the meaning of not judging a book by it's cover.
My analysis of the film White House Down made it clear to me that the director wanted to show us just how powerful our Country is. Each scene had distinct symbols in them with different connotative and denotative meanings. The many signifiers of the invasion scenes showed the intensity of the terrorists hatred of the great White House. One example of a good signifier was when the terrorist first set the bomb off in the White House. The movie was silent as Cale was creeping through the hallway and all we heard were destroyed lights flickering on and off. This created an intense effect for the whole scene. Overall White House down was a very action-packet movie that i feel can make anyone feel patriotism for the United States Of America. Every important object in the scene represented something else , for example at the end when Emily was waving the flag to let the bombers know the White House was safe we can also look at that scene by saying the flag represented Patriotism . I would recommend watching this film it was very engaging and interesting all the way through.
The theme in V for Vendetta isn't one hundred percent clear to me but many assumptions of what the theme can be made. For one, the beliefs and ideals of freedom and equality are a prevalent throughout the movie as society transforms from being a fascist regime to total anarchy. The film also uses different levels of symbolism. Each symbol has both connotative and denotative meanings to which you see a symbol and understand it for what it is, but look for a deeper meaning. The first symbol brought up in the film is the blowing up of the Old Bailey. A building is a symbol. As the act of destroying it. Symbols are given power by people. A symbol, in and of itself is powerless, but with enough people behind it, blowing up a building can change the world. Another symbol is V’s name. His name symbolizes lots of images, ideals and things throughout the movie. The cell that V was prisoner in had the Roman numeral five. He proclaims himself a variable for a cause, a villain, and long list of fifty words starting with the letter V that describe his mission in life. The letter V also stands for Valerie, V’s next-door cellmate who saved his humanity by writing to him when they were both incarcerated. In his open speech to Evey, V sums up his own political theory using fifty words beginning with the letter V. We also later see that V’s motto is the Latin phrase from Faust, “Vi Veri Verdiversum Vivus Vici,” by the power of truth, I, while living, have conquered the Universe. Another symbol being used is the Scarlet Carson Rose. V leaves this rose on all his victims after he’s killed them. The color red of the rose may also symbolize violence and blood, which represent all the killings and blood shed in the movie, but re can also symbolize love and passion. Which is what we see at the very end with the relationship between Evey and V. The last symbol being talked about is the rain. It doesn’t rain but a few throughout the movie, but each time it does rain it happens after one of the characters has undergone serious traumatic experience that they overcome. We can see the rain as a symbol of rebirth. This happens after Evey is captured by the “Fingermen” during a raid. Evey is tortured to the point of becoming emotionless and fearless. During her interrogations, she is asked about the whereabouts of V. She responds she’d rather die than to reveal anything to them. After this astonishing act of bravery Evey is released from her captivity.
My analysis of the film Carlito's Way allowed me to understand a true sense of loyalty. I also believe that is what the director and producer were trying to deliver. Throughout the film multiple editing techniques along with the dialog and actions of characters provided evidence of this theme. In a scene with Carlito and his lawyer/ best friend David Kleinfeld; David asks for a favor of Carlito. Carlito replies with "favor will kill you faster than a bullet" and ironically Carlito dies at the end of the film because of actions dealing from his friends favor. Other items in the film also deliver meaning to the theme of loyalty. The denotative and connotative meanings of the city and the actions of characters. Denotative meanings were found in the city as it was the time of the 1970s in Harlem; crime, drugs, and clubs alongside the mobs ruled the area. The denotative meaning of the film itself as a crime drama was evident. Connotative meanings came from some of the props, such as the red car that Carlito's cousin drove. It had a meaning that signified his personality as young and eager. The club and the color red were signifiers to events that took place involving trouble or disloyal situations. An example is a scene with Saso telling Carlito that Pachanga is betraying him. In the background Pachanga's silhouette is shown over a red backlight and the scene takes place in the club.
My overall interpretation of the film Crooklyn, directed by: Spike Lee is for one Crooklyn is a highly under-rated film and the one Spike Lee film that really has heart and warmth. I think he wanted this film to speak volumes especially at the time it came out, during a negative and immense change within the African American community. All the films at that time were portraying African Americans as gang bangers and violent people.
I also learned that if the community were to become more involved with its children there wouldn’t be so much chaos going on, like it is now for example there's a scene in the film where the main character and a friend goes into a convienent store to shoplift, the friend gets away but the main character is caught, but instead of the manager calling the police he gave the main character a scary,stern, but yet compassionate lecture which in results I believe would keep her from ever shoplifting again. Once again Spike Lee shows an example of how the community looks out for one another, as for today im afraid that the main character wouldnt have a chance, law enforcement would have been involved.
In the movie, I belive Spike Lee has a disorienting view of the south (the blandness, sameness and mundaneness) which I believe is to be the Denotative and connotative meaning in the film. A scene where the main character goes down south to visit her cousin the cinematography of the movie changes, which overall changes the feel of the film. It’s evident that Spike Lee’s views of the south are very negative. Everything from the way you dress, to how you wear your hair is being judged. Good manners are expected as well as having the proper nightgown and a neatly brushed new hairstyle for the main character. I noticed when the shots of main character and her mother are exchanged, her mother being in Brooklyn while she's in Virgina, the main character is set against a bland backdrop that is dull and lifeless, while her mother's shots are full of color and provide depth, giving the feeling of a vibrant environment, full of life. In addition, I noticed the neighborhood in the south as opposed to the north. There are no kids playing outside, you only see the two little girls playing with each other. They use the tree as a stand in for the jump rope, neighbors aren't communicating with one another, and there is no culture (music, diversity, art). Whereas in the city it seems like things are allowed to take their course.
Another message I got was that back in the day, (70s’) era, kids were allowed to be kids, they stayed outside playing games interacting with one another, as well as the neighbors. Today especially with new technology kids are rarely outside, most people don’t even know their neighbors, let alone even know what they look like, it’s definitely a change in era, and I feel Spike Lee created this film not only to send a message, but to also reminisce on his childhood growing up being a kid.
Kurt Wimmer, a well-rounded writer, decided to craft a screenplay that would tap into the minds of an audience, especially the citizens of the United States of America. Law Abiding Citizen is a captivating movie that allows observers to paint a picture of the United States’ Department of Justice. It provides a deeper and more intimate look into the lives of those who enforce the law, defend the law, and are victimized by the misuse of the law. The mission of the Department of Justice states that it will enforce the law of the United States, seek just punishment for those guilty of unlawful behavior, and endure fair and impartial administration. Contrary to the mission statement, this screenplay illustrates a faulty system of justice that will go to any measure to “win” a case rather than to seek full and total justice. As for the interpretation of this film as a whole, the denotative conclusion is that even though there is a system that seeks justice, the final say-so may not be the correct form of justice. In this film you see a judge, district attorney, and different staff of the United States Justice Department plea and bargain with criminals. They even let a guilty criminal free (Clarence Darby) because of his cooperation and persuasion. The truth stood right there in their face and they decided to go after “some” justice versus full justice. Citizens of the United States of America who watch this film can compare and contrast certain cases from history to this fictional case and tie in some relative truths from the film. Does the justice system work to obtain full justice under the law or are they more worried about “winning”. How often are criminals given ultimatums and opportunities to walk free from things they should be incarcerated for? The mise-en-scene along with the diegetic and non-diegetic sounds and visual effects allows the audience to connect deeper and ask themselves these types of questions. There is always a glitch in any system. The law of the United States has it’s loopholes that ever-so-often get exposed and even overlooked. Law Abiding Citizen shows that even though you have justice system with people in place that say they will protect you, look after your rights as a person, and provide justice for you, you can never depend on that. You have to play the game to get results the results that you want. Bargaining with a criminal and manipulating certain actions will only get you a tainted view of justice that ultimately satisfies no one. The connotative meaning behind Law Abiding Citizen is that you have to let go of your past and move forward with forgiveness in order to live a fulfilling and peaceful life. When you hold on to anger and rage you end up destroying your life and those lives around you. Clyde is an example of this because at the end after he has killed off all of the workers of the case, he sets himself and the jailhouse on fire. He never recovered from his loss of his family and his actions only gave him momentary satisfaction that came to an end.
My interpretation of the film consists of three points. The first point is focused on the torn mindsets between the older and younger Joe. Both of these characters were swayed by the love interests of the women they had encountered sexually. The first encounter was with younger Joe and his mistress at the local strip club whose only goal was to travel back to France to live her life with Joe. The second encounter involved the older Joe. After he closed his loop for the first time he saw the life he could live with his wife in China. The third and final encounter was with younger Joe and Sara. The younger Joe only wanted to have his life back and get rid of his loop to save his life. This came to a halt when the younger Joe had to kill himself in order for the future Reign Maker also known as Cid to live. My second point is derived from what is considered to be a thrilling mob story. Through my interpretation of the film, Looper is considered to be a mob story that takes place in two time periods. This comes from a combination of connotative meanings/paradigms I collected while watching this film. The first part of this mob story starts with the loopers. These individuals are hired by a man sent from the future to live in the past to take care of the dirty work that has no way of reappearing in the future. Next some of these loopers also had a TK mutation. This means that a certain part of the human brain was more advanced and it was shown through denotative meanings by some individuals being given the ability to levitate different referents such as small coins, although this ability was stronger in others. One example would be the Reign Maker due to the fact that at such a young age, Cid was already inventing communication technology as well as possessing the ability to levitate people, cars and other large objects when frightened. This gave way to others knowing that Cid may have had a hand in designing the time machine that is now outlawed.
My third point can also be evaluated with the film. The third point I have is taking a chance on history not repeating itself. The younger Joe took his life in the film only in hopes to save the future of Sara who was defending Cid from the older Bruce. Earlier in the film it was stated that the Reign Maker was only created due to the fact that he was not strong enough to protect his mother. Which brings me to a question for society: There are various conceptions about history repeating itself and time travel being made possible in one day in the future; “What consequences would time travel have in the hands of any being on earth”? What issues could possibly arise from this invention? The answer is quite in my opinion simple; if any being on earth got their hands on time travel technology then the world would be rewritten as a utopia specifically for that individuals use. Whether it is for war, world peace, world domination, time travel should not be made available for anyone due to the fact that the consequences would be too severe for our society.
My critical analysis is on the film Transformer: Dark of the Moon which is the third film in the Transformers series. in this film, I discovered that Transformers: Dark of the Moon is a movie that symbolizes how war can affect society both positively and negatively. The movie uses techniques such as semiotics to convey this message. The purpose of this movie is relevant to society because the United States has had several wars in its history however recently the idea of war has been dividing the country. . The movie is based on the original Marvel comics as well as 1980’s television series that followed. The series centered around the ongoing war between the a race of alien robots from the planet Cybertron called Transformers. In search of supplies for the war the Transformers crash land on Earth where they take the shape of modern day cars. In this movie, Sam Witwhicky, a teenage boy who buys a cheap car that turns out to be a Transformer and member of the Cybertronian race The Autobots. The Autobots (led by Optimus Prime) are fighting to take down the evil Decepticons. The Autobots stay on Earth and help protect the humans from Decepticon attacks. With the help of Sam his friends and the U.S. Army, the Autobots defeat the Decepticons time and time again. In the movie, we learn of a Cybertronian spacecraft called “The Ark” that was discovered on the moon in 1961 by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, however all research on the subject was shut down. In the present-day, Optimus Prime as well as Sam receive news of the ship and begin to do their own research. They find that the Decepticons are trying to use Sentinel Prime (a former Autobot) to activate the device and take control of the planet but are unable to stop it. Sentinel Prime made a deal with Megatron to gain control of the device and the Decpticons cause mass destruction. The first scene explains the Cybertronian civil war between the heroic Autobots who are fighting for justice and the evil Decepticons who are fighting for tyranny. War is perhaps one of this films biggest symbols. War is defined as a conflict carried on by force of arms, as between nations or between parties within a nation; warfare, as by land, sea, or air. In Transformer: Dark of the Moon, war is used as a symbol that signifies unity as well as persistence. When the Decpticons attack Earth, the U.S. army, government, and the Transformers all work together to fight for justice for all life forms. Anytime they received an attack it brought everyone closer for a nobler cause. Also the frequent changes in balance between The Transformers in the movie convey a message that even though you may have not won the battle, there is always a chance to fight another day and win the war. My main purpose in this evaluation is to show that not all war is completely negative. When soldiers join the army they are risking their life but they are also making a sacrifice for their country. Many Americans in today’s society lack pride in their country and don’t support any type of cause at all unless there is a profit. Citizens live in a country founded on patriotism and equality and yet where patriotism is at an all time low. The movie captured a sense of teamwork and ethics that our current day society lacks. If the country does not learn how to cooperate we’d be doomed to fail if there was an actual World War III would American be able to put aside their differences in opinion aside to protect their country?
I did my critical analysis paper on the film Pulp Fiction. Pulp Fiction is a 1994 American dark comedic crime film directed by Quentin Tarantino. It was considered one of the most influential American movies of the 1990s. Pulp Fiction is full of outrageously violent and time-twisting plots, each connecting to one another at the end of the climax.Tarantino’s film is directed in a nonlinear storytelling style. The film doesn’t transition in a sequential order.The opening of the film starts off with the definition of pulp. Pulp is a soft, moist, shapeless mass of matter. The other denotative meaning of the film is the magazine/book which contained lurid subject matter and characteristically printed on rough unfinished paper. The movie had several connotative meanings. A symbolic theme, for example, is the American Ganger lifestyle. Crime and mob life is highlighted in the film. All of the characters of the film are either, mobsters, robbers, hit men, drug addicts, or is caught in the underworld. In the beginning scene when Vincent and Jules went to do a job for Marcellus, right before they entered the room, Jules says “let’s get into character”, like they had to put on an act of being a hard core tough guy act. Another symbolic theme is cultural differences. Throughout the film, the American characters used name calling and glittering generalities. In the opening scene when Pumpkin was discussing how easy it would be to rob a dinner, he concluded that the some foreigners such as the Hispanics wouldn’t care.last motif and great signifiers of the film is bathrooms. Whenever someone goes to the bathroom, action comes after they exit it. Vincent was instructed to take Mia Wallace out on the town. Vincent was nervous about the whole thing because he didn’t want to cross any lines with Mia even though clear tension is present between both characters. When they get back from the restaurant, Vincent goes to the bathroom, when he returns Mia is laying on the floor, overdosing on heroin. Another example would be in the last scene, when Vincent and Jules were having breakfast in the diner, he went to the restroom. After he return, Pumpkin and Honey Bunny were robbing the diner and Pumpkin had a gun pointed at Jules’ head.My interpretation of the film is that is glorifies the American Gangster lifestyle, values like loyalty, trust, and change go a long way, and money can drive you to do anything. Characteristics such as being disloyal, greedy and being prideful can be the downfall of man. American Society has the mind set of “we are superior” and this is shown and highlighted in the film.
My critical analysis was done on the film Idlewild. The is exactly what the tittle says Idlewild. The town of idlewild is full of idle people stuck in there own devices or the devices of other. Within this idle place wild things happen such as murder, bootlegging, and shootouts, and death. The main characters in the film are trying to find themselves as well as trying to find a way out of Idlewild, Georgia. A denotative aspect of this film is the use of music as a form of temporary escape from reality and or Idlewild. Music is the basis of this film. It not only move certain actions along in the movie but they describe the actions as well. Majority of the scenes within the movie are built around music. A connotative aspect of the movie is the statement said by the two main characters " God don't make no mistakes, he ain't said nothing slick to a can of oil". The phrase lets them know that everything happens for a reason. This statement sustains them through different trials they have to deal with. My overall interpretation of the film is that you can't allow your past,people,situations, or where you come from hold you back from your destiny in life.
My critical analysis was done on a Tyler Perry film called Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor. The movie Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor is a romance drama produced and written by Tyler Perry. The movie is about a marriage counselor who tells her client a story about her sister Judith who’s public and private lives clashed when she was involved with a client of hers while working as an in house therapist for a top matchmaking company, despite being married. Judith is a Christian woman who has never been “involved” with anyone else but her childhood sweetheart and husband Brice. Judith is a pretty woman who is not concerned about maintaining her looks, or keeping up with the world’s fashion trends. Her coworker tries to persuade Judith to change her appearance but has no luck until Judith’s husband forgets her birthday for the second year in a row. With her becoming an unhappy woman, she becomes more vulnerable to the charms and wit of her new client Harley, who is a social-media entrepreneur making billions. The handsome man eventually seduces Judith during a business trip that the two take to New Orleans. Closely afterward, he reveals his true colors as an abusive woman beater, along with being a drug and alcohol abuser. It is obvious that Judith’s relationship with Harley changes who she is. She suddenly begins to wear more revealing outfits, drink, and starts to snort cocaine. During the height of the movie where it seems as if there is no coming back for Judith, there is a violent confrontation between her husband Brice and the devil like man Harley who stole Judith’s body and soul away from him. While all of these changes occur, Brice’s employee Melinda is living in fear of an abusive ex who turns out to be the exact same guy that Judith has fallen for.
All in all, I believe that this movie was a good movie and did have a nice concept on showing the consequence of what could happen while committing infidelity, I do feel as if the movie was real predictable. I could tell from the start that Judith deciding to cheat on her husband would end badly. I think Tyler Perry could have added more depth to the plot and the characters to make the movie more intriguing.
My analysis is over Marvel's The Avengers. The movie is about a new team of heroes forming up for the first time. Throughout the movie they have come across many problems like Loki and each other. They must learn team work and depend on each other to prevail against the evil forces trying to take over earth. Team work is the main meaning of the movie it shows you can accomplish anything when you work together. The sounds of the movie is important the theme music always plays when they have a triumphant moment or when something good happens the theme music symbolizes The Avengers. Not only do the characters of the Avengers relate because they are all use to fighting by themselves. Obtaining the Tesseract is the main object of the movie I say this is because the Tesseract is in other Marvel movies like Iron Man, Captain America and Thor. It is a highly wanted item by super villains because the power it has within it. Their costume is also highly important it symbolizes who they are and also tells the viewer who is who within the movie. A super hero is nothing without their costume. -Dereck Nesbit
My film analysis was about the movie A Bronx Tale. A Bronx Tale is a 1993 American crime drama film set in the Bronx during the violent era of the 1960s. The movie follows a young Italian-American teenager, Calogero, as his path in life is guided by two father figures, played by Robert De Niro (Lorenzo) and Chazz Palminteri (Sonny). One day Calogero witnesses a murder committed by the notorious mobster of the neighborhood, Sonny, in defense of an assaulted friend. When Calogero chooses to keep quiet when questioned by the police, Sonny likes him and gives him the nickname “C”. His father doesn’t like the relationship with Sonny and forbids C to see him. Later when C is a teenager, he still communicates with Sonny and he keeps him out of trouble and gives him advice. However, tables turn when C falls in love with an African American girl and a conflict arises within the neighborhoods of black and Italian.
Denotative Meaning: An Italian boy that grows up in Bronx, New York and surrounded by the mob lifestyle in his neighborhood. He falls in love with an African American girl and becomes an adult after he faces challenges in his life.
Connotative Meaning: This movie is a symbol of the 1960s lifestyle of South Bronx. Everyone in the neighborhoods were poor and there were racial issues. However in this movie, the main character tries overcome these issues to become an adult.
Overall, the theme of the movie is becoming an adult and learning from mistakes. He grows up by taking valuable advice from his two father figures and learns that true love has no color. Also, when he witnessed his friends die over racial issues, he immediately snapped out of his own world and saw reality. This movie tells the audience that you should choose wisely the people you befriend, follow your heart despite of what people say, and make good choices in life.
One point that raises a major concern in the film includes the writer’s interpretation on rape, domestic violence, and male dominance. Just about every female character suffered through negative interactions with males. However, they all were able to endure common setbacks from male figures. For example, although seen as strong and confident, Nettie too experienced negative behaviors from her stepfather, Alphonso, and had to run away from home to live with Celie and Mr.___. Unfortunately, Mr._____ eventually tried make a move on Nettie leaving Nettie no choice but to be separated from her sister Celie again. Nettie met a couple which she later finds out are the adopted parents of her niece and nephew. When they all move to Africa Nettie writes letters to Celie on how lonely she is but ends up being happily married to the adopted father of her niece and nephew when his wife dies from being ill in Africa.
What was Alice Walker’s representation and purpose for this depiction in the film? The answer to this question is quite obvious. Living in a male dominated world, it is important for females to play a part. Females should not be treated as less than an object. As human beings, females have the right to be treated with respect and are often times forced to earn that respect through being assertive, confident, and strong-minded.
Boyz N THe Hood portrayal the social problems in inner-city Los Angele. The moviee takes the form of a tale of three friends growing up together 'in the 'hood.' Half-brothers Doughboy and Ricky Baker are rivals for each other's personality, presenting very different approaches to the tough lives they face. Ricky is the 'All-American' athlete, looking to win a football scholarship to USC and seeks salvation through sports, while 'Dough' succumbs to the violence, alcohol, and crime surrounding him in his environment, but maintains a strong sense of pride and code of honor. Between these two is their friend Tre, who is lucky to have a father, 'Furious' Styles, to teach him to have the strength of character to do what is right and to always take responsibility for his actions. My interpretation of the movie was that black man are often stereotyped as gangstas or thugs, or athletes who just wanna get rich but with a positive role model/ father the young black male can make it out of the violence and struggle.It also shows how strong the black role model can be.
Bad Boys 2 is an action/comedy film that takes place in Miami, Florida and parts of Puerto Rico. The film starts in 2003 and is based around two Miami police detectives Mike Lowry and Marcus Brunette, as they attempt to solve another underground drug case in south Florida they their long time partnership and friendship start to take a turn for the worst. Mike is hot headed over the top cop with charming good looks and a nice trust fund; on the other hand Marcus is more level headed and he is more of a family since the two have grown older. The tension starts between the two when a tip comes through the office about highly potent ecstasy that has been pouring through the city is set to make a drop at boat dock.After watching this film several times I noticed not only was this just another action packed about drugs and money and people dying movie this film displayed a message about brotherhood. In the beginning of the movie Mike and Marcus along with the MPD do a drug raid in the pursuit of the ecstasy; a miscommunication in the sound system on the radio occurs, which leads to a gunfight, which then leads to Mike accidently shooting Marcus in the butt. The scene shows Mike along with Marcus on the way to the hospital talking and constantly apologizing stressing that he wasn’t aiming for him on purpose.
Drumline is a 2002 American film directed byCharles Stone III. The screenplay, a fictional story about a historically black college and university marching band, was written by Tina Gordon Chism and Shawn Schepps. The story is about a young drummer from New York, played by Nick Cannon, who enters the fictional Atlanta A&T University and bumps heads with the leader of his new school's drum section. Leonard Roberts, Zoe Saldana, and Orlando Jones co-star. Drumline main siginifier is one band one sound which means that if one looks bad they all look bad and if one sounds bad they all sound bad so they have to work together to be successful. The conotative meaning is hard work equals success you have to be a team to achieve goals and in this movie they worked together And reaches one of their goals by winning the battle of the bands. The Denotative meaning is you cant be cocky and expect to achieve. So therefore devon in this story has to change in order to achieve his accomplishments.
Carlito's Way is a 1993 American crime drama film directed by Brian De Palma, based on the novels Carlito's Way and After Hours by Judge Edwin Torres. The film adaptation was scripted by David Koepp. It stars Al Pacino and Sean Penn, with Penelope Ann Miller, Luis Guzmán, John Leguizamo, and Viggo Mortensen in supporting roles. The film's featured song, "You Are So Beautiful", was performed by Joe Cocker.The film follows the life of Carlito Brigante after he is released from prison and vows to go straight and retire. However, unable to escape his past, he ends up being dragged into the same criminal activities that got him imprisoned in the first place. In 1975, after serving 5 years of a 30-year prison sentence, Carlito Brigante is freed on a legal technicality exploited by his lawyer, Dave Kleinfeld. Upon release from prison, Carlito decides to return to his old neighborhood of Spanish Harlem. While in the neighborhood, he reconnects with old associates. Carlito vows to be through with crime but is persuaded to accompany his cousin Guajiro to a drug deal at a bar. Guajiro is betrayed and killed and Carlito is forced to shoot his way out. He takes Guajiro's money and uses it to buy into a nightclub, with the intent of saving $75,000 to retire to the Caribbean. Kleinfeld, having stolen one million dollars from his Italian mob-boss client, "Tony T" Taglialucci, is coerced into providing his yacht to help Tony T break out of the Rikers Island prison barge. Kleinfeld begs for help and Carlito reluctantly agrees. At night, Carlito, Kleinfeld, and Tony T's son, Frankie, sail to a floating buoy outside of the prison barge where Tony T is waiting. As they pull Tony T aboard, Kleinfeld unexpectedly bludgeons him to death, then slits Frankie's throat and dumps both bodies in the East River. The next day, Kleinfeld barely survives a retaliatory assassination attempt.
Carlito is apprehended by police and taken to Norwalk's office, where he is played a tape of Kleinfeld cutting a deal and offering to testify to false criminal allegations against Carlito. Norwalk is aware of Carlito being an accomplice to the Taglialucci murders and tries to leverage him into betraying Kleinfeld to save himself. Carlito refuses, but visits the hospital, where Kleinfeld confesses to selling him out. Having noticed a suspicious man dressed in a police uniform, Carlito deftly unloads Kleinfeld's revolver and leaves. The man is Tony T's other son, Vinnie, who sneaks into Kleinfeld's room and executes him. As Carlito runs to catch the train where Gail and Pachanga are waiting for him, he is ambushed by Benny, who shoots Carlito several times. Pachanga admits to Carlito that he is now working for Benny, only to be shot as well. Carlito hands Gail the money and tells her to escape with their unborn child and start a new life. As he is wheeled away on a gurney, Carlito stares at a billboard of a woman on a Caribbean beach. The billboard comes to life, and the woman, who is clearly Gail, starts dancing as Carlito dies.
The Shawshank Redemption is a 1994 epic American drama film written and directed by Frank Darabont and starring Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman. It is ranked #1 in IMDb's "Top 250" list based on over a million votes (9.3 out of 10) and is considered one of the best movies of all time.
Adapted from the Stephen King novella Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption, the film tells the story of Andy Dufresne, a banker who is sentenced to life in Shawshank State Prison for the murder of his wife and her lover despite his claims of innocence. During his time at the prison, he befriends a fellow inmate, Ellis Boyd "Red" Redding, and finds himself protected by the guards after the warden begins using him in his money laundering operation.
The Shawshank Redemption is a 1994 epic American drama film written and directed by Frank Darabont and starring Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman. It is ranked #1 in IMDb's "Top 250" list based on over a million votes (9.3 out of 10) and is considered one of the best movies of all time.
Adapted from the Stephen King novella Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption, the film tells the story of Andy Dufresne, a banker who is sentenced to life in Shawshank State Prison for the murder of his wife and her lover despite his claims of innocence. During his time at the prison, he befriends a fellow inmate, Ellis Boyd "Red" Redding, and finds himself protected by the guards after the warden begins using him in his money laundering operation.
The movie, The Black Swan (2010), is a drama, thriller, and mystery. Directed by Darren Aronofisky and written by Mark Heyman and Andres Heinz. It’s a story of a young, vibrant ballet dancer, named Nina Sayers, who fantasizes about being the lead dancer. Although she is young, she is the oldest dancer in her company. She struggles with not being picked for the lead role in any of the dance productions. Now that the Black Swan production is the next dance, Nina is preparing for her normal part as a background dancer. The main characters are Nina Sayers The Queen/White Swan played by Natalie Portman who symbolizes purity. Erica Sayers, The Queen played by Barbara Hershey who lives her former ballerina life through her daughter Nina. The Black Swan, Lily played Mila Kunis who symbolized a promiscuous woman. Thomas Leroy who is The Director of the play, played by Vincent Cassel who gets intimate with Nina to make her become seductive in her dance. Also The Dying Swan named Beth Macintyre played by Winona Ryder who is too old and has to retirer.
My film “Labor Day” directed by Jason Reitman is a suspense romance about a depressed single mom Adele and her son Henry offer a wounded, fearsome man a ride. As police search town for the escaped convict, the mother and son gradually learn his true story as their options become increasingly limited.
Denotative: The movie show right vs. wrong. The mother let an escaped convict hide in her house while the whole city was on a hunt for him. Yes, he did threated to harm her son so she did what she was told. But it was numerous amount of times where neighbors cam over and during the film he was going to leave to flee to another city but she told him to stay.
Connotative: Henry, who struggles to be the man of his house and care for his reclusive mother Adele while confronting all the pangs of adolescence. Adele had been single fir a while so when the escaped convict came to her home she was scared because she threaten and he promised to leave the next day. The next day the convict started fixing everything that was wrong in the house. Since Adele had been single for so long she got physically attracted to him and need somebody to love her.
I would give this film a 3/5 only because it was a predicable storyline. Labor Day lacks this filmmaker's usual sophisticated wit: it is bizarrely unconvincing and humorless. However, it had an emotionally engaging and suspenseful blend of thriller, romance and coming-of-age story with a strong script
Author Ntozake Shange once said, “And this is for Colored girls who have considered suicide, but are moving to the ends of their own rainbows.” (Shange, N. 2015) I decided to analyze the award winning movie, For Colored Girls. I chose this movie because it shows the true authentic struggles of the everyday life of most African American women living in America. However, though it is targeted to Black women, I do believe ALL women suffer from of the difficulties displayed in this film. I also chose this film because when I first watched the movie, it was hard to follow, and some of the images were too explicit for me to watch again. Now that I have the opportunity to analyze and criticize the film from an objective aspect, I can understand the views of why ALL women felt the way they did after viewing this film. II. Description of the artifact a) For Colored Girls is a hyperlink film that brings together the stories of nine different women as they move into and out one another’s existence; some are well known to one another, others are strangers. The troubles these women face throughout the move i.e. crises, heartbreaks, and crimes will bring the nine women fully into the same path where they will find common ground and understanding. Each of these women spoke their truth like never before. (Tyler Perry.com. n.d.) b) Director/Producer(s) 1. Tyler Perry 2. Paul Hall 3. Roger M. Bobb c) Cast 1. Janet Jackson 2. Loretta Devine 3. Michael Ealy 4. Kimberly Elise 5. Omari Hardwick 6. Hill Harper 7. Thandie Newton 8. Phylicia Rashad 9. Anika Noni Rose 10. Tessa Thompson 11. Kerry Washington 12. Whoopi Goldberg III. Report on the findings of the analysis a) There are many codes, symbols and findings in the film but one that was the hardest to watch was the “Gender Violence” scene. Character Bo who is played by Michael Ealy is intoxicated which brings out his insecurities. After questioning character Crystal who is played by Kimberly Elise, about her boss and the man driving the car she got out of, the sound of the bottle dropping and him hitting her in the face occurs. The shot quickly switches to the sad faces of their children with the neighbor. Signifying that they knew their mom was being beaten and it was not the first time. The pictures on the neighbor’s wall began to shake and as they do the neighbor tells them a story so they can try not to hear it, but the look on their faces is a code that they still do. Later in the same scene, the father looks at his daughter in a misleading way, and as he is telling her to come to him, their mom Crystal holds her tight. This code implies that she is scared to leave her children around him and does not want to let go. IV. Interpretation of the findings a) I concluded from the findings in the scene “Gender Violence” that the writer was trying to show the viewers women are strong creatures created by God that have an unconditional love for their children and will do anything they can to prevent harm from their children. It takes a strong woman to get beat on a daily basis and not let it affect their work life or parenting. V. Evaluation of the artifact a) For Colored Girls was filmed to show the world the different experiences women go through while living in America, and although one may go through their trials and tribulations they are not along. It is always someone who shares the same story.
Frozen is an animated musical comedy about two sisters from the kingdom of Arendelle. One of the sisters (Elsa) posses magical ice powers. Her younger sister Anna decides she wants to get married to a guy she just met named Prince Hans of the Southern Iles. Her sister forbids the marriage and begins to argue with her sister. Elsa, becomes upset and accidently exposes her power to the kingdom and sets off an eternal winter. She then takes to the North Mountains to hide. Anna goes on a journey to find her sister, with the company of an iceman and his reindeer and a snowman. Anna goes to find her sister so that she can bring back summer.
Winter and The Trolls in the movie were examples of connotation and denotation. The Trolls as represented in a denotative aspect is a dangerous supernatural creatures that hate human beings. However, in the film the trolls are loving creatures, who adore Anna and Kristoff when they come to visit, this represents connotative meaning. The winter season in the denotative aspect is considered just a cold, season some people love the season. In the movie, the connotative meaning behind winter is seen as a negative connotation. It is cold, wet and no one likes the winter and actually want to get rid of it.
From the movie "Frozen" I concluded that the writers were trying to show audience members that importance of family/sisterhood and uniqueness. They wanted to show that even though you're different it is okay. It's better to be yourself than anyone else. Family is the most important aspect in life. No matter what family sticks together through thick and thin like Anna did for her sister Elsa. Anna didn't let Elsa face her fears alone she stuck by her side even when she pushed her away.
MMy overall analysis on the film Selma was it being a historical film to bring to the audience the importance about knowing about the civil rights movement with Dr. Martin Luther King for voters rights and human rights. In the film Selma there is connotation where the young marcher is killed and the marchers were whipped across the bridge denotation in the film Selma is the occurrence of brutal events and torture that indicates to us it happening in modern day today with recent incidents involved with innocent killings. The evaluation of the film Selma is that it was put together well and despite the conflict it showed people other than the African-American race come together and march.
My overall analysis of the film The Great Gatsby is shows the how far one will go when they really loves someone. They will put their happiness aside just to protect someone even if that person wouldn’t do the same for that person. It also shows how one can’t trust everyone they come in contact with. the major conflict in this movie is Gatsby has amassed a vast fortune in order to win the affections of the upper-class Daisy Buchanan, but his mysterious past stands in the way of his being accepted by her. The rising action is Gatsby’s lavish parties, Gatsby’s arrangement of a meeting with Daisy at Nick’s. Nick Carraway; Carraway not only narrates the story but implies that he is the book’s author.Nick Carraway narrates in both first and third person, presenting only what he himself observes. Nick alternates sections where he presents events objectively, as they appeared to him at the time, with sections where he gives his own interpretations of the story’s meaning and of the motivations of the other characters.
The film Gone Girl is a psychological thriller created by David Fincher. Fincher was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director. Nick Dunne and Amy Dunne look like your average married couple at first, but as soon as the movie progresses, you get to see how crazy Amy is. Nick is a cheater, he's disrespectful, sneaky, and he's a liar. He only cares about himself. Amy however wanted to be the perfect woman for him. She did things she didn't necessary like to do that she mentioned in the movie. Amy claims that she forged the man of her dreams. Conformed to the ways of their world in order to keep the relationship going. She was a smart woman with a Harvard degree, but psychologically she was lacking basic knowledge. My interpretation of the movie was you can never know who you are dealing with no matter how long you have been with the person. People will never cease to amaze you.
A few employees of the presage paper are on their way to the company’s retreat, but while the bus crosses the North Bay Bridge, Sam Lawton has a premonition of the bridge collapsing, killing everyone but his recent ex-girlfriend. Because Sam saves a few of his employees from the accident, he has interfered with their destiny. (DEATH) This film was premiered in 2011and directed by Steven Quale. Final Destination 5 is a 2011 American horror film written by Eric Heisserer and directed by Steven Quale. It is the fifth installment of the Final Destination franchise. It stars Nicholas D'Agosto, Emma Bell, Miles Fisher, Arlen Escarpeta, David Koechner, and Tony Todd. Denotative meanings: This film consists of a numerous denotative meanings such as, the wind blowing right before someone is about to die, the long shot view of the bridge before it collapses and the long shot view after it collapses. Just to give an example of a connotative meaning, the “watch your step” sign on the bus at the beginning of the movie is a signifier that they will have to watch where they are walking when the bridge collapses. : My interpretation of the findings is that you can never run from what is meant for you, and be careful who’s life you take because it may be your own
The movie I analyzed was do the right thing by spike lee. I found that that movie highlighted the unfinished business of the United States in the department of race, poverty, as well as immigration and global warming. Lee did a great job conveying that message to the audience with the narrative and the camera usage. It is very important to look back at how society was in those days and we can use this movie as a mirrored society at that time. This can also help up draw conclusion about the future. With the riots in Baltimore this is a relevant topic. In do the right thing police brutality was a main problem that still hold true today.
The movie I analyze was "Chronicle" Cultural Studies assumes that the object of knowledge will determine the methodologies to be used. In critiquing the traditions used in media, cultural critics avoid privileging one cultural product over another and often examine texts that are largely seen as marginal and unimportant in traditional criticism, such as those connected to various forms of pop culture.
My movie was pulp fiction The intertextuality of the film was not hard to find. Tarantino did a great job with making this movie full of mysteries. Here is little intertextuality I found. In a scene during the Gold Watch story, Butch and Marcellus are held hostage by these perverted white guys and Butch finds a way to escape. Before he leaves he refers back to the animosity between him and Marcellus. He could have easily left Marcellus in the back to continue to be raped, but he doubles back. Butch tries to choose a weapon to go to save Marcellus and this scene is intertextual in reference to horror cinema Texas chain saw massacre. (1974) As he progresses through the choice of his weapon, a hammer, a bat, a chainsaw and finally he chooses a samurai sword. When he picks up sword Japanese samurai cinema also in reference to “Kill Bill” which Uma Thurman played in. Another intertextual reference was Uma Thurman as Mia Wallace and her haircut is styled in that of the same way of Louis Brookes, in Pandora's Box (1929 G.W. Pabst). Also in the 2nd story when Vincent takes Mia out on a date, the wait staff dressed as celebrity impersonators in the Jack Rabbit Slim’s Restaurant.
"Pulp Fiction"-The movie doesn’t have just one plot; it has three for each story. The plot of the story of Vincent of Marcellus’ wife Mia Wallace (played by Uma Thurman) is Vincent was told a story by Jules about how Marcellus threw a guy four stories from a building because of a foot rub he gave her. Then Vincent was given the task to take her out on a date by his boss. He takes her out on a date where there is a part where Mia draws square on screen in the scene, which shows the film draws attention to construction of graphics, showing how Tarantino breaks the Fourth wall and acknowledges the audience. The plot of the story with the Gold watch with the boxer Butch (Played by Bruce Willis), he wins a fight that Marcellus told him to lose against a boxer. Butch kills the boxer in the ring and he has to escape from Marcellus’s hitman Vincent. At this time in the 2nd story Jules (Samuel L. Jackson) has retired from working because of the incident of him getting shot at and not dying in the third story. But we don’t notice that he wants to quit until the final story. Butch escapes from the boxing match to meet with his girlfriend and he gets upset with her because she forgets his gold watch that his father left for him after he died in the war. He has to go retrieve it from his apartment which he knows that Marcellus’ hitmen are waiting for him. In the Golden Watch story you expect Butch to die in the plot, but he doesn’t. Instead he kills Vincent. In the shots that he murders Vincent, you see that Butch is brightly lit from the side and Vincent. The director could have decided to use less light on Butch to show the darkness inside of him when he kills Vincent, but in that shot, it is almost as if god’s light is shining on Butch to justify his killing. Vincent is shown have his face well lit as he comes out of the bathroom, but in his death, you see his face darkened and plain even though there is light coming into the bathroom. Jazz music plays as Marcellus Wallace is being raped, which is a really direct way of stating that he is being raped even though we do not visually see it, because jazz is another way of saying sex. Butch escapes but stops right at the door while a strip of sunlight is show onto his face, unlike how the rapists were lit with indoor lights. When he is looking for weapons to go and save Marcellus Wallace, in the shot that he is looking up, his whole face is lit, unlike the previous shots. With him looking up and the light on his face, it is as if God is giving him a sign. After he grans the Katana, the shot of him ripping down the curtain to the basement and standing in a battle stance makes him appear to be a shining crusader as he is brightly lit from the side once more. As soon as Butch goes into the room where Marcellus Wallace is being raped and starts killing, the jazz music fades.
My criticism research paper is about the movie The Equalizer. Despite being a more recent film, there were a number of things about the movie that peak my interest. One, on the surface, it is nothing more than your typical action flick. Yet, there are unconscious messages being made regarding the properties of a true hero, sacrifice, and injustice. Two, it stars one of the all-time great actors in Denzel Washington. His demonstrated dedication to playing characters always serves as a boost to any film he is in. And three, it is Washington kicking butt. It is hard to find anything wrong with that. While The Equalizer might not be a classic film, it is a solid action movie that understands the basics on how to revolve a film around pitting good against evil. Robert McCall is a retired black ops operative that works in a hardware store as he adjusts to what can be deduced as a normal life. He embodies the definition of a "good Samaritan." He will volunteer his time to help anyone in need, especially his co-workers. But on the same token, he uses his skills from his former career to exact vigilante justice for innocent people that are not able to fight back themselves. His drive for justice is truly tested when a teenage girl, a victim of sex-trafficking, is assaulted by her bosses. After killing those responsible for beating the girl, McCall finds himself in a battle against the Russian mafia, facing the real possibility of sacrificing himself for the protection of those around him. Throughout the movie, McCall is clearly shown to symbolize what it means to truly be heroic. His interaction with those around him paints the picture of a likable man that is approachable and can be trusted. The people around him look to him for guidance and assistance. Ralphie goes to McCall to train and get the extra motivation he needs for a career in police enforcement. Alina goes to McCall for comfort as a means of getting away from the pain of her life: being sold at a young age to men by her pimp. Even Ralphie's mother accepts McCall's assistance in cleaning up and restoring her shop once it is realized that she is being strong-armed by the police. While the message of heroism isn't the selling point of The Equalizer, it is a message worth holding onto. As you watch the film, you cannot help but find yourself sucked into the story of McCall coming to the rescue of those that cannot defend themselves. That not only says a lot about how well Washington played the character, but also says a lot about the amount of thought the film places in understanding the qualities of a hero that people will universally root for.
My criticism research paper is about the movie The Equalizer. Despite being a more recent film, there were a number of things about the movie that peak my interest. One, on the surface, it is nothing more than your typical action flick. Yet, there are unconscious messages being made regarding the properties of a true hero, sacrifice, and injustice. Two, it stars one of the all-time great actors in Denzel Washington. His demonstrated dedication to playing characters always serves as a boost to any film he is in. And three, it is Washington kicking butt. It is hard to find anything wrong with that. While The Equalizer might not be a classic film, it is a solid action movie that understands the basics on how to revolve a film around pitting good against evil. Robert McCall is a retired black ops operative that works in a hardware store as he adjusts to what can be deduced as a normal life. He embodies the definition of a "good Samaritan." He will volunteer his time to help anyone in need, especially his co-workers. But on the same token, he uses his skills from his former career to exact vigilante justice for innocent people that are not able to fight back themselves. His drive for justice is truly tested when a teenage girl, a victim of sex-trafficking, is assaulted by her bosses. After killing those responsible for beating the girl, McCall finds himself in a battle against the Russian mafia, facing the real possibility of sacrificing himself for the protection of those around him. Throughout the movie, McCall is clearly shown to symbolize what it means to truly be heroic. His interaction with those around him paints the picture of a likable man that is approachable and can be trusted. The people around him look to him for guidance and assistance. Ralphie goes to McCall to train and get the extra motivation he needs for a career in police enforcement. Alina goes to McCall for comfort as a means of getting away from the pain of her life: being sold at a young age to men by her pimp. Even Ralphie's mother accepts McCall's assistance in cleaning up and restoring her shop once it is realized that she is being strong-armed by the police. While the message of heroism isn't the selling point of The Equalizer, it is a message worth holding onto. As you watch the film, you cannot help but find yourself sucked into the story of McCall coming to the rescue of those that cannot defend themselves. That not only says a lot about how well Washington played the character, but also says a lot about the amount of thought the film places in understanding the qualities of a hero that people will universally root for.
My film analysis was on Boxtrolls. An adventurous movie of stop animation. Each frame is molded and snapped as a picture until a story line is created. A kid named Eggs is an orphan raised by creatures living in an underground cavern inventing their little harmless lives away. Archibald snatcher (the antagonist) wants to become respected in town as a king so he make lies to gentlemen of the town about the box trolls hoping to kill them and be apart of the respected. this film express determination and morality in several ways. A must watch.
The film I will do my film analysis on is The Color Purple. The film is a 1985 movie that focuses on a character, Celie who struggled. When I viewed the movie over the weekend, it started off with the audio of the two girls clapping and singing. When the movie finally showed, the camera panned on purple flowers which are both denotation and connotation. The denotation of the flowers defines the powerful relationship Celie ands Nettie have throughout the movie. The connotation symbolizes beauty, honor, and favoritism.
While the two girls are in the field, the camera angle shows Celie pregnant. How did Celie become pregnant in the beginning of the film? The second scene of the movie moves forward by Mister indicating to her not to mention anything about her sexual relationships he had with her. He quoted the statement after he took the child away and gave it to a married couple.
The movie also relates a lot of talking to God from Celie because she is going through so much in the movie. As she talks to God, it is like she is writing private letters to him on what is going on. The first few words she told God was that she has always wanted to raise children, but one of them were murdered by her father, and the other one was given away. Celie also states, “I am only 14 years old and need guidance from you because I do not know what is happening to me.” In other words, she does not understand why her father abuses her so much. As the movie continues, things get a lot worse, but at the end, situations turn around for Celie. This is a very powerful movie for anybody to watch because even though African American characters struggle, the movie does not focus on that. While the characters are sad, they are happy at the same time.
The movie analysis I plan to do is the movie Biker Boyz. An action packed movie that has Laurence Fishburne ( The king of Cali ) and Derek Luke playing as Kid from Antwan Fisher. This movie is about a young prospect Kid, who creates his own biker club and begins to come for Smokes Crown ( Laurence Fishburne ). This movie has a lot of action packed scenes and has a great plot and story behind the camera. Directed by Reggie Rock By The Wood.
Beyond the lights is a romantic dramedy about the life of rising pop star noni jeans the film was released in the year 2014 the title itself means to look beyond stardom and fame and glamour and look at the life of the individual a focus on the singers internal battles with herself love and happiness the movie has a lot of parallels and anesthetics that you could find in the films The Bodyguard and also love and basketball the culture of the film is very today from the interactions of social media paparazzi news and even the special guest appearances by other famous artists from this era. The movie if a post Multi suicidal film it deals with depression and self-esteem. It's also a post African American pride movie. Which is very evident by how much pride the star takes in wearing her own natural hair the film was directed by Denise Prince
My film analysis was done on city of God. The film is a crime drama that takes place in the slums of Rio de Janeiro. It was nominated in four different categories for the Academy Awards in 2004.The protagonist is a young man who goes by the name of Rocket. Rocket wants to become a photographer but he must try to survive in a drug infested community by young drug dealer who goee by the name of Lil Ze. The movie was interesting due to the editing in the film as well as the cinematography.
The Film I analyzed was Mean Girls. the film revolves around the character of 'Cady' a new student who while looking for ways to fit in with the status quo at high school, finds herself mixed in a web of lies which ultimately diminish this new found stature that she now possesses. Within the film itself, teenagers are the central characters with the exception of a few adults who take the form of teachers and parents. The four leading girls all represent somewhat of 'Stock Characters' and stereotypes, 'The Leader'--Regina George, 'The Sidekick'--Gretchen Weeners, 'The Dumb one'--Karen Smith and 'The Convention breaker'--Cady Heron. Through use of stereotypes through these female character it is immediately insinuated that all girls have these characters in them, and females themselves fit the stereotypes that have been presented. However, due to the stereotypes being presented and the almost exaggerated and comedic personalities that are tied in with the stereotype, audiences are encouraged to believe that these characters are almost caricatures and meant for comedic effect. The Movie had a relatable Plot hence the reason I chose it, also, it had great cinematography, and there were all sorts of different angles, lighting, and things being used.
The film that I analyzed was Crooklyn. Troy is a 10 year old from Brooklyn new York who must grow up faster then most others after the death of her mother. She is the only girl with four brothers. The movie has a lot of cultural indications throughout the film. One example would be how the view of the movie changes when the family leaves from up north to go down south. When they arrive in the south the lens changes to a lens that makes everything look closed in and squeezed closely together. This represents the south and how everything is slower and nostalgic there.
Juice was written and directed by Ernest Dickerson. He was most known for his work with renowned director Spike Lee, serving as the cinematographer for a number of Lee’s films. Juice serves as a crime drama film and was released in 1992. Notable celebrities appear in the film including Flex Alexander, Queen Latifa, and Samuel Jackson. The starting cast is headlined by no other than deceased rapper Tupac Shakur, who played the role of Bishop; a seemingly typical New York adolescent in the early 90’s who changes for the worst once a handgun falls into his possession. My overall interpratation of the movie speaking from a cultural standpoint, it is a site that I have seen with my own eyes. Someone so stuck on gaining attention can be so blinded or distracted that they easily forgot the blueprint they had already established that was crucial to the success they had already gained. They call it getting beside yourself or getting the big head. Whatever you want to call it, Juice did an excellent job in portraying an example of that, so much that in today’s culture, twenty-three years later, the word is still being used in the same exact context as it was initially intended too.
The film "The Great Gatsby" starring Leonardo DiCaprio as Gatsby, Carey Mulligan as Daisy, and Tobey Maguire as Nick Carraway is based off the novel written by F. Scott Fitzgerald. This film shows a society gone crazy on alcohol, conspicuous consumerism, the emptiness of wealth, and hollow relationships. Luhrmann’s frenetic scenes of the parties contrast with the slower, more stately episodes of Gatsby’s doomed love. The green light, the adultery, the endless wealth, and the empty conversations tell of the death of both Gatsby’s dreams and the American Dream. At a crucial, climactic moment, a scene in a suite at the Plaza Hotel, the director mutes his irrepressible, circus ringmaster showmanship and plunges into undiluted melodrama. The music stops, and the camera cuts among the assembled faces as the emotional core of the film is laid bare. This scene stands out in a movie that is otherwise gaudily and grossly inauthentic. Jay Gatsby is too, of course. He is self-invented and also self-deluded, spinning out fantasies for himself and others as easily as he gives parties. As a character, Fitzgerald’s sentences and in our national mythology, he is a complete mess. This movie relatable and relevant to the audience.
The movie i chose is Baby Boy, the title of the movie gives insight on the actually meaning behind the film. The Director John Singleton wanted to show how and why the black man in america is symbolized as a baby, someone that has not matured and do not know their own capabilities as a man. Baby Boy shows a 21 year old man name Jody with two kids that still lives at home with his mother. Throughout the movie John Singleton uses connotative meanings to explains certain things in the movie, the first scene of the movie it shows Jody, a grown man inside of a womb, Singleton uses this scene to indicate that the black man is still a "baby" mentally and has not yet fully matured. Singleton also uses semiotics (the science of signs) to indicate different meanings. In the opening scene of the movie Singleton get a close up shot on the fashion trend that Jody is wearing, he does this to show the audience the cultural setting that the film will portray. I chose this movie because i was able to relate to the film and understand the meaning behind it.
The movie I chose to analyze is The Fault in Our Stars. The title alone tells the story of the two main characters. It tells how the fault was aligned in their stars and they had no control of what could happen to them. Being that both of the main characters were diagnosed with cancer but continued to live life to the fullest spoke to me the most. The dennotative meaning of the film would be that two teenagers were diagnosed with cancer, they met a cancer support group and fell in love while spending the rest of their days together. The connotative meaning is to never let anything stop you from enjoying life because you only get one.
The film had many different types of camera angles to better explain the love between the main characters. It also showed a lot of mis-en-scene, props were used to sign the love.
My overall interpretation of this film is that this is a very good film. I watched it a couple of years ago and I failed to notice all of the details I noticed this time around after taking this class.
The film I analyzed is the 2005 thriller Hide and Seek. It was directed by John Polson and it starred Robert De Niro and Dakota Fanning. The movie is about a widower and his daughter who moves from the city in New York to the outskirts. Once there, Emily creates an imaginary friend named Charlie but her father doesn't like it because Emily is starting to act out. Strange things start to happen that Emily continues to blame on Charlie. Later in the movie, it is revealed that the father is actually Charlie and he has split personalities. The denotative meaning from this movie is a father that is mentally torturing his daughter and using her for his own game. The connotative meaning of the movie is the display of Monarch Programming, which is a form mind control used by people with multiple personalities. His idea was to continue the cycle of the mental disease. At the end of the movie, Emily moves in with her father’s coworker. The last scene of the movie is symbolic because Emily is sitting down drawing a picture of herself and it is shown that Emily drew herself with two heads. That meant that she also has split personality and it is also probably dangerous. My evaluation of the film is that it is a good film about living with something with a dangerous mental condition.
The film that i chose to analyze was The Wizard of Oz. Its about a small town girl from kansas who gets caught in the midst of a tornado and ends up landing in a magical land called Oz. Although the movie had speculations of being tied back to history of the late 1800's, thats not the ideal i gathered from the film. With all of the references in the movie (things like home, bravery, power, etc), I feel that the main idea of the movie was that we all must go on a journey of self discovery in order to truly know our strengths and true selves. Hints why Dorothy had to follow the yellow brick road.
The film I chose to analyze is Dope. Dope follows the main character Malcolm and his two best friends as they try to survive in their neighborhood. Malcolm and his friends live in a tough neighborhood where they find it hard to fit in. Throughout the movie they are faced with hard choices and we see how their lives are impacted by these choices. The denotative meaning of the film would be a group of geeks trying to survive their neighborhood. The connotative meaning of the film is there are different paths in life and you don’t have to take the expected path. The film takes place in Inglewood, California which considered a tough neighborhood. In hoods like Inglewood people are expected to be in drugs and gangs. The film shows some of the problems kids who live tougher neighborhoods face when they don’t fit into a certain mold. The director Rick Famuyiwa uses the situations in this film to show that you can rise above your circumstances like he did.
Man on Fire is a novel that was written by A.J. Quinnell in 1980. The first Man on Fire film was released in 1987. The one I am analyzing was directed by Tony Scott and it was released in 2004. The movie starred Denzel Wahsington, Dakota Fanning , Christopher Walken and Mark Anthony. The movie is about an alcoholic ,ex CIA agent who is dealing with his past. He comes to Mexico to visit his friend and ends up working as a bodyguard. The movie was filmed in Mexico, City which is the number 1 country with the highest rates for kidnappings. Tony Scoot made some really bold choices when directing this movie. The colors were very saturated and the tones were dark giving the film a gritty feel, since it was about kidnapping and filmed in Mexico City which is dirty and dangerous. There was a lot of different types of cultures seen in the movie. Culture- Race: Mexican the father , who is proud of his heritage and his religion White American Female his wife , loves her husband loves her daughter but wants her to party African American - Creasy Alcoholic who battling depression and suicide Culture: Money- The family is going broke but they are all about keeping up with appearances. The wants to maintain that status in order to keep his wife. Denotation: We see a gun, it is a weapon Connotation: At pitas swimming competition it is the thing that sets her free to be able to swim Denotation: A Bible is a book Connotation: Pita's mom uses it as comfort after she is kidnapped Denotation: A bullet is what is used in a gun Connotation: It controls life and death Editing: This movie was filled with over layering tremors and flash frames with gave the film its sense of urgency. Scott used a lot of dizzy disoriented edits and double exposure to put un in Creasy's mind. Symbols: Fire means destruction: Greasy was destruction he had no reason to live until he met pita. Volcano: Represents the journey we take and the obstacles it take to get there. In the beginning and end we see Creasy pass this volcano and in the end as he dies he is at peace because he has found redemption. Music is key to this movie it pulls you in emotionally and carries you throughout the story. This is done by the use of violins and a few piano strokes. The songs Blue Bayou and Una Palabra really tell the story of loving someone and having them taken from you. When Pita is kidnapped and then presumed dead Creasy then sets off to kill anyone that may have been involved. After suffering multiple gun shot wounds and finding out pita is alive, he sacrifices himself in order to reunite her with mother. Even though he dies moment later the film shows you it all wasn't done for nothing because now he can die in peace he isn't burden down anyone with guilt of his past. Overall Analysis: What I got from it is that yes we may do bad things in life but Creasy knew better and wanted to be forgiven by God. In the end the movie was about redemption and because of his faith he believed it was possible but it took meeting pita to realize that. No matter what obstacles you go through in life you have to keep going and believe that it will be alright in the end.
The Color Purple was released in 1985 and is based off of a 1982 novel written by Alice Walker called The Color Purple. Steven Spielberg directed the movie along with other classics such as E.T., Jaws, Jurassic Park, and Super 8.This movie invites the viewers into a world where they can see first hand the struggles that are faced such as gender and intertextual perspective. Although the movie was made in 1985 , the relevance of the issue with regards to woman’s identities are still applicable in today’s society. The Color Purple focuses on Women’s suffrage.This movie is unique in its efforts with spiritual survival and with exploring the oppression's, insanities, and triumphs of black women. Instead of black oppression by whites, however, in this movie there is black oppression by blacks.The relationships between men and women; the relationships among women; and the relationships among people, God, and nature.Women are constantly fighting against men’s attempts to oppress them In The Color Purple, men see women as objects to control; to have a healthy relationship, the movie implies that most of these women have to turn to other women, like Shug and Celie. Abused by father, uncles, mister and then she turns to women.After Celie finally leaves Mr. he goes into a state of depression. After he rebuilds himself he freshly paints the house white. White: Symbolizes Rebirth. In the book Celie states that her favorite color is purple.Whenever this color is shown in the movie Celie is experiencing a sense of joy. It is her reminder that there is God even though she has doubts. She often believe that this color shouldn’t exist because she is undeserving.
I chose the movie The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 because of the amount of publicity it received. Some of the hidden meanings that I received from the movie was the weight that the male's voice held compared to a woman's voice. Katniss realized at the moment where she was stuck between the commander and Gale that her words were not enough to stop the problem from escalating. There were white flowers in the room where Katniss and Peeta were they were symbolic of the young children's innocence. When they were in the forest, Peeta says "God, it's hot", in reference to what Miss Amber Kennedy relayed to our class during her presentation, the heat is incentive for individuals to commit murder. Because the point of The Hunger Games is to kill of each other until you are the last one standing, this played well into the theme. Something else I realized was that whenever President Snow was involved in something, the color red would mysteriously appear indicating that something about him was evil and not right because majority of the movie scenes were utilized with treys, whites, and black colors. My favorite concept as well as one of the biggest meanings that I grasped was the importance of age. Although Mags seems to have a small role the average human being, she is very significant due to social group that she embodies. Mags shows us the true meaning of sacrifice and looking out for each other no matter how hard it gets. I respect Mag's character the most because she was non remorseful when it came to giving her own life for some one else to keep theirs. When Gale was being beaten, it reminded me of Jesus Christ being whipped in front of the entire town. I think that maybe Francis Lawrence intended to mean that the good are slaves to the bad because Gale was one of the most pure hearted individuals throughout the whole movie. Francis Lawrence encoded plenty of messages throughout this production, although I could not decode each and every one of them, I admire and appreciate his work.
The motion picture Friday is a satire; however it additionally portrays numerous imperative social issues. The story is set in the city of Los Angeles, California, as known as a high class ghetto. The fundamental subject of the film is around a youthful dark man who loses his occupation and is affected by his best friend to smoke marijuana. The motion picture additionally demonstrates the connections of his family and different individuals from his neighborhood. With a crazy cast of characters and a clever script this films touches on everything from posse brutality to the utilization of drugs, wrongdoing, weapons, relationships, sex and life in the ghetto. In view of every one of these issues I discovered this fascinating film with a wide assortment of points to address.
Get on the Bus was meant to encourage public discussion about how African Americans are treated in this country. This is similar to many of Spike Lee’s films in regards to how African Americans treat each other. From homeosexuality to religion, and political beliefs, Spkie Lee is shining light on issues in the African American community.
I Analyzed School Daze that’s directed by Spike Lee. The reason I selected this movie is because Spike Lee is my favorite director and has deep meaning behind all of his works that he publish. This movie also has a special place in my heart because it’s filmed on a HBCU campus and overall the plot is about the HBCU experience. The classic struggle between selling out and giving up. You CAN make decisions to help yourself and your family without selling out. Make sure to never forget where you come from and who you are at heart. One thing is for sure no one should consider themselves a "nigga." That mentality does nothing but holds yourself and other people back.
My overall interpretation of the film the Grand Budapest Hotel, directed by Wes Anderson, is that he wanted to visualize a movie written from a book's perspective. I think he wanted the audience to be aware of Zero's surrounding and what Zero had to endure in order to establish the wealth of his mentor Mr. Gustave. He used color schemes throughout the movie to show reality from being in the future after the war to going to the past to use vibrant colors showing how Mr. Gustave dealt with war through his eyes. I loved the fact that Mr. Gustave gave Zero a chance to be a lobby boy, although he had no family, no experience, and no education. The director could've of been trying to say that just because you don't have the experience it doesn't mean you can't be trained or taught if you have the desire and willingness to do so. As a reward to Zero helping him escape jail because of false accusations of killing his ex-lover in the beginning of the movie, he was able to attain knowledge, a girl, all of his assets and his hotel that his ex-lover left him. The director Wes, was trying to get the audience to understand that through all the war and disaster that happened in the movie he is able to remain happy, calm, and collected through a brink of a war.
The movie that I chose was Freedom Writer's. The denotative meaning for this movie is during the 90's LA riots cause a lot of chaos in LA. Police brutality became a huge issue, racial divides, education inequality. The title Freedom Writer's let the view know that the students in the classroom were writing about their personal life experiences. The connotative meaning reveal that the journey of their life experiences were expressing themselves in through writing and they could escape their problems of injustice and discrimination by freely writing. By writing their life experiences down they realized that their life experiences connected them and that they were more similar then they were different. That it no longer matter about the color of their skin. They were all exqual human beings.
The film i chose was War of the worlds directed by Stephen Spielberg.My interpretation on the film was that Spielberg main objective in the movie was to make the mind wonder what would really happen if aliens were real and came to attack the earth. He showed it from a perspective of if they do come what would happen and how do we know if theywould even survive on earth. They have never experienced our oxygen and our viruses and bacteria that we have adapted to over the years. The aliens end up dying because being on earth too long and not having the technology to survive our everyday lives. It’s just the same as if we went up space without a space suit we would not be able to breathe because our bodies cannot survive without oxygen. Its such a different approach because most films of this genre go with the aliens attack and we end up dying or we end up beating them with our weapons. This is the first film of its kind to show the other side of what if.
Released in 2002, the film of choice for me was The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers directed by Peter Jackson. It is based off of the book written by J.R.R. Tolkein of the same name and is part of a trilogy. Jackson did a great job bringing out the dark elements within the mise-en-scene. The film was supposed to be more dark and gory than its predecessor and because of that, light was shown to be a symbol of good. Jackson repeatedly uses Gandalf, one of the main protagonists, to wield light against evil usually resulting in victory for the protagonists. Character development was the best feature to me however, every characters race is clearly defined through his personality, clothing and weaponry. Tolkein wanted to show that people of different races, backgrounds etc. can come together in pursuit of a common goal. Here dwarves, elves, man and wizard have come together to prevent the genocide of all their respective races.
Released in 2002, the film of choice for me was The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers directed by Peter Jackson. It is based off of the book written by J.R.R. Tolkein of the same name and is part of a trilogy. Jackson did a great job bringing out the dark elements within the mise-en-scene. The film was supposed to be more dark and gory than its predecessor and because of that, light was shown to be a symbol of good. Jackson repeatedly uses Gandalf, one of the main protagonists, to wield light against evil usually resulting in victory for the protagonists. Character development was the best feature to me however, every characters race is clearly defined through his personality, clothing and weaponry. Tolkein wanted to show that people of different races, backgrounds etc. can come together in pursuit of a common goal. Here dwarves, elves, man and wizard have come together to prevent the genocide of all their respective races.
After analyzing my film, Thor: the dark world The dentoation of the movie is that Thor after fighting with the avengers had his own world to save and as he saves it realizes he doesn’t want to be king which sets up loki to trick Thor and make him king. The director called it the dark world because most of the main characters were in a dark place in this film. Thor lost his mother and for a while thought he lost his brother too. He also watch the love of his life almost lose her life to the Aether. It laso ends on a dark note. Loki is an evil villain and he means to destroy. Asgard just went to war and they are going to be looking for a new leader and once thor turned down to be king and loki was transformed into being his father, that means loki now has control over asgard. The movie might be saying asgard is now going to be in a dark place now because Loki means to bring nothing but destruction to everyone. Overall, from the representation of the film through lighting, costumes, and various shots the director did an amazing job continuing the sequel of this movie and foreshadowing the next.
“Boyz N The Hood” gives any audience an opportunity to get a glimpse of life in the Black community within South Central, Los Angeles, California. Collectively, the film uses a message, semiotics, and elements of mise-en-scene to present a depiction of such. For the message, it uses the themes of Black-on-Black violence, fatherhood, and external factors that affect the Black community. For the cinematic approach, it uses symbols, such as the gun, to display the different ideologies pertaining to the narratives. Finally, in the mise-en-scene, the film used a combination of music, camera shots, and costume to express emotion, conversation, and character.
The 1995 film "Friday" give its audience the general idea that second class African American has been a target of destruction. Throughout the movie the liquor store is shown to be in the community, there are black on black crimes and of course drugs being distributed. And what the director does, he giving the second class citizens in a black community a look in the mirror. And with that interpretation the reflection the black community is a person (community) that is seen when looking in the mirror that is poor, ugly, and uneducated.
The film I chose to analyze is “Higher Learning” by John Singleton. The denotative meaning of “Higher Learning” is education or learning at a college or university level. The connotative meaning behind the movie is that Columbus University which is the center of higher learning serves as microcosm of America. While there the students encounter social issues such as racial issues, sexual orientation, and class distinctions. The social issues that the students ran into on the campus are some of the same issues that are in American society, the point behind the film was to bring to light the social issues that are prevalent in America but are rarely addressed. In order to do this Singleton used symbols such as the American Flag, Swastikas and neo-Nazi characters to represent the ideology of white supremacy. He also used differences between the characters to represent class distinctions and the characters story line to represent issues with sexual orientation.
The pursuit of happiness is a heart-felt 'must see' film about a man named Chris Gardner who is striving to obtain a job as a stockbroker in San Francisco California to provide for his family. Homeless, Chris has to care for his son and overcome many unfortunate obstacles in the process. I believe the overall ideology of the film is be happy, follow your dreams, and get what you want, no matter how tragic your circumstances may be. Also, we shouldn't wait for things to be perfect to be happy. Directors did an amazing job utilizing camera angles of the emotions of the characters and transferring those same emotions to the audience.
Revenge, justiciable or unjustified, is a relevant theme in the Hughes brother’s film. It is responsible for a majority of murders throughout the movie. When Caine’s cousin Harold is killed, Caine and his friends retaliate and kill those responsible. When Caine pistol whips Chauncey. Chauncey gets his revenge by sending the police a robbery tape. Revenge is significant because it also leads to Caine’s death. After Caine’s gets into a fight with the cousin of a girl he impregnated, the cousin doesn’t want rematch with fist. Instead he delivers a drive by on Caine, which also results in his friend Sharif being killed. The cycle of vengeance can last forever simply because it is natural to humans. Instead of seeking vengeance humans should solve problems in a respectable manner. When payback is associated with violence, one must simply chose the high road although it may be difficult.
Revenge, justiciable or unjustified, is a relevant theme in the Hughes brother’s film. It is responsible for a majority of murders throughout the movie. When Caine’s cousin Harold is killed, Caine and his friends retaliate and kill those responsible. When Caine pistol whips Chauncey. Chauncey gets his revenge by sending the police a robbery tape. Revenge is significant because it also leads to Caine’s death. After Caine’s gets into a fight with the cousin of a girl he impregnated, the cousin doesn’t want rematch with fist. Instead he delivers a drive by on Caine, which also results in his friend Sharif being killed. The cycle of vengeance can last forever simply because it is natural to humans. Instead of seeking vengeance humans should solve problems in a respectable manner. When payback is associated with violence, one must simply chose the high road although it may be difficult.
This film is a drama/romance between two lovers Augusta Waters and Hazel grace which shows their struggles dealing with their different types of cancers and conquering their inner demons. This movie introduces obstacles in which no one thinks they can overcome but with the strength that lies within them and the growing love that they have for each other seems to be the only reason to push through their life.The film I chose is " The Fault In Our Stars. This film has many denotative and connotative meanings. One is the term water. Water in this film represents the fluid in Hazel Grace lungs, But the denotative meaning of water is a colorless transparent, odorless, tasteless liquid that forms the seas, lakes, rivers, and rain and is the basis of the fluids of living organisms.
The Road Within is a comedy/ drama film about a young man name Vincent, who has Tourette's Syndrome and persuades two of his fellow patients from a treatment facility to go with him to spread his recently-deceased mother's ashes. Starring Robert Sheehan, Dev Patel, and Zoe Kravitz this film shows many signifiers showing progression and regression in relationship to the character's disability. An example of a connotative meaning from the film is when Alex, played by Dev Patel, finally took off one of his gloves and actually held a hand of a friend. This showed a progression in the control he has over his disability.
Remember the Titans is a very inspirational and uplifting film about two different football teams, whites and blacks coming together to overcome racial issues during that time period. Furthermore, in 1971, at the desegregated T. C. Williams High School, a black head coach Herman Boone, played by Denzel Washington, is hired to lead the school's football team. Boone is assigned to the coaching team under a white coach, Bill Yoast, played by Will Patton, in attempt to face rising racial tension. I strongly encourage all races in today’s generation to see this film because racial conflicts due to stereotypes still exist in today’s society; therefore is imperative that we shouldn't judge a person due to their race, even as different as we may be as individuals we are all human and most importantly if we all work together to reach a common goal we will have unity and succeed, but if we are divided, we will fail. Or as the Bible puts it, “A house divided against itself can't stand." I strongly believe this particular movie did a great job in filming this movie, through the characters, mis en scene, semiotics, and discourses; everything the filmmaker and/or writer displayed was intentional and for an exact reason so the audience could get a better sense of the inspirational movie. De'ja Rashai Jones
The film that I analyzed was "The Matrix". The film depicts a future in which reality perceived by most humans is merely a simulated reality called The Matrix. which is created by machines to overcome the human race while their real bodies are used as an energy source. The main Character, Neo, who is played by Keanu Reeves, is referred to as "The One" throughout the film. This automatically lead me to believe that this film was in comparison to Christianity. Neo went through a rebirth at the beginning of the film when he decided to find out about the "real world" and later in the film he was killed and resurrected. These actions are both similar to Jesus Christ. Other characters in the film have bible like characteristics as well. Morpheus could be looked at as a God like figure because he was sort of the father of the real world and he was the one that deemed Neo "The One". Agent Smith could be thought of as a demon because his goal was to keep the world corrupt. The Oracle could represent John the prophet. Cypher could represent Judas one of the twelve disciples that turned his back on Jesus in the bible. The main signifier in this film was the telephones. The phones were a way for Morpheus and his crew to teleport from The Matrix to The real World. This film makes humans question if life is real of if in actuality life is just a game that they were placed in.
The film that I analyzed for my presentation was Frankie & Alice. Directed by Geoffrey Sax, Frankie & Alice is a 2010 Canadian drama film that is set in the 1970s. It is an inspired true story centered on a black go-go dancer Frankie (Halle Berry), who battles with multiple personality disorder. After experiencing many blackouts, Frankie encounters a psychotherapist (Stellan Skarsgård) who tries to uncover the truth behind these personalities, including that of a powerful white racist woman (Alice) and an intellectual child (Genius). This film was made to show the actual intensity of personality disorder in the world during the 1970s. Frankie & Alice, has a few signifiers that triggers Frankie, but the main one is terms or objects associated with babies like the baby raddle and cradle. The connotative and denotative meanings of the story are a little more difficult to find. When Frankie’s friend from the club ask to see the newspaper and notices that the crossword puzzle is already complete, she call her genius as if being so smart to know every word, thus creating the denotative meaning. The connotative meaning on the other hand is that the term Genius is actually the name of one of Frankie’s personalities that she has no idea that exist. -Tori R. Henry
The film Pulp Fiction is a uneventful story about a black Los Angeles Mob boss and his hit men. It caught my attention for two reasons; 1. It featured Sameul L. Jackson. 2. I am a fan of the director. The director, Quentin Tarantino, is known for his violent, bloody, over exaggerated camera angles, and straight forward films and this was the best one. Pulp Fiction doesn't have a specific message but it makes you think, "What's the worst that can happen?!"
Skeleton key has a way of making you think one thing is going to happen while another is taking place. During the movie, it goes into depth about how each soul is being trapped inside of a new younger body to keep living. Reverse psychology plays a major role because that is how they lead their victims into their house. This movie has many complex messages and it shows just how complex they are once the main character begins to discover what is really going on. The denotative meaning was that the main character was being lured in because the wife needed her body to continue to have her soul living. The connotative meaning was that she was just hired as a nurse to take care of her husband who was sick.
The 1950s were indeed a dreadful time for people of color. Racial tensions were high, schools, jobs, public housing and transportation was segregated, civil unrest was abound in Black communities and race relations were anything short of reconcilable. A time period where Jim Crow laws reinforced segregation and made it unlawful for blacks and whites to interact, integrate and peacefully coexist. The recently released film “Fences”, starring Denzel Washington and Viola Davis, is a theatrical adaptation of the play written by veteran playwright Arthur Wilson that conscientiously captures the aura of animosity exhibited by the harsh conditions of the time period, causing it to antagonize the protagonist.
The film I picked was Hangover. The film is about a gathering of friends who are taking a street trip they will always remember. Presently they need to recall what happened. Their is a child in the wardrobe, tiger in the restroom, Stu is feeling the loss of a tooth and Doug is missing. The film is field with puzzles and with each riddle comprehended it gives them a prompt the following secret bearing in mind the end goal of discovering Doug.
This film is loaded with great comedy. It gives you living free on occasion. We as a whole have a little revolt in us and this film demonstrates that. The auto was played as the real meant question and it highlighted brought out extraordinary demonstrative importance of whjat occurs in Vegas remains in Vegas.
I chose to write about the film Django. Its a favorite of mine with the great film executive Quentin Tarantino.Django Unchained is a 2012 American revisionist Western film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, starring Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kerry Washington, and Samuel L. Jackson. Set in the Old West and Antebellum South, it is a highly stylized tribute to Spaghetti Westerns, in particular the 1966 Italian film Django by Sergio Corbucci, Tarantino won an Academy Award, a Golden Globe, and a BAFTA award for writing the film's original screenplay. The film grossed over $425 million worldwide in theaters against its $100 million budget, making it Tarantino's highest-grossing theatrical release.
For my film analysis, I chose Beast of the Southern Wild". A Sundance Drama/Fantasy/Adventure that surrounds a free spirited six year old named Hushpuppy who lives in a impoverished community in the outskirts of Louisiana referred to as "The Bathtub". Hushpuppy is portray as a chaotic protagonist who means well but is followed by trouble wherever she goes. The film hs a denotative aspect of how serious the poverty issue in America but also ha the idea of global warming as a connotative meaning.
For my film analysis, I chose Beast of the Southern Wild". A Sundance Drama/Fantasy/Adventure that surrounds a free spirited six year old named Hushpuppy who lives in a impoverished community in the outskirts of Louisiana referred to as "The Bathtub". Hushpuppy is portray as a chaotic protagonist who means well but is followed by trouble wherever she goes. The film hs a denotative aspect of how serious the poverty issue in America but also ha the idea of global warming as a connotative meaning. This film contains a lot of symbols and motifs that drive the story forward. The film also does not contain a lot of dialogue which makes the visual aesthetic of the film even more powerful. the camera angles and special effects is what truly makes this a great film.
I chose the film Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs. This movie was a family oriented movie targeting the youth crowd. It is an animation, action, adventure, comedy, romance, science fiction film. This films denotative meaning was the basic themes that are clear towards children which is family is the most important thing and bravery. Whereas, the connotative meaning is about global warming. Because in the movie before this it was "The Meltdown" and it was showing how the ice was melting, and now I feel like this movie is portraying the affects of climate change and how it is effecting the animals. All in all, I really enjoyed this movie because it kept me interested the whole time with the different colors, sound, and music.
For my film analysis I chose the 2016 movie Moonlight. The movie follows Chiron through the three chapters or stages of life as a little boy, teenager, and grown man. As Chiron grows up we get to see him struggle internally and externally with his image. The movie is set in the 1980’s in Miami in a predominately black neighborhood Liberty City. The first scene of the movie establishes the theme for the rest of the movie. As we follow Chiron as a little boy there are a lot of point of view angels so we can see things the way he would to get the best understanding. Moving on to his teenage years where most of the action occurs we get more close ups to get more personal with the actors. With the close ups more emotion gets through to the audience. Also in this chapter the camera even gets in between the actors so the audience can get the feeling of being in between the action. In the third chapter Chiron is now a grown man and we him continue to struggle with his identity. Even his childhood friend has to question who he is. This part of the movie also gives us close ups once again to bring a personal feel as Chiron comes to terms with who he is. I determined the denotative meaning on the title “Moonlight” is that, most things in the movie like in the African American happen at night in the moonlight. I also determined that the connotative meaning on the title is that, your true self will shine through any and all the time even when you are in the dark. The movie does a great job on how masculinity is forced on males, especially black ones and causes internal conflict. Also the movie shows that you can become a product of your environment. Additionally the movie does a great job of displaying the journey of self-discovery many people not only black males go through.
The film I chose to analyze was the film " Straight Outta Compton". Straight Outta Compton is a movie that depicts the relation between police and African Americans, the evolution of new genre of music, and the ideal of a brotherhood or family. Throughout the movie this was shown chronically especially since our main protagonist group is affected by their surroundings. There were also a few key things semiotics wise during the film that was reoccurring as well. The use of slow motion during the movie was very key because it happen mostly during the conflicts with the police.The use of montages were mostly shown through the music to pass the time especially during the beginning when they made the first album,the use of dates were come throughout the movie, and every time a scene would change to an important moment in the movie. In the movie the connative meaning was shown by each character has something that described them throughout the movie ( Example Ice Cube with his composition book filled with lyrics.In my opinion the movie was a excellent depiction of how America was during the late 80s and early 90s. I feel that it would be great tool to teach students about how things that was consider to be old problems are still current problems till today. If there was things I would change though in the film it would be that I would maybe have changed the way some things were put into scene.
Don’t Breathe is a film that uses various filming and editing techniques to give the viewers an exciting thrill without leaving one location of a specific character’s home and with only a 6-man cast. The filming techniques in this film will have the viewers on edge of their seats. The director and editor of this film manage to make a 10-million-dollar budgeting film revenue over 157 million. Some of the filming and editing techniques used included symbolism, montage, long shots, tracking shots, close ups shots, slow motion, lighting, and audio. In this film, the connotation is the three thieves were surprised to find out that a blind man could have the capabilities of finding and executing people without his sight. In the beginning, Money gets the information that this is an old blind man that won a settlement followed by the death of his daughter and only child, the characters thought that it was going to be an easy job but end up with one person living at the end of the film. Denotative mean is when Money takes the gun into the house because he knows that the blind man is also a Veteran from the military. Alex is also very literal in this film. He emphasizes the actual risk they all take doing certain thing, and taking certain things. He believes in the system and reality of things and takes precaution throughout the film giving the audience a real life feeling for the film. My personal interpretation is that I feel like this film is revolved around greed and underestimations. I also feel like in the plot twist where they find the girl kidnapped that the film was revolved around the culture of family and gave the film depth. The blind man emphasized how much he cared for having a daughter after the pregnant woman died and he tied up Rocky and almost injected her with his sperm. This film was very interesting and was very entertaining to watch. I think the directors and editors did an outstanding job with this film.
The film I chose for my movie analysis was Get Out. The African-American experience has often been, by any unbiased interpretation, a sickening one. So it might be surprising that in the history of American movies, Jordan Peele’s “Get Out” is namely the first horror film directed by an African American man ever financed by a major Hollywood studio. The film, which was No. 1 at the box office, is based on interracial relationships, benevolent racism, cultural barriers and how it feels to be a black man in America. The movie is a major achievement in black cinema showing scares, humor, sinister intelligence, and the constant paranoia that resides within the hearts of blacks that must cohabitate in white spaces. From what I’ve discovered in my findings from the artifact, the movie Get Out has several denotative meanings. The explicit meaning of the movie is showcasing the race issues still prevalent in popular culture through a dark satirical eye. Each sequence of events leading up to the climax of the movie when Chris realizes the Armitage’s true intentions, get more suspenseful and genuinely scary. The sequence does not capture a man all of a sudden being forced into dispute with a random iniquity in a place in which he usually feels safe and sound. It features someone who generally moves in constant fear, and said already feels uneasy by his surroundings, have his biggest fears suddenly come to life before his eyes.
Connotative meanings were not as difficult to spot either. A teacup and spoon are the items that Rose's mom Missy uses to spellbind Chris and hold him under the Armitage’s control. We as viewers perceive the "silver spoon" as a different method of expression to depict privilege that has been passed down through generations in their family. The same goes for the Armitage’s who are ensured by two significant points: their whiteness and their riches. Dean, Rose's father and Missy's wrongdoing, and the horrendous things their children to do, have gone unnoticed in light of the fact that they're protected by riches. The silver spoon, both actually and symbolically, enables them to control inconspicuous Black casualties at their impulse and without outcome.
Overall, the movie was an excellent interpretation of probing the very real anxieties fabricated by racism and in this case another form of slavery. Though the film does not go into depth using a deep analysis of the references, which are being expressed, their effects are more than powerful. From the painful point-of-view shots, to seeing the world being portrayed through a camera lens, the imagination of the movie is appreciated and entertaining.
For my film analysis I decided to use the movie The Blind Side. The movie is the movie is about the life and football career of NFL star Michael Oher. This movie the prefect representation of how sports can be used as a the African American males "way out" of poverty and crime. Michael Oher was eventually adopted by Leigh Anne Tuohy , a white woman who gives him the necessary tools to get through high school and go play professional football. The director of this film John Lee Hancock does a good job at showing a clear distinction of the way both characters lives. He's able to use different angles and lighting throughout the scenes to show the hardship of Michaels life and the different between his new life. He also shows a distinction between how Micheals life could be without sports.
The film analysis I decided to use was the movie the Titanic.The movie is about two lovers and ill fated maiden voyage of the R.M.S Titanic. The largest moving object ever built at the time I believe this movie illustrates a perfect example of just how far love can take you between a movie outline and movie director editing with writing scripts. Rose Bukater a 17 year old passenger was a wealthy person with a fiance ends up falling in love with poor but charming artist Jack Dawson. The director of this film does a great job in showing crystal clear of the plots forming and background scenery with cast. He is able to use to great long,medium,and short shots and also different angles of lighting. It displays a sense of common and popular movie Romeo and Juliet and plot twist within the movie.
The film that I selected to do my film analysis on was White Chicks. I feel like this movie had much more to offer to audiences than just comedy. The main theme that I came across in this movie was that love conquers all. Shawn and Marlon Wayans, both undercover FBI agents, are attempting to save their jobs, catch a kidnapper, and keep their love lives in tact all at the same time. Marlon Wayans is dealing with his wife who thinks that he is cheating and Shawn Wayans takes on the task of trying to please a reporter by the name of Denise Porter. Despite its comedic background, White Chicks serves a purpose to audiences.
My film analysis paper was on the film “The Birth of a Nation” 2016. This film is about Nat Turner who is an enslaved Baptist preacher who lives on a Virginia plantation owned by Samuel Turner. With rumors of insurrection in the air, a cleric convinces Samuel that Nate should sermonize to other slaves. As Nate witnesses the horrific treatment of his fellow man, he realizes that he can no longer just stand by and preach. On Aug. 21, 1831, Turner's quest for justice and freedom leads to a violent and historic rebellion in Southampton County. The denotative meaning that stood out to me in this film was the fight against the whites and the troops results in white families dying and innocent blacks being murdered and this Leads to Nate turner being hung. The connotative meaning I gathered from the film was Nat turner gives sermon to other slaves because he worships the Lord and thought they should as well and fights for black freedom. Another semiotic would be the signifiers and signified in a film. In Birth of a Nation some signifiers would be blood, and the sun and night sky. My overall evaluation of the film was growing up in slavery was the most hardest thing any black human being could go through but everything that the blacks fought for made a way for us to see better days.
The film I selected for my film analysis is " Glory Road " 2006. This film starts with Coach Don Haskins of Texas Western College trying to recruit players of any race to his basketball team. At this time, many basketball teams had almost all white players. After being decline by a majority of the people he was attempting to recruit, he decides to go on a different route. Coach Haskins and his partner Jerry Armstrong go cross-country looking for black players for his team. In the end, he has seven black players and five white players - something very different for the time period. Coach Haskins puts his players through tough training and figures out where they fit and do their best on the court. Once their places and duties are decided, Texas Western begins to win almost every game. The more they win, the more racial discrimination is thrown their way due to the amount of time black players are given on the court. While on the road, a player is beaten up in the bathroom. After that, they agree to go in pairs wherever they go. When they get back to their hotel room, racist things are written all over the walls, but the team gets through it. Texas Western makes it all the way to NCAA Championships. Coach Haskins tells the team that only the black players will be starting the game. At the end of the game, they are forced to go into overtime. Texas Western is about to win when Kentucky scores a goal, but it's called a foul, causing Texas Western to beat Kentucky 72 - 65. The team arrives back to El Paso to a loud crowd.
An African American photographer, Chris Washington, is with his white girlfriend, Rose, on the way to meet her parents for the first time. Rose assures Chris that her parents are not racists. Chris is welcomed by her neurosurgeon dad, Dean, psychotherapist mom, Missy, and a weird presence from Rose’s brother, Jeremy. Chris almost meets the eerily hostile groundskeeper and the unblinking maid, which they seem a bit too happy enough to be there. The family seem harmless and square, making clumsy attempts to connect with Chris by conspicuously name- dropping President Obama and Jesse Owens. At first, Chris reads the family's overly compliant behavior as nervous attempts to deal with their daughter's interracial relationship, but as the weekend progresses, a series of increasingly disturbing discoveries lead him to a truth that he never could have imagined. For report finding of analysis, the movie used mostly symbols and signs to bring the message out in the movie. The tea cup and spoon is the object Rose's mother Missy uses to hypnotize Chris and keep him under the Armitages' control. The "silver spoon" is shown as a figure of speech to describe privilege that is passed down through generations. The same is true of the Armitages who are protected by two very important attributes: their whiteness and their wealth. In Webster dictionary, the definition of white is association of good character; innocent. An example of white in the movie would be in the beginning when Rose’s brother used a white car to kidnapp the black guy. Another example would be when Rose was eating cereal towards the end of the movie. She separated the milk from the cereal ( separating white from color) which showed how evil and no good she truly was. The dennotative meaning of the movie is that Get Out is the suspicions African-Americans have with white people, because of their history with them. The connotative meaning is that All white people are not innocent. And that’s because to the signs like the tea cup and the Plot twist in the movie.The cinematographic language of the movie is that it uses long shots, a bit of montage and continuity, but mostly cut, jump cut, and fade. The movement of the screen space was fast because Get Out is a horror/thriller, so its visual style had fast paced cuts to give the audience more of a thriller feeling. The film directly addresses race and the anxiety around this social construct of skin color. The timing of the film reflects America’s struggle with race, a nation still plagued by ongoing, institutional injustice. Get Out act as entertainment predominantly with daily reports of black men killed for the color of their skin, it’s also a vital reminder that racism remains a more terrifying force than any horror character or film.
The film I decided to critique and analyze is "City of God", it was produced in Brazil in 2002. This movie is focused on the poverty, crime, and drug wars that take place in this country. Adding on a flash-front scene as the first scene of the movie was an interesting and smart way to begin the film, because finally reaching that part clears up where that scene came in to play in the first place. With drug trading and violence throughout the entire movie made fro a good film to portray the criminal life taking place in the slums of Brazil. The denotative meaning of the film would be the relationship between Benny and Carrot, keeping the peace between the two drug lords Lil Ze and Carrot and his death ultimately lead to the climax of the movie.
My film is the classic archival movie Gilda. Perhaps one of the greatest pieces of film in history, Gilda is best known for a single quick shot: the first appearance of the title character, played by Rita Hayworth in her most famous performance. Even if you’ve never seen the movie which was originally released in 1946, and now joins the Criterion collection you’ve probably seen this moment, which turns up in virtually every montage devoted to Gilda itself is much more than a single indelible image. No film noir course would be complete without it, in part because it’s at once prototypical and highly unusual.
The American 3D computer-animated comedy film Toy Story 3 unites many different non fictional ideologies that are present in everyday life and reforms them within a fictional environment in order to appeal to a wide range of people, corresponding to the idea that ‘the defining characteristic of a Disney film is that it is a classic. Disney Pixar, the creators of the film, present various ideas in relation to modern day life and dominant ideologies that exist within this, these ideas are reflected immediately even before the film is released. The main focus is on family and how there is a household hierarchy within Andy’s life; the toys are directly affected by what Andy does yet Andy is impacted by the decisions that his mother makes.
The movie I chose was The Color Purple. This film is based off of a novel written by Alice Walker and was released in 1985.Steven Spielberg directed this movie, as well as many other great movies. Such as Jaws, Super 8 and ET. This novel mainly focuses on a character named Celie who struggled to have self- confidence and respect for herself. This movie invites the audience to focus on a women's suffrage. In The Color Purple, men see women as objects that they can control, which results in women turning to other women for support. In this movie there are a lot of strong social codes in the color purple that goes beyond a denotative meaning. Purple represents all good things in the world. At the beginning of the movie Celie has no sense of the color purple. She has such a horrible life that she is just living day by day, not stopping to smell the roses. After meeting a local blues singer, Shug Avery, Celie begins to understand the concept of life and begins to love the life she is living.
The film The Hunger Games, released in 2012 and based off the first book of a literary trilogy, has become a source of entertainment and intrigue among many Americans. Featuring a futuristic and dystopian United States, it has captured the imagination for some and kindled an intense obsession for others. While on the surface this movie might seem to simply be a story with a riveting plot line about young love, vicious combat, and survival, it is much more than that. As most films do, if one takes a closer look, The Hunger Games gives rise to multiple sociological patterns and themes. But, if we observe closer we notice that the Hunger Games focuses on the theme of social class division and injustice. The story takes place in a dystopian post-apocalyptic future in the nation of Panem, which is divided into 12 districts, where a boy and a girl from each district, between the ages of 12 and 18 must take part in The Hunger Games, a televised annual event in which the "tributes" of each district are required to fight to the death until there is only one survivor. Katniss Everdeen volunteers to take her younger sister's place. With her district's male tribute, Peeta Mellark, Katniss travels to the Capitol to train for the Hunger Games under the guidance of former victor Haymitch Abernathy. Symbolism of the film- The Hunger Games is a novel about the "haves" and the "have nots" that is, the people who have money and the people who don't. While the Capitol is wealthier than all of the districts, some districts are more privileged than others, so they can train their tributes to do well in the Hunger Games. Mise en scene Setting, lighting, costume, props and the behavior of figures help show the differences between the two worlds. The capitol (wealthy) and the districts (poor) Lighting in the capitol was very bright (high key) with warm colors while the district lighting appeared to be dark (low-key) Cinematography language Transitions-jump cut and continuity Long shots were used to establish the setting. Medium shots were used to capture both the character and the background Close ups were used to show the emotions and reactions of the characters Analysis of the signified Denotative- Bow Connotative- power Signifier-Fire Signified-Hope Semiotics Peeta's Bread symbolizes hope, survival and friendship Conclusion In conclusion, semiotics in the Hunger Games strengthen the plot by adding to the visual and ideological comparison and characterization of characters, objects and locations. With a closer look at the aesthetics of the film, we get a clearer view of how the visuals supports the overall theme of social class division and injustice.
I did my film based off my favorite Literary novel "The Great Gatsby". The Great Gatsby was released May 1, 2013 directed by Baz Luhrman. The movie received many impressive awards such as Best costume design, best cinematography, best editing, and etc.The Movie is a narration in film, told in first person narration. Nick Carraway is in a psych ward due to depression and alcoholism, therefore it is suggested by his doctor that he write about what brought him to this point. Throughout the film, Nick narrates the story as he recalls what happened seven years prior. In the movie, Nick is back from World War I and is renting a house in West Egg. His cousin Daisy and Tom lives across the bay in East Egg. Jay Gatsby, Nick’s next door neighbor, a wealthy newcomer who throws large parties weekly wants Daisy and to be able to be in the American upper class. The tale is based on Nick Caraway, who is a Midwestern war veteran in the summer of 1922, who finds himself obsessed with the past lifestyle of his mysterious, wealthy neighbor Jay Gatsby and his love for the beautiful Daisy Buchanan. Nick Caraway, helps reunite lost loves Jay Gatsby, his neighbor and Daisy Buchanan, his cousin. The Setting takes place in Long Island and New York City specifically in West Egg and East Egg. The costumes in the movie was AMAZING!!! The characters were dressed based off the era they were in which was the roaring 20s. The women were dressed in extravagant dresses while the men were dressed in suits and tuxedos. The wealth of the character were expressed through their clothing through the quality of garment and fabric types. The lighting in the movie was great as well although it was mostly artificial but had high key lighting. Throughout the movie, there were several themes in which i felt help me to get a better representation of what it was like during the 1920s in America. The themes included The American Dream since it was during the decline of that time, society and class had a big impact because money and greed caused many confusion and had several deaths occur in the film. Other themes included love, desire and relationship because each main character basically had sexual relations with someone even though majority were married. Throughout the film there were several symbols such Signifer-the green light, the signifed was Daisy's hopes and dreams for the future. Another one was signifer-the valley of ashes, the signifed was the representation of the moral and social decay that results from the pursuit of wealth. The last signifer was the Eyes of Doctor T.J Eckleburg, with the signifed being that the eyes represent that God sees everything. In conclusion, the semiotics in the Great Gatsby gave me a better understanding of the entire movie though the visuals, character costumers, symbols and the locations . With me analyzing the film, it showed me how money and social worth makes people do dangerous things that sometimes result in death due to greed.
Raisin in The Sun tells the story of rags to riches for a Southside Chicago African American family. Th family has received a $10,000 life insurance check and has a chance to escape the impoverished life they live for a better one. However, with money comes problems. Not everyone in the family agrees with how the money should be handled. This creates tension, conflict, and distance amongst the family members. The message of the film shows the power money has and the amount of will a family obtains t not let money tear them apart.
For this research paper, my film of choice is the animated motion picture, “Inside Out.” This film begins with an 11-year-old Riley Anderson making a big move from Minnesota to San Francisco because of her father’s job. Although Riley and her parents play a part in how the film ultimately unfolds, they are not the main characters of her story. Joy, Fear, Disgust, Anger, and Sadness, Riley’s primary emotions, run the show. With Joy being the protagonist, most of the film is centered around her and the decisions she makes for Riley. The film is broken up into two different perspectives: Riley’s literal perspective of outside events, and the metaphorical perspective inside her mind. To give the audience a better understanding of Riley’s circumstances, the narrative continuously switches back and forth between these two perspectives. Hence the name “Inside Out.” The denotative meaning of this film is the “inside out” aspect of it. Throughout the film, the audience is given these two different perspectives which also acts as the narrative structure. The connotative meaning lies within all the special details the film has to offer. Almost every little thing in this film represents something deeper than what is seen. This film attaches a light-hearted meaning to our emotions. It is telling the audience that giving attention to all emotions is necessary for a healthy/balanced human mind, and that the suppression of emotions can cause severe dysfunction. Basically, our emotions are a package deal and as we age we learn that it is ok to experience more than one at a time. The film also digs deep into what happens with the coming of age, and how the human brain adapts. This adaptation comes with certain sacrifices, new interests, disinterest of old things, and the overall better understanding of life circumstances.
Friday night lights is a true story about a TEXAS High school football team. In a small town at Permian high where its Racially divided and economically dying, there is one night that gives the town something to live for; Friday Night. The Permian Panthers have a big winning tradition in Texas high school football, led by QB Mike Winchell and superstar tailback Boobie Miles. This sports drama has many different camera angels that show so many emotions and different shadows of lighting; like hard and soft lighting. In the game of football you have to be all for the team if you want to win. When there is ADVERSITY how will you act on the situation, WILL YOU CRUMBLE LIKE A PIECE OF Paper or come together as one to rise like the fire that burns in your soul for the partition of the game . In this movie we see the Permian Panthers have difficult season but kept fighting every game to make the playoffs. I feel this is one of the best football movies every told. The director had little side stories that dealt with different characters but still making it about the team. Peter Berg did a great telling the lives of the key characters.
The movie that i chose to do was Get Out this film is about a black male name Chris and this is his first time meeting his white girlfriend Rose’s family when he finally meets them he thinks it may be wired because he is black but it is far more to be worried about. On the surface we see modern day slavery but if we take a closer look we see the overall theme that liberal whites are just as harmful as overt racists. There are a lot of symbolism in this movie for example the deer that is hit in the begenning of the movie is symbolizing black people because it’s a species they show no remorse for and feel as though it should be gotten rid of. The signifier in this movie is the tea cup because without it you can’t be drawn to the sunken place which is the climax of the story. This close up in this scene revealed Chris’ true feelings and emotions as we see the tears flowing from his eyes and his mouth left wide open. There are colors that symbolize the flag Rose has on a red striped sweater while Chris has on a blue shirt. Liberal racism and white supremacy
The movie that I picked to breakdown and analyze was Remember The Titans.The movie is about the true story of a newly appointed African-American coach and his high school team on their first season as a racially integrated unit. The coach has to bring his team together in a social time, where blacks, and whites did not get along. along with getting the team to come together, the team bought the entire community together. Showing how football, and a group of teenages can bring an entire community together.
The movie goes into depth, showing us a bigger picture. The team started off not liking each other, because of the racial discrimination, but shows us, if we all come together, we can accomplish anything, and that's exactly what the titans did. The team came together and put their difference aside and won the state championship. while that was happening, it also bought the community together, forcing them to put aside thier racial differences and support the team
My movie that i chose to do my report on is Forrest Gump. The thesis from the movie is Love Forrest Gump gave us some classic quotes: "Life is like a box of chocolates" Friendship, Education, Dreams, Hopes, and Plans.These quotes is basically speaking to forrest gumps life on how you never know whats in store for you the next day but everyday you get is a blessing so just life everyday like it's your last.The mode of production is that it's a typical sentimental drama from the mid-'90s. And, in a way, it is. But, you might not have noticed that this movie was using some pretty sophisticated special effects for its time.
The Cinematography systems from the movie is that Forrest Gump narrates his life predominately from a bus stop bench through stories to highly variable strangers over the course of an afternoon while waiting for bus number nine: a black housekeeper, a white mom and her young son, on old business man, and an old lady. The spatial relations between Forrest and his company maintained the 180° system which not only preserves continuity in the shots, but it also supports the emotional connections between Forrest as the storyteller to his listener. Through a subjective point of view, temporal relations are also supported in these scenes because his dialogue fades into a flashback of the story that is viewed by the viewer in the following scene. Throughout the majority of the film, the transitions between the present time at the bus stop and the flashbacks to different stories from Forrest’s past establish the emotional connections of the viewer to Forrest Gump through his mannerisms and personality traits in connecting to complete strangers.
The film Moonlight is about the battle between external persona and internal real self. This film shows the same person as different people at different stages in their lives’, serving universal themes about identity, sexuality, and masculinity. The concept of the movie is unconventional because it follows the untold story of a young gay black boy in the hood. Its’s narrative structure is broken down into three chapters, telling his story as a child, teenager, and young adult. Moonlight thoroughly uses semiotics, which is what makes the film so attractive, using the color blue, the ocean, and the breeze, all three having a symbolic connotative meaning. For instance, the color blue represents freedom, peace, masculinity and sometimes sadness. But the denotative meaning is that in fact in moonlight black boys do look blue, which is proved at the end of the film when a boy is standing under the moonlight by the ocean and his skin has a blue tint.
THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS is an emotional and motivational film. Will Smith stars in this moving tale inspired by the true story of Chris Gardner, a San Francisco salesman struggling to build a future for himself and his 5-year-old son Christopher. When his girlfriend Linda walks out, Chris is left to raise Christopher on his own. Chris' determination finally pays off when he lands an unpaid internship in a brutally competitive stockbroker-training program, where only one in twenty interns will make the cut. But without a salary, Chris and his son are evicted from their apartment and are forced to sleep on the streets, in homeless shelters and even behind the locked doors of a metro station bathroom. With self-confidence and the love and trust of his son, Chris Gardner rises above his obstacles to become a Wall Street legend. The film has an underlying message to black men in America that are single fathers or parents overall. when the going gets tough dont give up but go harder because what hurts you wont kill you. you are already hurting from it so get an award from it.
Precious was a coming of age film that depicted a young girls journey to a better life. Precious lives a life that includes many sociological issues that have unarguably caused her great pain throughout her young life. Having endured poverty, sexual abuse, and verbal abuse her life has been far from perfect, but she realizes the need to defeat these negative sociological factors to achieve a life that seems to her as only a fantasy. Lee Daniels effectively portrays the source of Precious’s problems, as well as the way in which she deals with them; thus, achieving his goal in allowing the audience to see the effects of negative home environments and how outside factors like teachers and social workers really shape the lives of kids from these types of backgrounds.The use of color to evoke emotion in this film was subtle but very much powerful. Daniels used red yellow and orange tones in the home scenes to give you the personification of anger and rage festering behind the walls of a place that should be considered safe. He used blue and white tones in the exterior scenes to show that any peace to be found was going to be found outside of the home. One factor of semiotics he used throughout the film was the use of a handheld camera or a "shakey cam" this gives the audience a perceived realness to the scene. It feels like they're actually in the room while the scene is taking place.
While the Armitage family works to balance the intellectual superiority of white people with the physical advantages of the black community, Chris holds himself back–participating in the modern tradition of African-Americans to blame a lack of agency on a system that just isn’t fair. Agreeing to produce a State I.D. when it isn’t warranted, merely for the sake of keeping the peace? Chris, like so many men and women in his position, fails to take action because of a problem and equity. The dramatic theory of the story defines equity as a balance, fairness, or stability. This effort to maintain balance because “shit isn’t fair” holds people back from solving personal problems. Sometimes as Chris later learns a little inequity is needed to move things forward. This drive towards Equity also reduces capable and productive members of society to sniveling and affable slaves, happy to keep peace with their masters at any cost even if it means forgetting their true selves. The genius of Get Out lies in the connection between Chris’s issues and the issues suffered by the rest of the cast at the hands of the Armitage family. Both the main character problem and overall story problem share a similar focus on Equity.
Adonis Johnson (Michael B. Jordan) never knew his famous father, boxing champion Apollo Creed, who died before Adonis was born. However, boxing is in his blood, so he seeks out Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) and asks the retired champ to be his trainer. Rocky sees much of Apollo in Adonis, and agrees to mentor him, even as he battles an opponent deadlier than any in the ring. With Rocky's help, Adonis soon gets a title shot, but whether he has the true heart of a fighter remains to be seen. The message that the movie creed sends is that in life it's deeper than just your job or what you do for monetary gains or to satisfy yourself. It's worth much more when you fighting for something deeper.Creed passes on the family name so in a way he is also honoring his father. Creed Tells the true story of a underdog with back against the wall. Protagonist rises against all pressures placed on him. You have your humble boxer, his mentor and the woman who becomes his significant other and foundation of support. There is also the famous boxer who gives our hero the boxing match chance of a lifetime. using these elements similar to “Rocky”, “Creed” then tweaks them, playing on our expectations before occasionally surprising us“Creed is what I call a ‘baton-passing story.’ Conlan is the Nemesis in the Final Struggle / Big Fight. But he and Donnie don’t actually intersect until late in the movie. So the screenwriters smartly pass the nemesis baton, one character to another.” Donnie is so eager to prove himself that he almost loses sight of why he began his Journey.In the fight there are many forms of opposition for the protagonist but in “Creed” they pass the baton through different characters. No matter the odds No matter who the opponent is in life the biggest battle will be within yourself. The theme is control what you can control.
The film Stomp The Yard and is dance drama romance motion picture centered around DJ Williams and young man who has just went through a traumatic event in his life where his brother was killed in front of him. His mother sends him to Atlanta from LA to go to school at Truth University, a historically black university. While in this whole new world he has to balance work and school and a social life like any normal college student. DJ is trying to register for his classes when he is chasing after a girl and literally runs into greek life on campus. He first encounter isn’t a good one because he causes more tension between Theta Nu Theta and Mu Gamma Xi. Grant the soon to be president of Mu Gamma Xi and April Plamer are dating but April catches DJ’s eye and he won’t stop until she is his girl. Eventually April realizes that’s grant is not good for her and she starts dating DJ. This makes Grant furious along with the fact that DJ pledges Theta Nu Theta instead accepting his invitation to join Mu Gamma Xi. The two fraternities are training and practicing for the step battle that the Mu’s have won for 7 years in a row but Theta Nu Theya believe that with DJ’s dance abilities that they can win. Grant sees DJ as a threat so he looks up his criminal record and finds that he was charged with battery in the death of his younger brother Duron. April’s father is he dena of students and agrees to lift the suspension of DJ if he agrees to stop seeing April. DJ refuses and April decides that her father either lift the suspension to keep her in his life. DJ ends up blowing the crowd away and winning the competion for the Thetas. Symbols in the film are the gloves that Duron wore at the time of his death and DJ uses them in the final battle of the competion to honor is brother.
My reflection on the matrix was a good one. The movie is mind-boggling A computer hacker Reeves learns that his entire life has been a virtual dream, orchestrated by a strange class of computer overlords in the far future. He joins a resistance movement led by Fishburne to free humanity from lives of computerized brainwashing.Mr. Reeves plays a late-20th-century computer hacker whose terminal begins telling him one fateful day that he may have some sort of messianic function in deciding the fate of the world.
Twelve Years a Slave is an American dramatic film, released in 2013, impressed critics and audiences with its disturbing depiction of slavery in the antebellum South. The movie won the British Academy of Film and Television Arts Award (BAFTA), the Academy Award for best picture and received the Golden Globe Award for best drama. The film chronicles the rough experiences of slavery and the dehumanizing effects of human bondage on everyone involved (Bauer 2017). McQueen uses the medium of film for its highest purposes: to elevate, educate the audience on the cruelty of slavery by presenting them with something that is truthful and electrifyingly (real). According to McQueen, “This film for me is about love,” he said, also referring to the movie as “a discussion about human dignity … It's a fight for soul; it's a war for his spirit. It's a very silent war, but a war none the less”. (Shoard 2013).
The slave chains, whips, music, and the lynching scenes are important symbols in the film. The chains illustrate how white people in society, politicians and slave owners oppressed the black slaves. The chains symbolize the near impossibility of escaping slavery. The whip is the ultimate symbol of dehumanization of black slaves by white slave owners; it signifies control and punishment. The music/violin expresses Solomon’s pride and identity. Music becomes a symbol mirroring both survival and loss (Magdalena 2018). The lynching of Solomon is an uncomfortable scene for the audience to watch but it depicts the brutal, inhumane consequences of slaves when they disobey their Masters (slave owners). The film portrays the everyday practices of lynching amongst slaves because in the background, slaves are working and children are happily playing in the yard unconcerned about the plight of Solomon (who hanged with a noose around his neck for an entire day) (McQueen 12 Years a Slave).
Twelve Years a Slave is a testimony of the human spirit of Solomon Northrup and the enduring determination of his faith, hope, courage, and willpower in the midst of impossible circumstances. Solomon stated in the film, “I don’t want to survive; I want to live, and he was able to do both (McQueen 12 Years a Slave)!
Moonlight is about the battle between external self (who you are on the outside) and internal self(who you are on the inside. This movie shows the same male character as three different people at the three stages in his live, showing the different universal themes about identity, sexuality. The main idea of the movie is unusual because it tells the untold story of a young gay black male in the street and hoods of Miami. The narrative structure is explained into three chapters, telling story as child, teenager, and young man. Moonlight uses semiotics, which is what makes the film so good, the color blue is the main representation and semiotic meaning of the film. The ocean, has a symbolic connotative meaning. For example, the color blue represents peace, and freedom and also can represent being sad. The denotative meaning in the film is black boys look blue, which you see at the at the end of the movie. With a image of the a little boy standing at the beach and the moonlight shines down on him leaving a blue colored look on his body. Moonlight demonstrated in the film that its stages into finding out who you really are.
In my personal opinion, the film A Time To Kill was and still is important for the radical society we live in today. The film shows the savage racism and the bias this country allows. It also sheds a light on just how horrific the crimes committed against blacks were (can be) while displaying boldly how a race flexes control/power in situations involving its own. Using the state of Mississippi for the film is a statements itself with the belief of many civil rights activists that Alabama and Mississippi were the two places needed to get on board for real change in the south. The all-white jury was connotative of the white population as a whole being that they were unable to put race aside when a mans actions were understood/rationalized. A time to Kill tells the world we are all the same in showing that pain, grief and revenge has no race.
Seven Pounds a movie carefully crafted by the director Gabriele Muccino and editor Hughes Winborne. The film signifies acts of selflessness but has an uncanny way of presenting it. A man so hurt carries the pain for the death of seven people he caused by his lack of attention when driving from a car accident. The film displays genuine in its purest form. The main character played by actor Will Smith, Tim Thomas seeks out a group of seven people whom he feels would be worthy of his seven organs. These individuals who he seeks worthy to help Tim states in the film “… are having a really hard time, who need help but is too proud to ask for a handout.” For these seven strangers he sacrificed his heart, eyes, home, and other organs that would dramatically change their lives. The narrative structure is broken down with flashbacks, confusing the audience throughout the film as to why this character is hurting but still expressing his generosity to help others. Concluding the film, the narrative comes together with the missing piece of the flashback that made his actions, pain, generosity, and hurt understood. Assessing the film Seven Pounds, semiotics, denotative vs. connotative, and analysis of the signified will be evaluated for a better perspective of the director’s point of view. Connotative vs. denotative meanings are used to get a better interpretation of the film. Connotative refers to symbolic cultural value whereas to denotative being more literal, and common meaning. With beginning with connotative, the boxed jellyfish can be considered again like before with semiotics. Yes, the jellyfish was a deadly creature but the way it moved can signify so much more to look at as beauty. Another connotative meaning would be the title again referring to flesh being a way to pay for a dept. Of course, flesh is not looked at as a way of exchange for a good but the connotative meaning of it used in the film made it understood of the perspective of the film. Moving on to denotative symbols of the film “death and a meaning of life” can be one of the main factors. With evaluating the saying as well as referencing it back to the narrative Tim Thomas brings life to these individuals by costing his own. With the phrase being referenced to the film makes it appear as a certain sacrifice for a certain good.
Directed by Stanley Kubrick, 2001: A Space Odyssey is a dramatic science fiction film that addresses artificial intelligence, evolution, and the cycle of human life. The film is regarded as the greatest movie of all time as well as the most boring movie of all time. While the film is visually complex and stunning, there is very little dialogue. Throughout the film, a black, rectangular, featureless monolith appears at random yet significant moments. The monolith causes confusion and sparks the imagination but after analyzing the film, I believe that connotatively the monolith represents the presence of a higher more intelligent being that dictates and observes human evolution. According to my analysis, the monolith signifies Jesus Christ and the higher being is God. Although the monolith does nothing to directly instruct humans, it occurs at significant moments in human evolution and also encourages humans to reach their full potential and search for answers/knowledge.
The Hate U Give directed by George Tillman Jr based on the narrative written by Angie Thomas was a film based on the tragedies in the black community. The movie is about a girl named Starr who witnesses her best friend Khalil being killed by a white police officer after a traffic stop. The police officer mistakenly thought Khalil was armed although in his hand he carried a hairbrush. This movie was a sociodrama-thriller. A sociodrama serves the purpose to study and/or remedy the problem that is in a specific group. The film was inspired by the iconic rapper Tupac tattoo on his chest, “THUGLIFE”. THUGLIFE represents the hate u give little infants f’s everybody meaning the hatred that is placed in black communities starts in us as kids and grows bigger and bigger as we get older. This is also the denotative meaning of the movie; however the connotative meaning not only gives awareness to others about the troubles we go through in our community but also displays problems that are deeply rooted in our community as well. After Starr witnessed Khalil being shit and killed, she goes through a lot from her community threatening her to conflict within her friend group at Williamson. Williamson is a charter school that Starr and her siblings attend. I believe this movie is very powerful as it sheds light on the problems within our community. It also sheds light on the fact the world is still very much racist and police brutality is still happening in the 21st century.
American Gangster, directed by Ridley Scott and edited by Pietro Scalia, is an Oscar award winning film worthy of its title. The plot revolves around a Harlem drug dealer and his rise to power in the 1970s New York. On the other sides of society, a hard working cop dedicates himself to taking down the drug dealer. The concept of this is unconventional because it follows 2 point of views of a drug lord and an honest cop. The narrative structure of the film is broken down into three parts (beginning, middle, and end). In the beginning of the film you see how one character raises to power, but as the film continues you see the problems start to unfold ending in a dramatic conclusion. You can see how the two main characters struggle with their egos or internal problems. One character feels they have to prove themselves to his former family and the people he works for, while another character has to prove to his community that he is a man to respect. This movie does good with semiotics. There was one scene with a chinchilla coat. In society this coat represents wealth which would be the denotative meaning. The connotative meaning is that a man with no job cant afford that and is clearly up to illegal activities.
My analysis was on Bad Boys 2. The main characters were Martin Lawrence as Marcus Burnett and Will Smith playing as Mike Lowrey. In my thesis statement I included while being partners and friends tjat don,t get along all the time, while solving the investigation, causes them both to face the universal themes of man vs himself and man vs the workplace. Marcus was always a family man, but his job was beginning to become a problem within his wife and family. He feels like he's missing out on the important years of his children life. But he's stuck between doing what he loves and being there for his family. I stated that as Americans we tend to feel like we always have to work and we forget about what's important like our family. America is a face paced country so it feels like if we're never doing enough or making enough money. With Mike, he is secretly dating Marcus' sister. He is struggling with telling Marcus because he knows that he would feel betrayed. This is where the theme man vs himself comes into play also. He knows what he's doing is wrong, but he chooses not to deal with it.
My film analysis was based on the film Do The Right Thing produced and written by Spike Lee . This film was about a poverty stricken neighborhood in Brooklyn , New York. The biggest theme in the movie was the misunderstanding of cultures and races , and how each race desire respect and acknowledgement of their traditions and way of life. The film was based in a time period where racism, police brutality and black awareness was extremely vital . The film showed the everyday struggles minorities had within their communities competing with higher powers and or foreign cultures , and that there are many unjust acts that are done to them in their own environments. The genre was a comedic drama, and the movie symbolized many real world social issues that still exist present today in the story line. With the killing of Radio Raheem by police brutality ,aggression and hatred amongst the blacks and whites / Italians/ Hispanics displayed a conflict of man vs. nature for main character Mookie , whom was played by Spike Lee.
My film analysis was on the film ATL. The main characters in this film were rapper T.I and actress Lauren London. The film is directed by Chris Robinson and it centers around the west side of Atlanta, GA. Rapper T.I stars as Rashad Swann who is African-American high school senior that plans on graduating and saving up enough money to get him and his younger brother Antwan out of the "hood". Throughout the film Rashad is faced with man problems that cause major changes in his life. For example his tries to keep his brother on a straight and narrow path but Antwan chooses to sell drugs instead. He also meets the love of life New-New (Lauren London) and discovers that she is actually bot the person she portrays to be. I stated that the overall message of the film ATL was to show the audience how African-Americans in America are treated differently because of the environment they live in. An example of this treatment took place in the film when Rashad's best friend Esquire had to lie about where he was from in order to get accepted into a predominantly white institution.
The film I chose to analyze was Freedom Writers which is an informative drama based on true events. An idealistic teacher in a racially divided Los Angeles school is determined to break down the walls separating her students from one another. Instead of giving up, she inspires her students to take an interest in their education and planning their future. Each character faces a battle of their own, but the director decided to focus more on Eva, the Latina student constantly facing decisions where she is presented the option to make the wrong or right choice. The denotative meaning behind the film is that the youth from bad neighborhoods don’t take their education seriously due to all the gangs, drugs, and violence. If they merely wake up to see another day that’s good enough for them. The connotative meaning behind the film left a message that regardless of wherever you’ve came from you are responsible for where you want to go in life. Director, Richard La Gravenese, even went as far as to include a class lesson about the holocaust to emphasize the word genocide and how disliking one another based on physical appearances is major set back considering what this country has encountered in the past. Overall, my analysis of the film Freedom Writers allowed me to acquire a better understanding for racial discrepancies and examine issues encountered by the less fortunate youth in America. I thought Freedom Writers would be a good movie to analyze because it touches on so many different elements of society that are usually ignored or dismissed. It provides an emotional experience while watching and enlightens viewers of the burdens of being a minority.
My film analysis was on a quiet place is is about a family who lives in post-apocalyptic world world were they have to survive with their wit and willingness to survive from creatures who fee off of acute sounds on any type of noise and if they hear you they will kill you!
The style and genre of this film, is Sci-Fi, Thriller, and Horror as this family tries to live what is no longer a normal lie they have to compromise their living to speak if make any noise or their lives could be a stake. As they try their best to navigate in a world without sound as well as finding the monsters weaknesses
The main Motif is the daughter hearing-aid as she is deaf her self without the monsters being around as the family tries to understand what its like being in her world , the father constantly tries to fix hear broken hearing-aid that makes screeching noises when turned , the creatures weak point is found as they feed off sound this sound basically kills them and scrambles with how they move and function in the world
The Denotative meaning in this film as the daughter constantly struggles with her own hearing problems with the hearing-aid and the family was trying to finding the creatures weaknesses what you may be looking searching , what your problem was, was really your solution sometimes we have to not look just look at the big things at the little individual pictures.
My Overall interpretation is a family who tries ti survive in world without sounds because sounds is their enemy to them being killed by creatures who live off of sound. As the survive with will and love for another to do whatever it takes to live.
My film analysis was based on the film The Help. The film is directed by Kathryn Stockett. It is about Black and White families living in Jackson, Mississippi in 1962 amongst the racial divide which existed at this time. The help was a civil rights drama film that ignores the civil rights movement. The women are divided by wealth and race but are held to expectations that have harmful consequences. White women have hired assistance with housework who in this film consists of entirely black women who has no choice and are expected to be the white women's help in order to survive financially. The style and genre of this film is Drama, Romance and Historical period drama as the African Americans are working in white households in Jackson, Mississippi. The denotative meaning of this film is that the African Americans worked as maids raising white prominant families. Although the maids were at peace with the white children, The white childrens parents were insulting and treating the maids as if they owned them. The connotative meaning gives awareness to others about the troubles African Americans went through in Jackson Mississippi and also displays problems that are deeply rooted and was made into an law in the 1960's as well. My overall interpretation on this film is that is an remarkable film. It is heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time. I am deeply moved everytime I see it.
What Happened to Monday is a Sci-Fi action film starring Willem Dafoe, Glen Close and Noomi Rapace playing the seven grown-up septuplets. At the beginning of the movie, it is showing old beaches, many people walking around, overcrowded areas, and subways as well.They show a clip with Obama speaking saying how the climate is changing, and the overpopulation. As it is showing all of that, a man begins to say " “Too many people, not enough food.”, which is connotative, referring to the overpopulation and saying there is not enough food to feed everyone. My film "What Happened to Monday" is about identical septuplets named Monday-Sunday. Terrance Settman who is the grandfather of the septuplet, discovers that his daughter who he hadn't been in contact with in a long time had passed away during birth without notifying him who the girls father was. One doctor who was standing there with him looking at them in the NICU asked how was he going to manage to keep the babies a secret, and he replied with "I'll manage". So now in the movie the watchers began to ask "Well will he keep them safe" "How will he manage". He made them, an identity named "Karen Settman". Due to overpopulation they have to identity themselves as"Karen Settman". Every family is only allowed to have one child,says Dr. Nicolette Cayman who is over the "Child Allocation Act" meaning the other children would have to get in the cryo-sleep which is supposed to freeze them in a deep sleep until the overpopulation era is over. The sisters live a day to day routine just to survive. They have one identification bracelet that was able to be scanned, but also has a camera so at the end of the day they can show their sisters what happened before they go out on their day. They were only allowed out on the day of the week corresponding to their name. The denotative meaning of my movie is about the overpopulation, and the people being told how many kids they can have, just like in other countries like Japan has a 2 child policy. In other countries there are limited items such as food, and clean water as well. Monday had to make a deal with Cayman in order to get the life she thought she deserved. The price she had to pay was priceless, it was the loss of her sisters.
Mean Girls is a comedy directed by Mark Waters. The overview; Cady Heron (Lindsay Lohan) was homeschooled in Africa by her parents, then when her family moves to Illinois, Cady finally gets to experience public high school. She soon gets a quick look on the cruel, tacit laws of popularity that divide her classmates into cliques. She befriends a popular girl clique “The Plastics," but Cady soon realizes how her shallow new group of friends earned this nickname. In scene 1 I showed Semiotics:Red is the main color in this scene. Which signifies love or anger. Cady has on a red shirt which signifies how she is trying to show love to anyone that will be nice to her, since she is the new girl at the school. Everyone else has on red to show anger, and hostility. They are all being mean to her. Regina is the antagonist. Cady is the protagonist. When introducing the characters of 'Cady' and 'Regina', initially a medium close-up is show of 'Cady' immediately placing the power with her character due to the clear focus on her face. The camera then pans to the right splitting the screen in half introducing the character of 'Regina' in a longshot Cady is then filmed in a close-up.
Connotative Meaning: When Gretchen says “the rules of feminism” she is referring to the symbolic association with “The Plastics” rules and how the friends wouldn’t betray each other. It all shows later in the movie how that backfired.
Denotative Meaning: In a particular scene Cady wins Spring Fling Queen and she referred to the crown as royalty and plastic. As a we know a crown is defined as royalty, and she referred to it as plastic in reference to “The Plastic”.
My film analysis is on the movie "Beyond the Lights". The movie is about a famous singer named Noni going through a depression stage in her life because she's truly just not happy within herself and her life. Her mom is also her manager and plays a big role as to why shes depressed and it all started while she was young. Her mom has control over everything she says and does and Noni just wants to have her own voice but doesn't know how to express it. So one night after winning an award she goes back to her hotel room basically trying to commit suicide trying to throw herself off of the hotel balcony and that's when Kaz the police officer saved her and from that point on they were in love but never knew it. He helped her realize who she was inside and brought out the real her. Connotative Meaning - When Kaz says "I see you" to Noni as shes trying to jump off the balcony he was referring to seeing who she actually rather than seeing her like everyone else sees her. He saw the potential that she has and also the REAL her which made her realize what she was doing and not to kill herself.
Denotative Meaning - In a particular scene when Kaz and Noni get away from all the drama and press they go to mexico and spend quality time with each other on the beach. And as time went on she realized that all the stuff she had on like the fake hair, all the makeup, and fake nails wasn't her. SO while Kaz was sleep she took it upon herself to remove all of that from her body because those things represent the "old Noni" and as she removed them she became the better version of herself and she finally felt free.
The Last Dragon is an action, black exploitation, drama, cult film directed by Michael Schultz. The overview, Leroy Green, a young martial artist living in New York City, trains tirelessly to attain the same level of mastery as the great Bruce Lee. One night, his life changes forever when he rescues television personality Laura Charles from evil businessman Eddie Arkadian. Impressed by Leroy's bravery, Laura falls for Leroy -- but to keep her safe, he will have to defeat a gang leader named Sho'nuff, the self-styled Shogun of Harlem. In scene 3 or chapter 3, I showed the scene of the movie theatre and how the colors represent a character’s personality and supposed to make you feel a certain way during the scene. In this scene Bruce Lee is wearing all white showing he is the purest and Godly figure in the scene since that is who Bruce Lee idolizes and wants to be like. The rest of the setting is mostly red, even some of the extras, the people watching in the theater. The reason why the scene is red because even though the “Enter the Dragon” scene that is being showing in the movie theater is white, the action is violence. So, the audience thrives off that violence feeling when it sees red. When Sho’nuff comes in theater and stops the movie every single one of his sidekicks are wearing red including himself, every time Sho’nuff comes on any scene in the movie he’s aggressive and violent, the same color red is known for. Also, some actions are mirrored from what is happening in the movie “Enter the Dragon” and what is going on in the actual scene. For example, when one other audience member movies got tired of the b-boys playing music and dancing, he jumps and smash their radio. Bruce Lee does it also after defeating one of the big huge person. . Protagonist – Leroy Green / Antagonists – Sho’nuff and Eddie Arkadian Signifier - Master / Reached the final level Signified - The Glow Indexual - “Glow” is linked directly to Final Level / Master
My analysis is on "Remember the Titans". In the early 1970s, two schools in Alexandria, Virginia integrate forming T.C. Williams High School. The European American head coach of the Titans is replaced by an African American coach from North Carolina. Tensions arise when players of different races are forced together on the same football team. Many of these tensions are eased during the two-week training camp in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. When players returned from camp the players found the city in great confusion due to the forced integrate of the high school. As the season progresses the team's success caused the community to accept the changes. After the Titans' perfect season, the team and the city were closer than ever. connotative meaning: In the scene when the team was in training camp Coach Boone told the team he wants everything perfect. When the team was practicing in camp all the player was wearing white and white is post to mean prefect and that showed later in the movie with the team winning their games and having a perfect season.
My film analysis is on the movie "Moonlight".This film is about the look at three important chapters of Chiron's life.A African American male growing up in Miami, its shows his journey of dealing with his sexuality, being an outcast,but also having a support group to help him grow into a man. In the film, water is one of the symbols and it represents life,baptism and rebirth .Then you have the breeze which is another symbol which means peace and calmness.
When They See Us is a four-part drama web television miniseries created, co-written, and directed by Ava DuVernay. It is based on five young men of color who were prosecuted on charges of rape and assault of a woman in Central Park, New York City in 1989. The film explores the lives and families of the five male suspects that maintained their innocence while incarcerated and spent years fighting the convictions, hoping to be exonerated. This series covers a quarter of a century, from when the then teens were first questioned about the incident in 1989, through their exoneration in 2002 and the settlement reached with the city of New York in 2014. The five juvenile males of color were divided by a prosecutor into two groups for trial. Each youth was convicted of various charges related to the assault and were sentenced to maximum terms for juveniles except for Korey Wise, who was 16 at the time of the crime and treated as an adult by the legal system. He was held in adult facilities including Rikers Island, Attica correctional Facility, Wende State Penitentiary, and Auburn Correctional Facility where he served time in adult prison. When They See Us has relevancy given the inequities that persist in terms of law enforcement’s treatment of people of color. When They See Us may ultimately have a triumphant ending for its protagonists but more than anything, this miniseries reminds us that what happened to those five boys three decades ago could just as easily happen today, in the name of what some powerful figures would perceive as justice. the denotative meaning is that many people of power (law enforcement, judges) target people of color and the connotative meaning is that no matter how well off you are or your age, People are still going to think less of you because you are a minority and a person of color. I chose this film to analysis because not only is it a story that should be heard, but from a cinematography standpoint, it includes variations of lighting, music, camera movements, and angles.
After analyzing When They See Us, A four part Netflix series, i noticed what the writer, Ava DuVernay, wanted it to relate with the new generation. The extensive use of lighting, the music choice, and even the way the camera is angle. The thought that five innocent boys were caught in the wrong place at the wrong time and being charged of rape of a random woman can happen to any person of color in this time.
The movie “Menace II Society” is about growing up in the gang lifestyle of the Los Angeles projects and how 18-year-old Caine Lawson wants his way out. Everyone around him, including his unpredictable friend O-Dog is trapped in their lives of crime and violence. With the help of his caring teacher and supportive girlfriend, Caine plans to leave the city for good. But in a series of tragic events, Caine realizes that escape will not be easy. Symbols: Big Wheel Signifiers: Red- death White- Pure Black-killer
Freedom Writers is a sociodrama film that is based upon at risk students living in a lower-class community. Hillary Swank (Erin Gruwell) plays the English educator that was granted the job to come in and make a difference. Two years prior a massive Los Angeles uproar changed their city for the worse such as racial tension, segregation, and gun violence. Freedom Writers is an impactful and relevant film for the simple fact that in the present society not only in the lower class community but, the middle and higher class we are losing our youth to gun violence, lack of education, guidance, and support. The overall message in this film is to show the lack of resources lower class communities have and and how the people who are supposed to help you the most fail you. The music choice throughout the film relates to the the tragedies we went through as a country. In the film, the composition notebook, gang violence, and the different ethnic group represents different symbols.
The movie I did my critical analysis essay on is "Get Out". this movie was written, produced and directed by Jordan Peele in 2017. It went on to win an Oscar and was a commercial success at the box office making over $255 million against a budget of $5 million. g. “Get Out” emphasizes racial tensions and stereotypes in the modern day. This film shows what the everyday black man goes through living today. Themes include: Race and Racism, Slavery, and Trauma. The film follows a young black photographer, Chris Washington, who goes with his girlfriend, Rose Armitage, who is white, to her family’s suburban home. She hasn’t told her parents that her boyfriend, Chris is a black man; she tells him not to worry, that they’re not racist at all. Her parents, Dean, a neurologist, and Missy, a psychiatrist, are warm and welcoming, yet Chris senses that something is wrong. Rose’s brother, Jeremy played by, a medical student, is oddly aggressive. The family’s staff, Georgina (Stepford wife-like) and Walter, middle-aged black people, oddly distant, mentally neutralized, remote-controlled. A gathering of family friends places Chris among clueless white people who make insensitive, racially charged remarks that are meant to seem friendly; he meets another young black man, Logan King , whose behavior seems whiter than white; and, when he realizes that he needs to get out, it’s too late. The dreadful plot for which Rose’s family is grooming him has already been set into motion. Some Of my analysis includes: 1. In the opening scene a black guy is seen walking at night in a suburb-type of neighborhood. He turns to go the other way as a car was driving behind him. He is then taking away. This scene symbolizes a reference what young black men today has to worry about. Being in the wrong place at the wrong time can and will get you in trouble. Makes a reference to Trayvon Martin; being a young black man, walking alone at night in a “White neighborhood”. The deer running into their car scene. The deer runs into their car reminds Chris of the hit-and-run accident his mother died from. It symbolizes loss, helplessness and his mother. Dean, has a parallel between deer and black people. He feels a need to hunt both and to keep them as trophies. Overall, the movie deals with racism and how the white superior society interact with black people.
My analysis paper is on "Little Shop of Horrors". The movie is about a young man who finds a plant after a total eclipse and feeds it flesh and blood in return for his desires. The style of representation was portrayed as a thriller and musical that showcased what can happen when you make deals with the devil in hope for your dreams and promises. The denotative meaning of the film is a flesh and blood eating plant that causes harm and horror in a little flower shop. The connotative meaning of the film is potentially getting eaten by a a giant plant in a shop and then getting chased down in the streets by multiple plants taking over the world. (Original Ending).
My overall evaluation of the film is how dangerous it can be to put your dreams and desires in the hands of others instead of working for them the hard way. As well as listening to the promises that others may make in order to persuade you to do what they what and most importantly that deals like that always goes wrong.
My film analysis is on the film " The Sixth Sense." The Sixth Sense was produced in 1999 and directed by M. Night Shyamalan. The whole film revolves around Cole's special ability to converse with spirits through his sixth sense. With Cole being able to communicate with Malcolm he was able to evolve emotionally and mentally. Likewise, Malcolm was able to prove himself as a child psychologist. Overall, the film is a great example of how the use of cinematography can mislead viewers and persuade them into believing anything. This film belongs to multiple genres which includes thriller, suspense, supernatural, horror, drama, psychological thriller, and mystery. This film was well thought of in order to guide the thoughts of viewers. In the end, all expectations and assumptions were eliminated by the truth of Malcolm's existence. The film was shown through his point of view therefore the truth was not easily found. Malcolm did not realize that he was dead so we believed he was alive. The camera angles and focalizations provided the foundation and our minds did the rest. The movie is titled "The Sixth Sense," which by dictionary term means " a supposed intuitive faculty giving awareness not explicable in terms of normal perception."This definition is spot on but in this movie I believe it has a deeper meaning; a connotative meaning. For me Cole's sixth sense represents a gateway that allowed needed communication in both the real and spirit world.Basically, a symbolic meaning of a second chance.
Sex and the City: Movie is a 2008 American romantic comedy film written and directed by Michael Patrick King in his feature film directorial debut and a sequel to the 1998-2004 HBO comedy-drama series of the same name about four female friends. The movie plot is a New York City writer on sex and love is finally getting married to her Mr. Big. But her three best girlfriends must console her after one of them inadvertently leads Mr. Big to jilt her. The style of representation was portrayed as a romantic comedy and explored the significance of forgiveness and friendship. Forgiveness was the message of the movie because the main character, Carrie was in a situation where she has to forgive Big and Miranda. The denotative meaning of “extremely cruel” (it’s what Carrie tells Miranda that when she finds out she’s part of the reason Big left her) The connotative meaning of it is “violent to the point of entertaining”. My overall analysis is it allowed me to understand the true meaning of the movie in other perspectives. Sex and the City: Movie definitely gives you an get ideal of what friendship should be about.
Darrell Emerson: My film analysis is on the film In the Hive (2012) by Robert Townsend. This film is about troubled, Black teens, focusing on one Black teen in particular, who come from rough homes, are on the wrong track, and are in the streets who are then taken into a place called "The Hive" in hopes of turning their life around. This is a great film because it humbles the more privileged Black teens, like myself, and informs us that we should be grateful that we have both parents to bug us and possibly be strict because they're teens out there, like the ones in the movie, that would do anything for what we have now. The themes of this movie are power of love, self worth, and unity. Power of love comes from the place, called, "The Hive", which is similar to an alternative school and also one of the movie's denotative meanings."The Hive" represents unity, another theme of the film. It's a place where these Black teens are treated and cared for like the human-beings they are. They have to wear uniforms, which is another denotative meaning in the film. The uniforms are for the teens to realize that one of the reasons that they are wearing them because everyone cannot afford a nice clothing therefore they are all one and no one will outshines the other. The third denotative meanings were the mentors because they act as the parents and role models these teens have never had. Overall, this movie is for mature audiences and informs us how cruel society stereotypes us black people much like they do today.
The film I chose was Paid in Fa. After watching and evaluating the movie, I realize that money rules the world. Money will conquer friendships and family. The only thing you have in the world is yourself so you must look out for self only. When Ace looked out for himself, he made it out of the hood and set his family straight. ull. This film was produced in 2002 and directed by Charles stone.
My analytical paper is on “The Jacksons: An American Dream”. This movie is known as a autobiography depicting the life of Katherine Jackson’s family. The movie shows the family growing together. It Displays everything from success to the sadder days. This film is executive produced by Suzanne de Passe and Stan Marguiles, produced by Joyce Eliason, Jermaine Jackson and Margaret Maldonado and directed by Karen Arthur. It was filmed on location in Pittsburgh, PA
ReplyDeleteThe Jacksons are your average working-class family in Gary, Indiana; but when their father discovers the kids have an extraordinary musical talent they form a band. Winning talent show after talent show they soon hit it big when Motown calls. From there they become the now famous Jackson 5. But along the way their success brings trouble and turmoil
I. Foundation of The American Dream: The Jackson 5
The film stars Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs as the Jacksons' father Joseph Jackson, Angela Bassett as the family mother Katherine Jackson, Jason Weaver and Wylie Draper played Michael Jackson in different eras, while Bumper Robinson and Terrence Howard played Jackie Jackson in different eras, Angel Vargas played Tito Jackson, Margaret Avery as Katherine's mother Martha Scruse, Holly Robinson Peete as Diana Ross, Billy Dee Williams as Berry Gordy and Vanessa L. Williams as Suzanne de Passe. The opening titles of the film show footage of the real Jacksons rehearsing, performing on stage, a few clips from the "Can You Feel It" music video, album covers and pictures of the family. The film is mostly based on the autobiography written by Katherine Jackson, who issued the 1990 autobiography, My Family. Part one of the film was based on how Joseph and Katherine managed to raise their children, first in Gary, Indiana, then later dealing with The Jackson 5's early fame and its consequences. Part two of the film is based on the struggles of young Michael Jackson as he deals with his brothers marrying early into The Jackson 5 success, his problems with acne as a teenager, his eventual solo superstardom based on the success of his albums Off the Wall and Thriller and his legendary Motown 25 performance of "Billie Jean" as well as his difficult relationship with his father.
II. Explanation of the signifiers
The most important signifier/motif is the glittered glove that Jackson is known for, it represents performance and hard work
At the beginning of the movie it seems as Joseph Jackson is a bit pushy towards kat, that symbolizes him being a “push over” later on in their marriage.
Michael Jackson had a pet rat throughout the movie, which signifies loneliness throughout his life.
The music all throughout the movie is a signifier, it sets the moods and foreshadows.
III. Connotation and Denotation
Joseph Jackson was so determined for his boys to become famous. He basically forced them to become musicians when he realized they had a bit of talent. Although they became famous, they had no childhood. Although the Jackson 5 is a black middle class family, they’re story touched many different type of people, including people of different backgrounds and ethnicities. Michael Jackson was a world known icon that many people loved and adored.
-Robin Okwuosa
The Best Man was an all around great movie. It was not too much action or special effects nor was it a horror film to turn audiences away. This film is simply a romantic comedy that is so successful nowadays, because they often fascinate the audience with love and all its complexities. They are like rolling along a roller coaster of emotion, poking fun at our society's customs, twisting and turning towards a morally fulfilling conclusion. According the website titled Internet Movie Database, This film is not just your average “black movie”; it talks about different stages or effects that people go through every day. Like coming of age, career and love-life sacrifices, accepting adulthood, and appreciating commitment (Garabadian, 1999). The film has absolutely nothing to do with the color of one's skin. It's about love, friendship, trust, honesty, and forgiveness.
ReplyDeleteThe director is Spike Lee who is African American, and he is all about black pride, so all of the cast are African American. Although the whole cast are black, the director intended to address issues in life that African Americans also endure. Malcolm Lee intended the men to discuss some issues such as women, but never facing their own double standard so that it addresses majority of the male population. For the reason that a lot of men have that denial stage, that many do not mature out of.
ReplyDeleteThe viewer of The Best Man could be interpreted in many different ways. One way that the audience could decode one of the meanings as it’s never too late to fix or mend things. One should never look back on life and have regrets. This issue is more prone to males in our society. Majority of them have this pride issue that tends to get in the way and that is one of the issues the director tried to display in this film. This film had two main motifs, which were the “kiss on the frontal lobe” that Harper does, and the cross that Lance Sullivan wears around his neck. Both motifs have connotative meanings that tie into the storyline of the film. The kiss on the frontal lobe is symbolic for Harper not wanting to get to close to a woman, he is afraid of commitment. This issue is later on resolved in the lesson of accepting commitment. This is a matter that many males in society face. The cross that Lance wears as a necklace is symbolic to religion. He plays the role of a religious, promiscuous football player; the role that Lance plays is considered to be a contradiction. He portrays himself to be religious, but at the same time very promiscuous. In the bible it says “thou shall not commit adultery”, but throughout his relationship with Mia he has been sleeping with a number of women. Lance loves Mia, and wants to marry her, but at the same time considers marriage to attract more women; this is also very common in a lot of men. The secrets in the novel written by Harper are a representation of that saying “sooner or later the past will catch up with you”. This was one of the lessons that the director intended the audience to receive from this film. Lies and secrets have no color or gender, with that being said everyone one has or have told lies in their lives. However those lies and secrets need to be taken care of before someone gets hurt, and that what the character Harper did not do. Those secrets came to light and the past caught up with him; this is something that could happen to anyone. In most cultures sex is supposed to be considering secrete, but in this particular movie, it was used as revenge, a substitute for loneliness, and for making up. Many people take different cultural aspects and transform it to fit their custom. An act committed by just about every human being in the world.
The reason why I chose this movie was because of it is not your typical “black movie” like I said earlier. The director does not display African American males as criminals or women as promiscuous. In fact, he put on view African Americans as successful. Not only successful men, but successful women also. Many of the camera angle shots, where shot in group shots to represent that no one character was superior to the other. They all represent the image of successful African Americans at the same stauncher. The angles present each character speaking at eye level of each other. The director also incorporates all characters as equal in this film. Each role played by the actors had enough depth, so that the audience could choose two or more characters to identify with. Different camera angle shots were shot to help the viewers identify with the characters better. Some of the camera angle shots include: over the shoulder shots to show the point of view of the dialogue taking place in the scene, extreme close ups to show the emotions and expressions of the characters. Lastly, group shots to include all cast to show the love and friendship that they share for one another.
My analysis of Law Abiding Citizen revealed the corruption in our legal system. The movie’s plot describes a frustrated man (Gerard Butler) who decides to take justice into his own hands after a plea bargain sets one of his family's killers free. He targets not only the killer but also the district attorney, Academy Award winner, (Jamie Foxx) and others involved in the deal.
ReplyDeleteThe style of representation was portrayed by a thriller and explored ideologies such as morality and justice. Morality was always at the surface of the film's message because the main character was constantly challenging it with his antics and he justified his behavior with the wrong that was done to him.
Motifs in the form of a bracelet and the phrase "you can't fight fate" were repetitious throughout the film. The bracelet was used to show the innocence of a child's life and how it was brutally taken from her, while the phrase "you can't fight fate" was used to explain the corruption in the film.
An example of denotative and connotative in the film:
The denotative meaning of the "contempt of court" scene is the outburst of anger in a courtroom but the connotative perspective exposes the true meaning. It may appear as a simple “contempt of court” scenario but Clyde’s mission was to prove the corruption in the judicial system not only for the movie but in real life as well.
Overall, my analysis allowed me to get a deeper understanding of the film and to examine issues that I had not considered prior to learning these methods. I thought that Law Abiding Citizen was a great movie to dissect because it's relevant to how society works in the real world.
-Chassidy Goggins
My film the "The Dark Knight" is action thriller about Comic book super hero Batman and his fight against his arch enemy The Joker.
ReplyDeleteDENOTATIVE:The film is your basic good versus evil dilemma but, it’s more psychological. Where people fighting themselves to not become evil. People have the ability to do bad thing but some choose not to others don’t. It is all a choice. Throughout the whole film, The Joker manipulates people to get them to do evil in order to create chaos and disturb the establishment. Deep down The Joker believes that everyone is truly evil like him and believes if you put people in crazy situations that they would turn on each other and people will so anything to survive.
CONNOTATIVE: Batman is the protector of Gotham City and The Joker is threatening the people of Gotham and it is up to Batman to stop him before there is nothing left to save. While, keeping his identity a secret from the public and making sacrifices that he chooses to make for the city of Gotham.
My overall analysis of this film is 5 out of 5 stars. In my mind it is the perfect movie, it has great acting and depth. A solid story with great action sequences that is easy to follow. While it is a comic book movie it was able to show some real world qualities but still having the ability to stay within its roots of old comic books.
My film "The Change-Up" is a comedy based on two best friends switching lives.
ReplyDeleteDenotative: Two best friends, one is a business guy, one is not. Both guys pee in a fountain, switch places and adapt to their new bodies until they are able to switch back.
Connotative: Two best friends where one grew up became successful, got married, and has a family, and the other stayed the same college frat guy who never grew up. They both thought each other had it made until they switched and realized things about their selves and once switched back decided to work on and embrace being who they are.
My Analysis: Freaky Friday" meets "The Hangover" in "The Change-Up". The film's final dialogue exchange reveals The Change-Up to be one long setup to a bromance about two straight men coming to terms with their true selves while being forcibly confronted by their fear. High-living bachelor and occasional lorno actor Ryan Reynolds and his longtime best friend, a straight-arrow husband and lawyer played by Jason Bateman, stumble across a wish-granting statue and end up swapping bodies, to frequently lewd, sometimes amusing, but rarely surprising effect. They're good at their specialties—Reynolds's casual jock studliness and Bateman's nervous white-collar introversion—and they're even better at switching into the other guy's body. With Leslie Mann, Olivia Wilde, and Alan Arkin. I gave this movie five stars. Call me corny but I thought the movie was absolutely hilarious. It had comedy, romance, and bromance. I definitely related to this movie. They used angles extremely well as far as luring the viewers in and the actors made you actually forget their characters prior to switching. I feel as if this movie is a must see for movie night.
Film: Towelhead
ReplyDeleteTowelhead simply is a film meant to make people uncomfortable. Films such as this on that pushes buttons exude the common taboos of the world. Not many films can discuss rape, coming of age, and race all in one film. It is more difficult to do when the target audience for the film ranges from 13+. Over all the film speaks wonders as to what females and first generation children of immigrants have to endure in a country built upon "the American dream."
Awarding winning director Alan Ball debuts the dry-satire independent film, Towelhead, at the 2007 Toronto Film Festival. Opening the world to an awkwardly comedic film, Towelhead (Nothing is Private), embarks on the life of the main character, an Arabian-American teenager who struggles with identity crisis, while battling sexual desires for an African-American boy her age and an older White male, who is her fathers age. “Set in 1990 amidst the First Gulf War, Towelhead tells the coming-of-age story of a 13-year-old Lebanese American girl named Jasira [Summer Bishil).”
III. Signified and Signifier
a. Signified (mental understanding): In the film, the theme of innocence, being taken advantage off, self-discovery, and rebellion, depict the essence of what a teenager might go through, during the years of self-development. The message that is developed is that coming into adolescent can come with multiple discourses, but the audience understands the message because they too went through the awkward adolescent phase.
b. Signifier (Symbol): The awkward scenes that occur between the main characters and everyone in her life, adds to the visual concept of being a teenager can be awkward. The main characters clothes and attitude, assist in the symbolism of the film.
IV. Denotative and Connotative
a. Denotative (What we see): The main character of the film is transitioning from no longer being a little kid. She becomes a product of her environment and begins to explore herself through what she sees from the people around her.
b. Connotative (How we feel): How a person relates to the film is through what they see, then how they process the visual. Although the film is about an Arabian girl, a young girl or adult could relate to the emotion aspect that is perceived through the film.
I ultimately chose to do my film on "The masque of the red death". This film was originally written by Edgar Allen Poe as a short story, and later published in 1842. Many believe Poe’s influences for writing shocking and horrifying situation short stories came from his early dysfunctional family life. Not only that, he also struggled with poverty, alcoholism, drug abuse, and the tragic loss of his beloved wife Virginia. It is also believed that he writing’s are influenced from his childhood, and tales from Greek and Roman mythology. Then he added his own interpretation to create his stories.
ReplyDeleteDESCRIPTION
The Masque of the Red Death storyline is centered on a disease called Red death that’s threatening a village. Set in medieval Europe. Prince Prospero a corrupt Satanist invites several of the local wealthy to his castle for protection against a plaque (Red Death). Anyone who the Prince suspects of being infected by the plaque, are killed outside the castle walls. The Prince demands everyone to attend a masked ball held at his castle, under one stipulation no one is to wear red. Prospero notices the entry of a puzzling hooded stranger dressed in all red. Immediately he convinces himself that the figure is must be an ambassador from his master Satan. Suddenly the ball is altered into a dense gruesome scene. The figure in red asks the Prince why does he keep calling him “your Excellency”. Realizing the figure is not what he thought him to be the Prospero rips off the red mask, and sees his very own reflection. The figure dressed in red is Death himself. Prospero attempts to run away through the now infected crowd, but his red bloody body is always in front of him. Finally cornered by the figure Prospero is struck down by Red Death.
SEMIOTICS
Death is the key concept in this film it’s represented literally, allegorically, in addition to through the use of signs and symbols.
DENOTATIVE MEANING
Red Death being thought of as bubonic plaque, or Black Death. Diseases in that era, which had no cure, and killed thousands of people. In addition to that this film assures one that life along with death, humans are powerless and there is no method of dodging the control of death.
CONNOTATIVE
The use of color as symbolism can be misrepresented thru cultural assumption. Different colors mean different things to people in other cultures. The color red for example is typically associated with anger, passion, or blood in western society we don’t have trouble seeing the negative connotation of this color, but for someone who share a different belief, like those in India who associate the color red as a symbol of purity, and is usually associated with weddings won’t.
FINDINGS OF THE ANALYSIS
Prospero thinks because he has made a pack with Satan and believing that Satan rules the universe and is God and the only God that he will protect him from death because of his loyalty to him. But the red dressed figure informs him that “each person makes their own god, their own heaven, his own hell”. Furious Prospero snatches off the mask off the red dressed figure and sees his own face. Then the red dressed figure states “your hell Prince Prospero and the moment of your death”. Words that terrify Prospero because he now knows no matter what death cannot be escaped.
Adonia Everett
ReplyDeleteSignifier,lighting and filters use
The first thing we see when the movie starts are shots of out of focus leaves alluding to a dream or something mythological. Not long after we begin to hear Islamic Music followed the prayers of a Man. The camera delivers close shots between the two subjects. One is older and the other a young man. We later find out that the two males are father and son. As the viewers listen to the words of the prayer and keep watching we see the son, Tariq, is leaving for college. The father is concerned that Tariq will stray away from Allah and bring the family shame similar to his mother. There director does a good job of placing the Father behind the moving vehicle as the son drives off as if to say that his dealing with his father are over. As he drives off we see the Karan once again a signifier of his Muslim beliefs and Islamic upbringing. As Tariq Drives off he throws his kufi out the window. The Taqiyah is a signifier. It represents the fact the Tariq is a Muslim; the action of throwing out the window represents his disregard for his religion and his father. As the scene closes we once again see the natural scenery of leaves then a transition into the title sequence. The Title says Mooz-Lum a very wrong and Disrespectful way Americans pronounce the word Muslim. The camera filter transitions to a sepia/black and white film, showing little variation in colors and skin tones. Ironic? No very deliberate. This is the way the Director Qasir shows us the flash back of Tariq. We notice that as a child he didn’t want to wear is kufi and his sister doesn’t where her hijab. This changes as the children become older. By the teacher shows the lack of respect Americans have for other cultures.
Connotative meaning
We see a family who is struggling to survive because a lack of communication. We see a Black male who is internally struggling with the past present and future of his life. He is torn between what he knows and what he wants to know. The transition from boy to man is also seen.
Denotative meaning
Muslim male goes to school trying to establish himself outside of his religion. He begins to indulge in a more “worldly and secular life than he is used too. He is forced to come to grips with his past. Male has trouble adjusting to life outside his religion.
Taylor Scot
ReplyDeleteThe Connotative Analysis
She has to be content. Showing that she is so uptight the deeper meaning is that it’s okay to have imperfections.
Kenya (Sanaa Lathan) battles with acceptance not only wit her family but at her job and with herself. Struggling with acceptance from her friends and family
The Denotative Analysis meaning
I took from this movie on a denotative analysis: Is in the end the main character came to realize that, trying new things is what will get you far in life, to step outside the box. With Kenya opening up to new options such as dating the oh so handsome Caucasian man Brian Kelly the blind date, Kenya was skeptical about how she took on a whole new perception of life. It’s okay to have flaws. The use of symbolism is used throughout the entire movie which is Color, it plays the biggest role in this film. Color ties everything together because everything reverts back to color if you look at the deeper meaning of the movie. Not only skin color which is visibly seen in the movie it’s the color of the scenes, the color in lighting, and color shows the moods and how the characters are portrayed in emotion, personalities, and characteristics all by color.
In “Something New” the motif shown throughout the movie is Color. Because color was a reoccurring factor in the movie. It basically tied the entire movie together because in each scene there was a meaning behind certain color with a meaning that is hidden. For example in the beginning of the movie showed Kenya the main character as this High Classed African American women who couldn’t step out of her shell. She was very closed-minded and wasn’t open to new options. She wore neutral colors and had the “typical” long black weave. In her mind she had to be perfect in the corporate business world. She allowed no imperfections; therefore she never did anything exciting in life. Brian Kelly being of the opposite color was the total opposite of Kenya. Because he was an architect he saw color as a beautiful piece of art. That is a reason why he wanted to change Kenya. Kenya is an women of color in that Brian saw her as a beautiful piece of art. Changing Kenya’s perception throughout the movie Brian made a major impact on Kenya’s life. And I truly believe opposites attract!
Thesis
Why does today’s society still emphasize the fact that women cannot have higher power or have the same opportunities as men in the corporate world? African American women struggle ten times as hard. Is it because of their gender and nationality? The film “Something New” A beautiful LA career woman, Kenya works as senior manager at an accounting firm and is on the verge of moving up to a higher position. But she has yet to find her own partner and a fulfilling personal life. After another Valentine's Day spent working late, she agrees to a blind date with Brian Kelly, free-spirited landscape architect who turns out to be not exactly what she's pictured for herself. Kenya McQueen is a successful African-American, working her way to the top of the corporate world -- but her life has become all work and no play. Urged on by her friends to try something new and to let go of her dream of the "ideal black man," she accepts a blind date with an architectural landscaper named Brian, only to cut the date short upon first sight, because Brian is white. The two meet again at a party, and Kenya hires Brian to landscape her new home. Over time, they hit it off, but Kenya's reservations about the acceptance their romance will find among her friends and family threatens everything. An intelligent romantic comedy that chooses to deal with issues of race and perception in a straight-forward way, from a point of view not often seen: that of a successful, upper-class black woman.
Poetic Justice which was written and directed by John Singleton involves all of the aspects that we have discussed in calls such as various sights of iconic language, various types of lighting, and different shots in the movie that are a grave importance. John Singleton did an awesome job incorporating numerous aspects that people normally do not look for. Many people in the urban community, more so women can relate a lot towards this film dealing the lost of someone in a tragic way has more of an impact to women than men do.
ReplyDeleteThere were various uses of semiotics throughout this film to show the relationship between black culture and the expression of poetry. The man speaking at the African fair was a signifier to show how the races of African- Americans are being portrayed during this time of. John Singleton produced this film a following the infamous LA Riots that made headline news over the United States. The LA Riot were a series of race riots over the Los Angeles metropolitan area that last for six days. This was the result of the brutal beating of California native Rodney King. During these trialing days, the black communities burned down prominent establishments as well as physical attacks towards Los Angeles law enforcement. In the beginning of the movie the camera highlights various shots to show different places of where businesses were that are now destroyed. John Singleton presented these pictures to show the devastation of how prominent racism was during a time where change and growth was the focus.
This film has to be one of the better films written and directed by John Singleton. He takes the concepts of the common man and woman and elaborate on the emotions that people in the black community sometimes tend to feel in various situations. He used great ways of symbolism to incorporate historic events and highlight forms of poetry that represent aspects of a woman’s life.
My analysis on my film was that 4 brothers as a film depicted one thing while meaning something so much more.John Singleton made the audience believe they were brothers through various ways without presenting the obvious; he did this by often including the four men in the same frame. Framing shown in this film presents a sense of unity amongst the brothers. Color coding of their clothing was another way to symbolize synchronicity. Situations that the writer put into this film added to the thematic aspect of brotherly love through repetition of acts that would only be tolerated by brothers or such that relationships.
ReplyDeleteCultural code is seen through the whole movie from the way the youth in the neighborhood wore their clothes and the dialect of their language. The Urban Lifestyle presented sets the tone for the movie beca,use it impliments the acts of the characters through sex, violence and drugs. The lower class neighborhood aided to the violence and recommended rough settings to the characters in this film.
The Social Involvement John Singleton made evident was made to be thought of in reality or (if you were walking in their shoes).Four Brothers shows the connection between social justice of the brothers and the audience. The audience is able to connect because God says don’t fight evil with evil but with love but when human nature is ignited everyone would want revenge for their mother’s death, especially if the police are making no efforts to make this a priority case. So with this film it brought the element of social justice to life and even gives hope for it at the end by getting off for all their crimes and being released from the precinct.
1999 Fight Club - Edward Norton and Brad Pitt
ReplyDeleteFight Club is a film narrated from a subjective white male protagonist. They never say his name but his character is Edward Norton. He works as a traveling automobile employee his daily white collar life but he suffers form insomnia. His doctor suggests he attend support groups for his insomnia and he becomes addicted to them and turns into an imposter going to groups for testicluar cancer, brain cancer, etc. Here he finds a little emotional release pretending to be a victim and feeding off their emotions. His insomnia leads to creating an alter ego, Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt) that he lives through basically doing everything he wouldn't normally do like starting a fight club in a local bar basement. These fight clubs spread and turn into an organization called “project mayhem”. The master plan for this "Terrorist" group is to blow up credit card company buildings simultaneously in the city to erase debt and basically the order of society. The main character realizes he is Tyler Durden when he goes out of town and a project mayhem member calls him Tyler. They are two dissociated personalities in the same body.
At the time the movie was released critics shunned it off as a basic film relying too much on the "everyday man versus society order" theme. They labeled it a dud but youth everywhere took liking to the movie and attempted to recreate these "fight clubs" and "project mayhem" nationwide. This film using a lot of quick shots and frantic non diagetic music to show the chaos in the mind of the narrator. All of the scenes have really dark lighting with low saturation setting up a bland, dark, and gloomy environment. It was mostly filmed at night and daytime shots are in the shadows. In the beginning of the film if you pay close attention you will notice this Tyler Durden character passes by the narrator while he is in the airport. We don't know if this is in his mind or if he saw this man for real and emulated his existence as an alter ego, but we notice him.
Even though this has always been on elf my favorite movies I have never researched and analyzed it like I did for this class. I found out a few things that increased my love for the movie- like I watched behind the scenes footage.
Introduction
ReplyDeleteThere have been many great movies over time. Movies themselves are, in many ways, time capsules. They are like a window that gives a sneak peak into how people thought, behaved, and treated each other in the time that the movie was produced. A great movie opens challenges our opinions, blurs the line between fantasy and reality, and ignites our imaginations. Movies can also be an outlet in bad times. No movie does this better than The Sting, starring Robert Redford and Paul Newman. The Sting was released in 1973 amid the Watergate Crisis, Vietnam, rising gas prices, and a downward spiraling economy. How did The Sting provide an escape? It told a simple story in the middle of the worst economic period in United States history: The Great Depression. The two time periods, even though not quite identical, were similar and The Sting told a story of how far some people would go to survive and be loyal to one another. By doing so The Sting sent a simple message: Tough times never last, but tough people do.
Setting
The setting is just as important as the plot itself. The story is set in Depression Era Chicago (1936). Times are tough and people barely have any money. This setting is the only time and place in which this movie could work. It is Depression Era Chicago. It is also during Prohibition times. At the time it was illegal to sell alcohol. However, everybody still drank. So, in a sense, because of tough economic times and people needing something to cope with, crime was more tolerated. Our setting allows the main villain, Lonnegan, to be able to pay off police officers and federal agents to let him carry out his various hustles. Without the setting, this movie would be largely fictional and untrue.
Music
The music in this movie is almost like another character. It is from the ragtime era of the early 1900s (for example, Scott Joplin’s The Entertainer). Also, the music provides some kind of irony to a degree in the sense that it is from a happy prosperous time, whereas the movie is set in Depression Era United States. Because the music is upbeat and “happier” it gives the movie a lighter tone. We know that hard times have hit but from the tone that the movie sets audiences don’t get the feel of tough times.
My favorite song in the movie is Scott Joplin’s Solace. It comes at a critical point in the movie where Hooker has just been captured by the FBI (we don’t know that they are on the good guys side yet), spoken with Gondorff, and shown up to Selino’s door. At the time, we are under the impression that the game is up and that, at the very least, Gondorff will be going to jail. The song (Solace) builds the tension nicely. It starts off slowly with only a couple chords and builds up to a nice bravado, just like the tension and suspense of the movie.
The film “For Colored Girls” is an adaptation of a choreopoem written in 1974 by Ms. Ntozake Shange called “For Colored Girls who have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf”. A choreopoem is not to be confused with a play because the whole piece is a collection of poems and not written in a typical play form. Not only is it not written in typical play form but there is also choreography which adds to the piece. The original choreopoem written by Ntozake Shange has a total of 7 characters. The characters do not have a real name but are women and identified by a color. The characters are lady in yellow, lady in blue, lady in green, lady in orange, lady in brown, lady in purple, and lady in green. In the film version by Mr. Tyler Perry he added a character of lady in white and a a couple of “colorless” women. All of the characters are a representation of an example of an African American woman or her emotions at one point and time in her life. The story progresses from childhood to adulthood in the life of an African American woman.
ReplyDeleteSignifier and Signified:
The women are identified by their colors so their colors add to their character. The most significant of the signifier and signified is in Lady in Red’s office scene. In the office scene Lady in Red does not have on red clothing at all but different elements in her office lets you know that she is such as the apples and roses on her desk. Her portfolio and her coffee mug are red. Also if you look very closely the writing in her magazine spreads are read. Her lips and nails are faintly red but her entire office accept for those red accessories is in black and white to make the colors pop out at the audience.
In the film "Miracle at St. Anna," it is a movie based on a story of four courageous African-American soldiers during world war II. World renowned film-maker Spike Lee, directed the film in 2008, from a novel with the same title, written by James McBride. Throughout the film, the setting switches back and forth from 1944 in Italy to 1983 in Harlem, New York. This story demonstrates courage, revenge, betrayal, refuge and heroism.
ReplyDeleteThe connotation in the film from the title and storyline is that miracles are the short things in life. Although miracles are common, they don't happen too often.
The denotation in the film was when one of the main characters, Hector Negron was released from jail for a murder charge. Little does he know, he was bailed out of jail from the young boy accompanying them during their stay in Italy, who is now a millionaire from his inventions. Hector was also reunited by the statue head that was confiscated from his home when he was arrested.
My overall evalutation of the film was positive criticism of the adaptation of the film. It was a courageous story and received very little recognition of how great this movie turned out. I feel as if this film was underestimated from the line of actors, which did the movie justice. This was a great film explaining the buffalo soldier's story of the World War II.
The movie I chose was the newly award winning movie Django Unchained. Written and directed by Quentin Tarintino. As soon as I saw this movie at the movie theaters I knew it would be a favorite of mine. The reason I chose this film because it involves all of the aspects that we have discussed in calls such as various sights of iconic language, various types of lighting, and different shots in the movie that are a grave importance.
ReplyDeleteThe movie I chose was the newly award winning movie Django Unchained. Written and directed by Quentin Tarintino. As soon as I saw this movie at the movie theaters I knew it would be a favorite of mine. The reason I chose this film because it involves all of the aspects that we have discussed in calls such as various sights of iconic language, various types of lighting, and different shots in the movie that are a grave importance.
When Quentin Tarantino is lurking, no genre is safe. After checking crime, kung fu, grind house and war movies off his list. Quentin Tarantino turns his sights on westerns with Django Unchained. Funny, action-packed and highly entertaining, Django Unchained may not be Tarantino's deepest of films but it is his most accessible.
The movie I chose was Hangover. The movie is about a group of friends who are taking a road trip they will never forget. Now they have to remember what happened. Their is a baby in the closet, tiger in the bathroom, Stu is missing a tooth and Doug is missing. The movie is field with mysteries and with every mystery solved it gives them a lead to the next mystery with hopes of finding Doug.
ReplyDeleteThis movie is filled with good laughs. It gives you the idea of living free at times. We all have a little rebel in us and this movie shows that. The car was played as the major signified object and it highlighted brought out great connotative meaning of whjat happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.
My analysis was on the film Inception. It breaks down the language of the film to explain my final understandings of the film. The camera angles and lighting were used to make the viewer feel that they were in the dream with the cast. The music was used as a motif to signify when the "kick" was coming to wake the dreamers into the previous dream layer. This allowed the music to be both diegetic (in the layer it came from) to non-diegetic (in the layers below.) The connotative meaning in the film is that Cobb feels guilty for his wife's death. In order to understand the denotative meaning, the audience must decide on what is really going on in the film.
ReplyDeleteMy final breakdown of the film, led me to believe that the whole film is actually Cobb's dream and that he was never awake during the movie, despite the main signifier (a spinning top) revealing to Cobb that he is indeed awake. The theory I developed is that Cobb's subconscious control the top within the dream to maintain the idea that he is in reality instead of creating his own. Because of this perpetual dream state, Cobb can never resolve his own issues about Mal's (his wife) death. All of this can be summarized to explain my analysis that the films denotative meaning is that in order to change reality, you must first accept reality.
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ReplyDeleteThe film I choose to analyze was Law Abiding Citizen. This Film really spoke out to me on many ways but it caught my attention, by the message it was giving throughout the movie using semiotics. Throughout the film you notice how all the characters are wearing very dark colors such as browns , blacks , and grays. The film was filmed in the winter and the editor also use a very cold filter throughout the film which really helped the whole feel of the film, which was a cold blood thriller movie.
ReplyDeleteThe signifier in the movie was the " DADDY" bracelet that was given to Clyde Shelton by his daughter on the night of her death. This bracelet has both a denotative and connotative meaning. The denotative meaning of the bracelet is basically a keep sake for Clyde to remember his daughter and his wife. The connotative meaning of he bracelet is that it is motivation for Clyde to kill people that had anything to do with the trial of his family's slayers.
My final interpretation of Law Abiding Citizen is that the Justice system is nothing more than a game of chess between Clyde Shelton and NIck Rice. The film shows how both characters portray good guys and bad guys and how the writer leaves up to the characters to which one they want to be at the time.
I chose the movie Belly directed by Hype Williams and is basically about the story of two gangsters who get their money the fast way but go through many problems as they try to get their money.Tommy Brown and his friend Sincere are gangsters who have learned how to make a good living by dealing drugs and pulling armed robberies. Tommy and Sincere have been able to move out of the ghetto in Queens where they were raised and relocate to an upscale section of Manhattan; they would seem to have it made, but both realize that their lives are headed toward a dead end. Sincere begins getting in touch with his African roots and tries to convince his girlfriend Tionne that they should emigrate to the Motherland, while Tommy has a religious awakening and joins the Nation of Islam.The movie belly shows me that people will do anything for money and a better living even if it means takin what's not theirs. The term Belly seems to mean the belly of the beast, risking your life for money , always hungry tryin to feed your belly.
ReplyDeleteLighting
This blue light helps clue the audience in to things that go on in the characters' minds that actually differ from reality.
The lighting in this movie is very effective. It helps to establish the characters very well.
The movie belly shows me that people will do anything for money and a better living even if it means takin what's not theirs. The term Belly seems to mean the belly of the beast, risking your life for money , always hungry tryin to feed your belly.
The movie I chose was The Color Purple. My analysis of this movie is of course the use of strong social codes in color and what they wore told a story beyond its denotative meaning. The colors, especially purple represents all the good thing in the world. At the beginning you could say that Celie has no sense of the color purple. She has such a horrible life and she just getting by with life. After meeting Shug Avery and learning the true concept of life Celie finally finds her purple and learns to love life. This film is showing that anybody’s situation, especially women, can change when women band together and support each other.
ReplyDeleteThe movie i choose was Crash. Director Paul Haggis purposely made this film about race and everyday stereotypes to make his audience think about symbolism in the movie and how they can relate to a moment like that in their own life's. And until we as a society can take the time to understand the roots of discrimination and take a good look at our own thought patterns, we'll never move forward.
ReplyDeleteThe movie that I've chosen is Shottas. Shottas was released in 2002 by Triumph and Destination Films but wasn't released in United States until 2006. Shottas is a gangster film written and directed by Cess Silvera. The film is about two young boys growing up in a rough area of Kingston, Jamaica. As younger boys, Biggs and Wayne robs a soda truck then shoots the driver. They used the money to purchase a visas to continue hustling and criminal activities in United States. The plot of the film is very realistic and well structured. The main characters are raised in a extremely violent area in Jamaica. They've seen people murdered and robbed on a daily basis. Themes in the movie includes, violence, revenge,and drama. Shottas involves race, social class, and culture to provide a sense of reality. Characters in this film are people that we would despise in real-life. Shottas goes into depth of scandalous scenes of seduction, illegal distribution of cocaine, extortion, and glorification of the gangster lifestyle. The overall acting was good which made each character believable. The film is subtitled because of the misunderstanding of some words of the Jamaican accent. After watching this movie over and over, I realize that it's very similar to Scarface. The denotative meaning of Shottas is derived from Jamaican origin meaning thug, gangster, or a man not to be messed with.
ReplyDeleteThe Movie I will be analyzing is:The Nutty Professor. The Nutty Professor is a 1996 science fiction romantic comedy film starring Eddie Murphy. It is a remake of the 1963 film of the same name, which starred Jerry Lewis. Murphy portrays a university professor, Sherman Klump, who is morbidly obese. A research scientist, academic, and lecturer, Klump develops a experimental, weight-loss formula, and, hoping to win the affection of the girl of his dreams, tests it upon himself. Like the original film's Julius Kelp, Klump's trim, stylish, but arrogant alter ego also takes the name "Buddy Love”. The plot begins at Wellman College; thousands of hamsters overrun the entire campus, causing general chaos. This is due to professor Sherman Klump who accidentally releases them by grazing the switch that opens the hamster's cages the night before he left the university laboratory. Meanwhile, Sherman has constructed an experimental formula that reconstructs the DNA of an obese person in a way that allows them to lose weight more easily. After his chemistry class, Sherman meets and instantly falls in love with Carla Purty ,a chemistry graduate student who is a big fan of his work. After dinner with his obese, impolite family, Sherman asks Carla out on a date, which she accepts, much to Sherman's pleasant surprise. At the date, it begins well with Carla showing admiration for Sherman's work, but the club's wicked comic Reggie Warrington heckles him about his obesity in front of the entire nightclub. This causes Sherman to fall into depressed manner. He then has a nightmare in which he becomes a giant and wrecks the city with just a single fart, which is then accidentally lit on fire. He tests the serum on himself and loses 300 pounds in seconds. Sherman is transformed into the slim, trim, and handsome Buddy Love; however, the drug also boosts his testosterone level, turning the likable Sherman into the arrogant, skirt-chasing Buddy. The movie shows the result of cheating to gain success and happiness.In order to gain true happiness you must be yourself.
ReplyDeleteThe movie that I chose to do my film analysis on is Cloud Atlas. Cloud Atlas is a wonderful yet confusing movie. It has 6 different stories that are put into one major movie and they are all connected in some way. The main focus of this movie is reincarnation and it focuses on how the deeds and crimes committed can effect the future.
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ReplyDeleteAmber Maddox: For my film analysis I chose to do Crash. Crash is a hyperlink movie that was created in 2005 by Paul Haggis. It a movie about 12 main characters who are subjected to racism, racial profiling, and stereotypes.it also shines light on issues of a race and gender that eventually cause these characters to collide physically and emotionally. Eventually throughout the movie these characters live intersect hence the name Crash. . Detective Graham(Don Cheadle) works for the LAPD whose brother is a criminal. Det. Graham is disappointed by the fact his brother is adored more by his mother than him; who is successful. Ria (Jennifer Esposito) Graham’s partner and girlfriend is beginning to feel the emotional distance, as well as his occasional insensitivity over the face that he is black and she is Hispanic.
ReplyDeleteRick Cabot played by actor (Brendan Fraser) is an L.A. district attorney whose wife, Jean played by (Sandra Bullock), makes it known of her fear and hatred of people that aren’t just like her. Jean's fear about people of color are confirmed when her SUV is carjacked by two African-American men -- Anthony played by rapper and actor (Chris Bridges, aka Ludacris). Anthony, dislikes white people as much as Jean hates blacks, and Peter (Larenz Tate), who is more open minded than Anthony. Cameron (Terrence Howard) is an African-American television producer with a beautiful wife, Christine (Thandie Newton). When coming home from a party, Cameron and Christine are pulled over by Officer Ryan (Matt Dillon), who subjects them to a unfair interrogation and her to an inappropriate search while his new partner, Officer Hansen (Ryan Phillippe), looks on.
Daniel (Michael Pena) is a hard-working locksmith and father who discovers that his looks lead many of his customers to not trust him. Farhad (Shaun Toub) a Middle Eastern shopkeeper is constantly threatened in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. He then decides he needs a gun to protect his family. . There were many connotative meanings and dennotative meanings throughout the film. Two of theses symbols stood out the most throughout the movie. One dennotative meaning would be the time of year. During the film it was Christmas time which is supposed to be a time of love, cheerfulness, joy, and celebration of the Birth of Christ however the connotative meaning of Christmas is shown. It is the complete opposite of joyous and cheerful. Many people are angry, saddened, and tormented which gives Christmas a whole new meaning.
Another symbol that had a denotative and connotative meaning was the St. Christopher statue. The statue is represented a good luck charm for travel. St. Christopher is known as the patron of safe travels. In the movie actor Larenz Tate who plays Peter keeps the statue in his pocket and places it on the dashboard of every car stolen by him and his partner Anthony. The two have everything but the meaning of the statue things seem to go terribly wrong whenever he places the statue on the dashboard. He and Anthony lose their car, almost get arrested, shot, and in the end Peter dies. The statue is the connotative because the things that happen to them on their travels from place to place isn't safe something bad always happen.This film shows its audience about the things that we tend to do without realizing it. It also educated the audience of things that need to be changed in order to progress and stop ignorance.
The symbols and/or connotations distributed are the significance of time i.e. “the clock”. In the very beginning, time was accessed first by the man that created the analog clock to perform backwards on purpose based on a personal situation in wanting to bring his son back that died in the war. The clock was then taken down and replaced with a digital clock accessing the technological change. In this new age and current use of time, digital reflects what instruments we use and what changes are relevant in today’s society.
ReplyDeleteThe denotative value related to this film is that in the beginning of the story time was backwards when he was born and as time progressed the “clock” changed indicating that Benjamin changed as well. The significance of time was present through the entire film showing that time is very important and it should be used wisely. Most important, a person should take advantage of every moment and live it to the fullest. The popular phrase, “Time will wait for no one” is interesting because even Benjamin could not halt the moving of time as he aged backwards. Through each and every circumstance that Benjamin faced he was motivated by Queenie and Daisy who he loved very much. Through the passage of time Benjamin was able to genuinely live, learn and love through the journeys and the people that surrounded him.
My overall interpretation of the film is that it features an amazing and unique story line that has never been heard before. I was in awe that people do exist with this rare form of disease and I cannot imagine what it would be like to know of a person that experiences these things on a daily basis. I was eager and intrigued to visualize the life from Benjamin’s point of view through the various camera angles and various filming techniques. I was able to see the affects of Leukodystrophy through the effects used with natural lighting in the movie. The symbolic mechanism of the clock and the reversal of a time was an important element in the movie as well. The movie had me constantly engaged in the storyline, the characters, and the mystery of what would happen next.
The interpretation of the analysis of this movie and the evaluation of the movies is concluded in that the movie extends beyond anyone’s imagination to think of a scenario that would take the viewer on Benjamin Button’s journey in life while struggling to cope with the disease he was stricken with at birth. It shows how Benjamin transitions in life with his disease. Even with love, he lives and for a brief moment in time, becomes a man. The social issue is how Benjamin was able to cope and how society treated him. With his disease, Benjamin had both positive and negative experiences. Society treated him as a child with Special needs and in some cases avoided him.
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ReplyDeleteHappy Feet is the type of movie that will have you dancing and leave you with joy in your heart. This movie highlights on how America is so focus upon everyone meeting the status quo, from the cloths to the different hairstyles. America has set up a system to where if you are not doing things like everyone else, its wrong or you are frowned upon, this was the case with Mambo . He could not sing like everybody else, so he was look as a weirdo but in all actually he had gift that no other penguin had. I feel they secretly admired him but didn’t understand him at the same time. Also highlighting another purposes not judging a book by its cover.
ReplyDeleteThe voices were one of the first denotative symbols I caught. All of the voices represented a different cultural background but the main character proves no matter what cultural background you come from; what you think is a flaw is really a talent in another place.
The denotative and the connotative symbols are double accomplishments because this is something humans can see from two points of views. The overall meaning of the plastic soda ring choking the penguin was to show how detrimental littering in the ocean can be and how we should keep the environment liter and pollution free There are humans in some scenes that give their reaction to the littering and pollution, and the movie shows how they feel in this situation and the same with the penguins.
From the humans point of view we can inference that humans are aware of this but some really don’t take it serious. On the penguins point we , we can conclude since the animals were actually talking and going through the situations of being choked by the plastic ring, that they don’t like littering and humans need to stop because it harming them.
It all start’s when main character Craig gets fired on his day off reason being his job claim they witness him on surveillance stealing boxes. So he spends the day hanging out with his buddy Smokey and trying to avoid his father, who wants him to find another job immediately. Smokey, a small time drug dealer has even more problems after smoking $200 worth of marijuana that was given by big worm; and if he can't come up with the money by the end of the day, he'll be in a world of hurt not to mention since Craig was brought into the situation so he is forced to help friend Smokey. Deebo , a oversize bully who roams the neighborhood on his bicycle, has it in for Craig, while Craig tries his best just to stay out of his way. Craig also has girlfriend issues from being accused of being at a club to trying to move on to his sisters friend Debbie. Craig also have to chose between hiding behind a gun or fighting like a man. Remind you these obstacles are all overcome on the day of Friday
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Shoes on the electric line indicate that there in a low income area where neighbors only care about the interior of their homes.
The Non-Diegetic music by the Isley Brother’s ‘’Try to see another day and make a better way” also explains the neighborhood.
As the camera B- roll’s into Craigs room and the narrator starts to speak in a manly voice, it is clear that Craig is the man character.
The bible held by the older ladies in scene one, shows that they were going door to door to preach about a certain religion.
Connotative
As I mention the older ladies in the first scene in the Denotative example When she first approach Craig she asked “ Are you prepared for Jehovah’s return” but after Craig slams the door in there face the lady replied “ Well Fuck You Half dead MoFo” This is shows how religion can be sort of hypercritical.
The list of food such as Chicken, pig feet, collard greens, and hog mogs are what majority of the African Americans eat as a remembrance of their African decedents.
The Word of today is JOB J-O-B this was said out of Willie’s mouth after he finds out Craig gets fired. This is quite common when you’re a young adult in the African American society you either get a job or go into the force. Teaching independence
Craig’s girlfriend Joi has long 3inch nails and long big braids with short jean shorts and a strip colorful crop short indicates that she is what is GHETTO. Was the Digetic music 2 live crew-Hoochie mama was played everytime she was viewed clearly that was one of her favorite song during that decade and it also described her character.
From what Lastly, I feel that this movie has taught me that we as African Americans have to better ourselves and stick together. Ladies should watch this movie and want to be more classy and man to be more wise and serious about education and working and also anti- violence.
Semiotics
ReplyDeletewhen Bishop (Tupac Shakur) gets his hands on a gun and decides the four of them should stick up the corner store. There is a sense in which the existence of the gun leads to the necessity of using it; without the cheap handgun, there would be no crime, and lives would be saved. Q doesn’t want anything to do with the stickup; his mind is focused on a DJ contest at a local club. But Bishop has the stronger personality, and badgers them all into coming along.
My interpetation of Juice No doubt, to me the most obvious theme in the film was the concept of fear versus respect. Most of us desire to be respected, but few know how to achieve it without imposing fear. And respect is very different from fear. Each character in the film struggled with the concept of respect; Q in his music, Bishop in the streets and Steel in his crew. The only character that seemed well respected in various circles was Raheem. Unfortunately, it was this very respect and Bishop’ led to his demise.
The Strangers directed by Bryan Bertino was released under Rogue Pictures, Universal Studios in 2008, the film was rated R for violence/ terror and language. The movie starred Liv Tyler who played Kristen McKay, Scott Speedman who played James Hoyt, Gemma Ward who played a masked stranger, Kip Weeks who played a masked stranger, Laura Margolis who played a masked stranger and Glenn Howerton who played Mike, James brother. Coming from a wedding reception, Kristen McKay and James Hoyt return to their remote vacation home in the middle of nowhere, at 4 am they receive a soft mellow knock on the door from a mysterious "stranger". Now James and Kristen find themselves being terrorized by three masked assailants who have broken into the home and have damaged all rescue plans they could think of. This movie brought a different element and feel to horror, The director made it so you felt like you were in the house fighting for survival yourself.
ReplyDeleteSomething denotative would be the house and it's antique artifacts an decorative items in the house. It shows that the house is a old home which James and his brother Mike were raised in. Another denotative item would be the old style record player that kept getting bumped on whenever there was action going on in the film.
Connotative would be the orgin of the house and it's relevance to James past, in the film the saying kept coming up from the "strangers" "Is Tamara home", who is Tamara? Could it be someone from James past, seeing that it is his childhood home who would be asking him and his girlfriend that? Also another saying is when the "strangers were about to kill James and his Kristen, she screams and ask "why are you doing this", then one of the strangers says "Because your home". There are a lot of unanswered questions in this film, which makes you wonder and question will there be a sequel to answer the questions that left you scratching your head at the first film.
Honestly, the theme that was obvious to me in my movie, The Other Guys, was that those you overlook can one day become those you look up towards. Mark Wahlberg and Will Ferrell portrayed their characters perfectly down to the letter. What I also love about the movie from it's gut-busting comedy and over-the top action was that the plot was deeper than it should've been for an action-comedy in terms of it being about a Ponzi Scheme. The connotative meanings were slipped in perfectly from references to TLC songs to the terms "Yankee Clipper" and "Paper B@#ch". denotative meanings that were my favorite were the cars Will drove in the beginning and end of the film, being a red Prius to a red Mustang.
ReplyDeleteSemiotics wise, one example would be the usage of the explosion of an accounting office that Mark and Will's characters took as a warning to stay away.
Laslty, i loved the movie I did because Mark and Will's characters displayed skills and secrets about their past that make the audience understand the meaning of not judging a book by it's cover.
My analysis of the film White House Down made it clear to me that the director wanted to show us just how powerful our Country is. Each scene had distinct symbols in them with different connotative and denotative meanings. The many signifiers of the invasion scenes showed the intensity of the terrorists hatred of the great White House. One example of a good signifier was when the terrorist first set the bomb off in the White House. The movie was silent as Cale was creeping through the hallway and all we heard were destroyed lights flickering on and off. This created an intense effect for the whole scene. Overall White House down was a very action-packet movie that i feel can make anyone feel patriotism for the United States Of America. Every important object in the scene represented something else , for example at the end when Emily was waving the flag to let the bombers know the White House was safe we can also look at that scene by saying the flag represented Patriotism . I would recommend watching this film it was very engaging and interesting all the way through.
ReplyDeleteThe theme in V for Vendetta isn't one hundred percent clear to me but many assumptions of what the theme can be made. For one, the beliefs and ideals of freedom and equality are a prevalent throughout the movie as society transforms from being a fascist regime to total anarchy. The film also uses different levels of symbolism. Each symbol has both connotative and denotative meanings to which you see a symbol and understand it for what it is, but look for a deeper meaning. The first symbol brought up in the film is the blowing up of the Old Bailey. A building is a symbol. As the act of destroying it. Symbols are given power by people. A symbol, in and of itself is powerless, but with enough people behind it, blowing up a building can change the world. Another symbol is V’s name. His name symbolizes lots of images, ideals and things throughout the movie. The cell that V was prisoner in had the Roman numeral five. He proclaims himself a variable for a cause, a villain, and long list of fifty words starting with the letter V that describe his mission in life. The letter V also stands for Valerie, V’s next-door cellmate who saved his humanity by writing to him when they were both incarcerated. In his open speech to Evey, V sums up his own political theory using fifty words beginning with the letter V. We also later see that V’s motto is the Latin phrase from Faust, “Vi Veri Verdiversum Vivus Vici,” by the power of truth, I, while living, have conquered the Universe. Another symbol being used is the Scarlet Carson Rose. V leaves this rose on all his victims after he’s killed them. The color red of the rose may also symbolize violence and blood, which represent all the killings and blood shed in the movie, but re can also symbolize love and passion. Which is what we see at the very end with the relationship between Evey and V.
ReplyDeleteThe last symbol being talked about is the rain. It doesn’t rain but a few throughout the movie, but each time it does rain it happens after one of the characters has undergone serious traumatic experience that they overcome. We can see the rain as a symbol of rebirth. This happens after Evey is captured by the “Fingermen” during a raid. Evey is tortured to the point of becoming emotionless and fearless. During her interrogations, she is asked about the whereabouts of V. She responds she’d rather die than to reveal anything to them. After this astonishing act of bravery Evey is released from her captivity.
My analysis of the film Carlito's Way allowed me to understand a true sense of loyalty. I also believe that is what the director and producer were trying to deliver. Throughout the film multiple editing techniques along with the dialog and actions of characters provided evidence of this theme. In a scene with Carlito and his lawyer/ best friend David Kleinfeld; David asks for a favor of Carlito. Carlito replies with "favor will kill you faster than a bullet" and ironically Carlito dies at the end of the film because of actions dealing from his friends favor.
ReplyDeleteOther items in the film also deliver meaning to the theme of loyalty. The denotative and connotative meanings of the city and the actions of characters.
Denotative meanings were found in the city as it was the time of the 1970s in Harlem; crime, drugs, and clubs alongside the mobs ruled the area. The denotative meaning of the film itself as a crime drama was evident.
Connotative meanings came from some of the props, such as the red car that Carlito's cousin drove. It had a meaning that signified his personality as young and eager.
The club and the color red were signifiers to events that took place involving trouble or disloyal situations. An example is a scene with Saso telling Carlito that Pachanga is betraying him. In the background Pachanga's silhouette is shown over a red backlight and the scene takes place in the club.
My overall interpretation of the film Crooklyn, directed by: Spike Lee is for one Crooklyn is a highly under-rated film and the one Spike Lee film that really has heart and warmth. I think he wanted this film to speak volumes especially at the time it came out, during a negative and immense change within the African American community. All the films at that time were portraying African Americans as gang bangers and violent people.
ReplyDeleteI also learned that if the community were to become more involved with its children there wouldn’t be so much chaos going on, like it is now for example there's a scene in the film where the main character and a friend goes into a convienent store to shoplift, the friend gets away but the main character is caught, but instead of the manager calling the police he gave the main character a scary,stern, but yet compassionate lecture which in results I believe would keep her from ever shoplifting again. Once again Spike Lee shows an example of how the community looks out for one another, as for today im afraid that the main character wouldnt have a chance, law enforcement would have been involved.
In the movie, I belive Spike Lee has a disorienting view of the south (the blandness, sameness and mundaneness) which I believe is to be the Denotative and connotative meaning in the film. A scene where the main character goes down south to visit her cousin the cinematography of the movie changes, which overall changes the feel of the film. It’s evident that Spike Lee’s views of the south are very negative. Everything from the way you dress, to how you wear your hair is being judged. Good manners are expected as well as having the proper nightgown and a neatly brushed new hairstyle for the main character. I noticed when the shots of main character and her mother are exchanged, her mother being in Brooklyn while she's in Virgina, the main character is set against a bland backdrop that is dull and lifeless, while her mother's shots are full of color and provide depth, giving the feeling of a vibrant environment, full of life.
In addition, I noticed the neighborhood in the south as opposed to the north. There are no kids playing outside, you only see the two little girls playing with each other. They use the tree as a stand in for the jump rope, neighbors aren't communicating with one another, and there is no culture (music, diversity, art). Whereas in the city it seems like things are allowed to take their course.
Another message I got was that back in the day, (70s’) era, kids were allowed to be kids, they stayed outside playing games interacting with one another, as well as the neighbors. Today especially with new technology kids are rarely outside, most people don’t even know their neighbors, let alone even know what they look like, it’s definitely a change in era, and I feel Spike Lee created this film not only to send a message, but to also reminisce on his childhood growing up being a kid.
Kurt Wimmer, a well-rounded writer, decided to craft a screenplay that would tap into the minds of an audience, especially the citizens of the United States of America. Law Abiding Citizen is a captivating movie that allows observers to paint a picture of the United States’ Department of Justice. It provides a deeper and more intimate look into the lives of those who enforce the law, defend the law, and are victimized by the misuse of the law. The mission of the Department of Justice states that it will enforce the law of the United States, seek just punishment for those guilty of unlawful behavior, and endure fair and impartial administration. Contrary to the mission statement, this screenplay illustrates a faulty system of justice that will go to any measure to “win” a case rather than to seek full and total justice. As for the interpretation of this film as a whole, the denotative conclusion is that even though there is a system that seeks justice, the final say-so may not be the correct form of justice. In this film you see a judge, district attorney, and different staff of the United States Justice Department plea and bargain with criminals. They even let a guilty criminal free (Clarence Darby) because of his cooperation and persuasion. The truth stood right there in their face and they decided to go after “some” justice versus full justice. Citizens of the United States of America who watch this film can compare and contrast certain cases from history to this fictional case and tie in some relative truths from the film. Does the justice system work to obtain full justice under the law or are they more worried about “winning”. How often are criminals given ultimatums and opportunities to walk free from things they should be incarcerated for? The mise-en-scene along with the diegetic and non-diegetic sounds and visual effects allows the audience to connect deeper and ask themselves these types of questions. There is always a glitch in any system. The law of the United States has it’s loopholes that ever-so-often get exposed and even overlooked.
ReplyDeleteLaw Abiding Citizen shows that even though you have justice system with people in place that say they will protect you, look after your rights as a person, and provide justice for you, you can never depend on that. You have to play the game to get results the results that you want. Bargaining with a criminal and manipulating certain actions will only get you a tainted view of justice that ultimately satisfies no one.
The connotative meaning behind Law Abiding Citizen is that you have to let go of your past and move forward with forgiveness in order to live a fulfilling and peaceful life. When you hold on to anger and rage you end up destroying your life and those lives around you. Clyde is an example of this because at the end after he has killed off all of the workers of the case, he sets himself and the jailhouse on fire. He never recovered from his loss of his family and his actions only gave him momentary satisfaction that came to an end.
My interpretation of the film consists of three points. The first point is focused on the torn mindsets between the older and younger Joe. Both of these characters were swayed by the love interests of the women they had encountered sexually. The first encounter was with younger Joe and his mistress at the local strip club whose only goal was to travel back to France to live her life with Joe. The second encounter involved the older Joe. After he closed his loop for the first time he saw the life he could live with his wife in China. The third and final encounter was with younger Joe and Sara. The younger Joe only wanted to have his life back and get rid of his loop to save his life. This came to a halt when the younger Joe had to kill himself in order for the future Reign Maker also known as Cid to live.
ReplyDeleteMy second point is derived from what is considered to be a thrilling mob story. Through my interpretation of the film, Looper is considered to be a mob story that takes place in two time periods. This comes from a combination of connotative meanings/paradigms I collected while watching this film. The first part of this mob story starts with the loopers. These individuals are hired by a man sent from the future to live in the past to take care of the dirty work that has no way of reappearing in the future. Next some of these loopers also had a TK mutation. This means that a certain part of the human brain was more advanced and it was shown through denotative meanings by some individuals being given the ability to levitate different referents such as small coins, although this ability was stronger in others. One example would be the Reign Maker due to the fact that at such a young age, Cid was already inventing communication technology as well as possessing the ability to levitate people, cars and other large objects when frightened. This gave way to others knowing that Cid may have had a hand in designing the time machine that is now outlawed.
My third point can also be evaluated with the film. The third point I have is taking a chance on history not repeating itself. The younger Joe took his life in the film only in hopes to save the future of Sara who was defending Cid from the older Bruce. Earlier in the film it was stated that the Reign Maker was only created due to the fact that he was not strong enough to protect his mother. Which brings me to a question for society: There are various conceptions about history repeating itself and time travel being made possible in one day in the future; “What consequences would time travel have in the hands of any being on earth”? What issues could possibly arise from this invention? The answer is quite in my opinion simple; if any being on earth got their hands on time travel technology then the world would be rewritten as a utopia specifically for that individuals use. Whether it is for war, world peace, world domination, time travel should not be made available for anyone due to the fact that the consequences would be too severe for our society.
My critical analysis is on the film Transformer: Dark of the Moon which is the third film in the Transformers series. in this film, I discovered that Transformers: Dark of the Moon is a movie that symbolizes how war can affect society both positively and negatively. The movie uses techniques such as semiotics to convey this message. The purpose of this movie is relevant to society because the United States has had several wars in its history however recently the idea of war has been dividing the country. . The movie is based on the original Marvel comics as well as 1980’s television series that followed. The series centered around the ongoing war between the a race of alien robots from the planet Cybertron called Transformers. In search of supplies for the war the Transformers crash land on Earth where they take the shape of modern day cars. In this movie, Sam Witwhicky, a teenage boy who buys a cheap car that turns out to be a Transformer and member of the Cybertronian race The Autobots. The Autobots (led by Optimus Prime) are fighting to take down the evil Decepticons. The Autobots stay on Earth and help protect the humans from Decepticon attacks. With the help of Sam his friends and the U.S. Army, the Autobots defeat the Decepticons time and time again.
ReplyDeleteIn the movie, we learn of a Cybertronian spacecraft called “The Ark” that was discovered on the moon in 1961 by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, however all research on the subject was shut down. In the present-day, Optimus Prime as well as Sam receive news of the ship and begin to do their own research. They find that the Decepticons are trying to use Sentinel Prime (a former Autobot) to activate the device and take control of the planet but are unable to stop it. Sentinel Prime made a deal with Megatron to gain control of the device and the Decpticons cause mass destruction.
The first scene explains the Cybertronian civil war between the heroic Autobots who are fighting for justice and the evil Decepticons who are fighting for tyranny. War is perhaps one of this films biggest symbols. War is defined as a conflict carried on by force of arms, as between nations or between parties within a nation; warfare, as by land, sea, or air. In Transformer: Dark of the Moon, war is used as a symbol that signifies unity as well as persistence. When the Decpticons attack Earth, the U.S. army, government, and the Transformers all work together to fight for justice for all life forms. Anytime they received an attack it brought everyone closer for a nobler cause. Also the frequent changes in balance between The Transformers in the movie convey a message that even though you may have not won the battle, there is always a chance to fight another day and win the war.
My main purpose in this evaluation is to show that not all war is completely negative. When soldiers join the army they are risking their life but they are also making a sacrifice for their country. Many Americans in today’s society lack pride in their country and don’t support any type of cause at all unless there is a profit. Citizens live in a country founded on patriotism and equality and yet where patriotism is at an all time low. The movie captured a sense of teamwork and ethics that our current day society lacks. If the country does not learn how to cooperate we’d be doomed to fail if there was an actual World War III would American be able to put aside their differences in opinion aside to protect their country?
I did my critical analysis paper on the film Pulp Fiction. Pulp Fiction is a 1994 American dark comedic crime film directed by Quentin Tarantino. It was considered one of the most influential American movies of the 1990s. Pulp Fiction is full of outrageously violent and time-twisting plots, each connecting to one another at the end of the climax.Tarantino’s film is directed in a nonlinear storytelling style. The film doesn’t transition in a sequential order.The opening of the film starts off with the definition of pulp. Pulp is a soft, moist, shapeless mass of matter. The other denotative meaning of the film is the magazine/book which contained lurid subject matter and characteristically printed on rough unfinished paper. The movie had several connotative meanings. A symbolic theme, for example, is the American Ganger lifestyle. Crime and mob life is highlighted in the film. All of the characters of the film are either, mobsters, robbers, hit men, drug addicts, or is caught in the underworld. In the beginning scene when Vincent and Jules went to do a job for Marcellus, right before they entered the room, Jules says “let’s get into character”, like they had to put on an act of being a hard core tough guy act. Another symbolic theme is cultural differences. Throughout the film, the American characters used name calling and glittering generalities. In the opening scene when Pumpkin was discussing how easy it would be to rob a dinner, he concluded that the some foreigners such as the Hispanics wouldn’t care.last motif and great signifiers of the film is bathrooms. Whenever someone goes to the bathroom, action comes after they exit it. Vincent was instructed to take Mia Wallace out on the town. Vincent was nervous about the whole thing because he didn’t want to cross any lines with Mia even though clear tension is present between both characters. When they get back from the restaurant, Vincent goes to the bathroom, when he returns Mia is laying on the floor, overdosing on heroin. Another example would be in the last scene, when Vincent and Jules were having breakfast in the diner, he went to the restroom. After he return, Pumpkin and Honey Bunny were robbing the diner and Pumpkin had a gun pointed at Jules’ head.My interpretation of the film is that is glorifies the American Gangster lifestyle, values like loyalty, trust, and change go a long way, and money can drive you to do anything. Characteristics such as being disloyal, greedy and being prideful can be the downfall of man. American Society has the mind set of “we are superior” and this is shown and highlighted in the film.
ReplyDeleteMy critical analysis was done on the film Idlewild. The is exactly what the tittle says Idlewild. The town of idlewild is full of idle people stuck in there own devices or the devices of other. Within this idle place wild things happen such as murder, bootlegging, and shootouts, and death. The main characters in the film are trying to find themselves as well as trying to find a way out of Idlewild, Georgia. A denotative aspect of this film is the use of music as a form of temporary escape from reality and or Idlewild. Music is the basis of this film. It not only move certain actions along in the movie but they describe the actions as well. Majority of the scenes within the movie are built around music. A connotative aspect of the movie is the statement said by the two main characters " God don't make no mistakes, he ain't said nothing slick to a can of oil". The phrase lets them know that everything happens for a reason. This statement sustains them through different trials they have to deal with. My overall interpretation of the film is that you can't allow your past,people,situations, or where you come from hold you back from your destiny in life.
ReplyDelete-Demarcus Worthy
DeleteMy critical analysis was done on a Tyler Perry film called Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor. The movie Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor is a romance drama produced and written by Tyler Perry. The movie is about a marriage counselor who tells her client a story about her sister Judith who’s public and private lives clashed when she was involved with a client of hers while working as an in house therapist for a top matchmaking company, despite being married. Judith is a Christian woman who has never been “involved” with anyone else but her childhood sweetheart and husband Brice. Judith is a pretty woman who is not concerned about maintaining her looks, or keeping up with the world’s fashion trends. Her coworker tries to persuade Judith to change her appearance but has no luck until Judith’s husband forgets her birthday for the second year in a row. With her becoming an unhappy woman, she becomes more vulnerable to the charms and wit of her new client Harley, who is a social-media entrepreneur making billions. The handsome man eventually seduces Judith during a business trip that the two take to New Orleans. Closely afterward, he reveals his true colors as an abusive woman beater, along with being a drug and alcohol abuser. It is obvious that Judith’s relationship with Harley changes who she is. She suddenly begins to wear more revealing outfits, drink, and starts to snort cocaine. During the height of the movie where it seems as if there is no coming back for Judith, there is a violent confrontation between her husband Brice and the devil like man Harley who stole Judith’s body and soul away from him. While all of these changes occur, Brice’s employee Melinda is living in fear of an abusive ex who turns out to be the exact same guy that Judith has fallen for.
ReplyDeleteAll in all, I believe that this movie was a good movie and did have a nice concept on showing the consequence of what could happen while committing infidelity, I do feel as if the movie was real predictable. I could tell from the start that Judith deciding to cheat on her husband would end badly. I think Tyler Perry could have added more depth to the plot and the characters to make the movie more intriguing.
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ReplyDeleteMy analysis is over Marvel's The Avengers. The movie is about a new team of heroes forming up for the first time. Throughout the movie they have come across many problems like Loki and each other. They must learn team work and depend on each other to prevail against the evil forces trying to take over earth. Team work is the main meaning of the movie it shows you can accomplish anything when you work together. The sounds of the movie is important the theme music always plays when they have a triumphant moment or when something good happens the theme music symbolizes The Avengers. Not only do the characters of the Avengers relate because they are all use to fighting by themselves. Obtaining the Tesseract is the main object of the movie I say this is because the Tesseract is in other Marvel movies like Iron Man, Captain America and Thor. It is a highly wanted item by super villains because the power it has within it. Their costume is also highly important it symbolizes who they are and also tells the viewer who is who within the movie. A super hero is nothing without their costume.
ReplyDelete-Dereck Nesbit
My film analysis was about the movie A Bronx Tale. A Bronx Tale is a 1993 American crime drama film set in the Bronx during the violent era of the 1960s. The movie follows a young Italian-American teenager, Calogero, as his path in life is guided by two father figures, played by Robert De Niro (Lorenzo) and Chazz Palminteri (Sonny). One day Calogero witnesses a murder committed by the notorious mobster of the neighborhood, Sonny, in defense of an assaulted friend. When Calogero chooses to keep quiet when questioned by the police, Sonny likes him and gives him the nickname “C”. His father doesn’t like the relationship with Sonny and forbids C to see him. Later when C is a teenager, he still communicates with Sonny and he keeps him out of trouble and gives him advice. However, tables turn when C falls in love with an African American girl and a conflict arises within the neighborhoods of black and Italian.
ReplyDeleteDenotative Meaning: An Italian boy that grows up in Bronx, New York and surrounded by the mob lifestyle in his neighborhood. He falls in love with an African American girl and becomes an adult after he faces challenges in his life.
Connotative Meaning: This movie is a symbol of the 1960s lifestyle of South Bronx. Everyone in the neighborhoods were poor and there were racial issues. However in this movie, the main character tries overcome these issues to become an adult.
Overall, the theme of the movie is becoming an adult and learning from mistakes. He grows up by taking valuable advice from his two father figures and learns that true love has no color. Also, when he witnessed his friends die over racial issues, he immediately snapped out of his own world and saw reality. This movie tells the audience that you should choose wisely the people you befriend, follow your heart despite of what people say, and make good choices in life.
One point that raises a major concern in the film includes the writer’s interpretation on rape, domestic violence, and male dominance. Just about every female character suffered through negative interactions with males. However, they all were able to endure common setbacks from male figures. For example, although seen as strong and confident, Nettie too experienced negative behaviors from her stepfather, Alphonso, and had to run away from home to live with Celie and Mr.___. Unfortunately, Mr._____ eventually tried make a move on Nettie leaving Nettie no choice but to be separated from her sister Celie again. Nettie met a couple which she later finds out are the adopted parents of her niece and nephew. When they all move to Africa Nettie writes letters to Celie on how lonely she is but ends up being happily married to the adopted father of her niece and nephew when his wife dies from being ill in Africa.
ReplyDeleteWhat was Alice Walker’s representation and purpose for this depiction in the film? The answer to this question is quite obvious. Living in a male dominated world, it is important for females to play a part. Females should not be treated as less than an object. As human beings, females have the right to be treated with respect and are often times forced to earn that respect through being assertive, confident, and strong-minded.
-DeJane Thompson
Boyz N THe Hood portrayal the social problems in inner-city Los Angele. The moviee takes the form of a tale of three friends growing up together 'in the 'hood.' Half-brothers Doughboy and Ricky Baker are rivals for each other's personality, presenting very different approaches to the tough lives they face. Ricky is the 'All-American' athlete, looking to win a football scholarship to USC and seeks salvation through sports, while 'Dough' succumbs to the violence, alcohol, and crime surrounding him in his environment, but maintains a strong sense of pride and code of honor. Between these two is their friend Tre, who is lucky to have a father, 'Furious' Styles, to teach him to have the strength of character to do what is right and to always take responsibility for his actions.
ReplyDeleteMy interpretation of the movie was that black man are often stereotyped as gangstas or thugs, or athletes who just wanna get rich but with a positive role model/ father the young black male can make it out of the violence and struggle.It also shows how strong the black role model can be.
Bad Boys 2 is an action/comedy film that takes place in Miami, Florida and parts of Puerto Rico. The film starts in 2003 and is based around two Miami police detectives Mike Lowry and Marcus Brunette, as they attempt to solve another underground drug case in south Florida they their long time partnership and friendship start to take a turn for the worst. Mike is hot headed over the top cop with charming good looks and a nice trust fund; on the other hand Marcus is more level headed and he is more of a family since the two have grown older. The tension starts between the two when a tip comes through the office about highly potent ecstasy that has been pouring through the city is set to make a drop at boat dock.After watching this film several times I noticed not only was this just another action packed about drugs and money and people dying movie this film displayed a message about brotherhood. In the beginning of the movie Mike and Marcus along with the MPD do a drug raid in the pursuit of the ecstasy; a miscommunication in the sound system on the radio occurs, which leads to a gunfight, which then leads to Mike accidently shooting Marcus in the butt. The scene shows Mike along with Marcus on the way to the hospital talking and constantly apologizing stressing that he wasn’t aiming for him on purpose.
ReplyDeleteDrumline is a 2002 American film directed byCharles Stone III. The screenplay, a fictional story about a historically black college and university marching band, was written by Tina Gordon Chism and Shawn Schepps. The story is about a young drummer from New York, played by Nick Cannon, who enters the fictional Atlanta A&T University and bumps heads with the leader of his new school's drum section. Leonard Roberts, Zoe Saldana, and Orlando Jones co-star. Drumline main siginifier is one band one sound which means that if one looks bad they all look bad and if one sounds bad they all sound bad so they have to work together to be successful. The conotative meaning is hard work equals success you have to be a team to achieve goals and in this movie they worked together
ReplyDeleteAnd reaches one of their goals by winning the battle of the bands. The Denotative meaning is you cant be cocky and expect to achieve. So therefore devon in this story has to change in order to achieve his accomplishments.
Carlito's Way is a 1993 American crime drama film directed by Brian De Palma, based on the novels Carlito's Way and After Hours by Judge Edwin Torres. The film adaptation was scripted by David Koepp. It stars Al Pacino and Sean Penn, with Penelope Ann Miller, Luis Guzmán, John Leguizamo, and Viggo Mortensen in supporting roles. The film's featured song, "You Are So Beautiful", was performed by Joe Cocker.The film follows the life of Carlito Brigante after he is released from prison and vows to go straight and retire. However, unable to escape his past, he ends up being dragged into the same criminal activities that got him imprisoned in the first place. In 1975, after serving 5 years of a 30-year prison sentence, Carlito Brigante is freed on a legal technicality exploited by his lawyer, Dave Kleinfeld. Upon release from prison, Carlito decides to return to his old neighborhood of Spanish Harlem. While in the neighborhood, he reconnects with old associates. Carlito vows to be through with crime but is persuaded to accompany his cousin Guajiro to a drug deal at a bar. Guajiro is betrayed and killed and Carlito is forced to shoot his way out. He takes Guajiro's money and uses it to buy into a nightclub, with the intent of saving $75,000 to retire to the Caribbean. Kleinfeld, having stolen one million dollars from his Italian mob-boss client, "Tony T" Taglialucci, is coerced into providing his yacht to help Tony T break out of the Rikers Island prison barge. Kleinfeld begs for help and Carlito reluctantly agrees. At night, Carlito, Kleinfeld, and Tony T's son, Frankie, sail to a floating buoy outside of the prison barge where Tony T is waiting. As they pull Tony T aboard, Kleinfeld unexpectedly bludgeons him to death, then slits Frankie's throat and dumps both bodies in the East River. The next day, Kleinfeld barely survives a retaliatory assassination attempt.
ReplyDeleteCarlito is apprehended by police and taken to Norwalk's office, where he is played a tape of Kleinfeld cutting a deal and offering to testify to false criminal allegations against Carlito. Norwalk is aware of Carlito being an accomplice to the Taglialucci murders and tries to leverage him into betraying Kleinfeld to save himself. Carlito refuses, but visits the hospital, where Kleinfeld confesses to selling him out. Having noticed a suspicious man dressed in a police uniform, Carlito deftly unloads Kleinfeld's revolver and leaves. The man is Tony T's other son, Vinnie, who sneaks into Kleinfeld's room and executes him. As Carlito runs to catch the train where Gail and Pachanga are waiting for him, he is ambushed by Benny, who shoots Carlito several times. Pachanga admits to Carlito that he is now working for Benny, only to be shot as well. Carlito hands Gail the money and tells her to escape with their unborn child and start a new life. As he is wheeled away on a gurney, Carlito stares at a billboard of a woman on a Caribbean beach. The billboard comes to life, and the woman, who is clearly Gail, starts dancing as Carlito dies.
The Shawshank Redemption is a 1994 epic American drama film written and directed by Frank Darabont and starring Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman. It is ranked #1 in IMDb's "Top 250" list based on over a million votes (9.3 out of 10) and is considered one of the best movies of all time.
ReplyDeleteAdapted from the Stephen King novella Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption, the film tells the story of Andy Dufresne, a banker who is sentenced to life in Shawshank State Prison for the murder of his wife and her lover despite his claims of innocence. During his time at the prison, he befriends a fellow inmate, Ellis Boyd "Red" Redding, and finds himself protected by the guards after the warden begins using him in his money laundering operation.
The Shawshank Redemption is a 1994 epic American drama film written and directed by Frank Darabont and starring Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman. It is ranked #1 in IMDb's "Top 250" list based on over a million votes (9.3 out of 10) and is considered one of the best movies of all time.
ReplyDeleteAdapted from the Stephen King novella Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption, the film tells the story of Andy Dufresne, a banker who is sentenced to life in Shawshank State Prison for the murder of his wife and her lover despite his claims of innocence. During his time at the prison, he befriends a fellow inmate, Ellis Boyd "Red" Redding, and finds himself protected by the guards after the warden begins using him in his money laundering operation.
The movie, The Black Swan (2010), is a drama, thriller, and mystery. Directed by Darren Aronofisky and written by Mark Heyman and Andres Heinz. It’s a story of a young, vibrant ballet dancer, named Nina Sayers, who fantasizes about being the lead dancer. Although she is young, she is the oldest dancer in her company. She struggles with not being picked for the lead role in any of the dance productions. Now that the Black Swan production is the next dance, Nina is preparing for her normal part as a background dancer.
ReplyDeleteThe main characters are Nina Sayers The Queen/White Swan played by Natalie Portman who symbolizes purity. Erica Sayers, The Queen played by Barbara Hershey who lives her former ballerina life through her daughter Nina. The Black Swan, Lily played Mila Kunis who symbolized a promiscuous woman. Thomas Leroy who is The Director of the play, played by Vincent Cassel who gets intimate with Nina to make her become seductive in her dance. Also The Dying Swan named Beth Macintyre played by Winona Ryder who is too old and has to retirer.
My film “Labor Day” directed by Jason Reitman is a suspense romance about a depressed single mom Adele and her son Henry offer a wounded, fearsome man a ride. As police search town for the escaped convict, the mother and son gradually learn his true story as their options become increasingly limited.
ReplyDeleteDenotative: The movie show right vs. wrong. The mother let an escaped convict hide in her house while the whole city was on a hunt for him. Yes, he did threated to harm her son so she did what she was told. But it was numerous amount of times where neighbors cam over and during the film he was going to leave to flee to another city but she told him to stay.
Connotative: Henry, who struggles to be the man of his house and care for his reclusive mother Adele while confronting all the pangs of adolescence. Adele had been single fir a while so when the escaped convict came to her home she was scared because she threaten and he promised to leave the next day. The next day the convict started fixing everything that was wrong in the house. Since Adele had been single for so long she got physically attracted to him and need somebody to love her.
I would give this film a 3/5 only because it was a predicable storyline. Labor Day lacks this filmmaker's usual sophisticated wit: it is bizarrely unconvincing and humorless. However, it had an emotionally engaging and suspenseful blend of thriller, romance and coming-of-age story with a strong script
Author Ntozake Shange once said, “And this is for Colored girls who have considered suicide, but are moving to the ends of their own rainbows.” (Shange, N. 2015) I decided to analyze the award winning movie, For Colored Girls. I chose this movie because it shows the true authentic struggles of the everyday life of most African American women living in America. However, though it is targeted to Black women, I do believe ALL women suffer from of the difficulties displayed in this film. I also chose this film because when I first watched the movie, it was hard to follow, and some of the images were too explicit for me to watch again. Now that I have the opportunity to analyze and criticize the film from an objective aspect, I can understand the views of why ALL women felt the way they did after viewing this film.
ReplyDeleteII. Description of the artifact
a) For Colored Girls is a hyperlink film that brings together the stories of nine different women as they move into and out one another’s existence; some are well known to one another, others are strangers. The troubles these women face throughout the move i.e. crises, heartbreaks, and crimes will bring the nine women fully into the same path where they will find common ground and understanding. Each of these women spoke their truth like never before. (Tyler Perry.com. n.d.)
b) Director/Producer(s)
1. Tyler Perry
2. Paul Hall
3. Roger M. Bobb
c) Cast
1. Janet Jackson
2. Loretta Devine
3. Michael Ealy
4. Kimberly Elise
5. Omari Hardwick
6. Hill Harper
7. Thandie Newton
8. Phylicia Rashad
9. Anika Noni Rose
10. Tessa Thompson
11. Kerry Washington
12. Whoopi Goldberg
III. Report on the findings of the analysis
a) There are many codes, symbols and findings in the film but one that was the hardest to watch was the “Gender Violence” scene. Character Bo who is played by Michael Ealy is intoxicated which brings out his insecurities. After questioning character Crystal who is played by Kimberly Elise, about her boss and the man driving the car she got out of, the sound of the bottle dropping and him hitting her in the face occurs. The shot quickly switches to the sad faces of their children with the neighbor. Signifying that they knew their mom was being beaten and it was not the first time. The pictures on the neighbor’s wall began to shake and as they do the neighbor tells them a story so they can try not to hear it, but the look on their faces is a code that they still do. Later in the same scene, the father looks at his daughter in a misleading way, and as he is telling her to come to him, their mom Crystal holds her tight. This code implies that she is scared to leave her children around him and does not want to let go.
IV. Interpretation of the findings
a) I concluded from the findings in the scene “Gender Violence” that the writer was trying to show the viewers women are strong creatures created by God that have an unconditional love for their children and will do anything they can to prevent harm from their children. It takes a strong woman to get beat on a daily basis and not let it affect their work life or parenting.
V. Evaluation of the artifact
a) For Colored Girls was filmed to show the world the different experiences women go through while living in America, and although one may go through their trials and tribulations they are not along. It is always someone who shares the same story.
Frozen is an animated musical comedy about two sisters from the kingdom of Arendelle. One of the sisters (Elsa) posses magical ice powers. Her younger sister Anna decides she wants to get married to a guy she just met named Prince Hans of the Southern Iles. Her sister forbids the marriage and begins to argue with her sister. Elsa, becomes upset and accidently exposes her power to the kingdom and sets off an eternal winter. She then takes to the North Mountains to hide. Anna goes on a journey to find her sister, with the company of an iceman and his reindeer and a snowman. Anna goes to find her sister so that she can bring back summer.
ReplyDeleteWinter and The Trolls in the movie were examples of connotation and denotation. The Trolls as represented in a denotative aspect is a dangerous supernatural creatures that hate human beings. However, in the film the trolls are loving creatures, who adore Anna and Kristoff when they come to visit, this represents connotative meaning. The winter season in the denotative aspect is considered just a cold, season some people love the season. In the movie, the connotative meaning behind winter is seen as a negative connotation. It is cold, wet and no one likes the winter and actually want to get rid of it.
From the movie "Frozen" I concluded that the writers were trying to show audience members that importance of family/sisterhood and uniqueness. They wanted to show that even though you're different it is okay. It's better to be yourself than anyone else. Family is the most important aspect in life. No matter what family sticks together through thick and thin like Anna did for her sister Elsa. Anna didn't let Elsa face her fears alone she stuck by her side even when she pushed her away.
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ReplyDeleteMMy overall analysis on the film Selma was it being a historical film to bring to the audience the importance about knowing about the civil rights movement with Dr. Martin Luther King for voters rights and human rights. In the film Selma there is connotation where the young marcher is killed and the marchers were whipped across the bridge denotation in the film Selma is the occurrence of brutal events and torture that indicates to us it happening in modern day today with recent incidents involved with innocent killings. The evaluation of the film Selma is that it was put together well and despite the conflict it showed people other than the African-American race come together and march.
ReplyDeleteMy overall analysis of the film The Great Gatsby is shows the how far one will go when they really loves someone. They will put their happiness aside just to protect someone even if that person wouldn’t do the same for that person. It also shows how one can’t trust everyone they come in contact with. the major conflict in this movie is
ReplyDeleteGatsby has amassed a vast fortune in order to win the affections of the upper-class Daisy Buchanan, but his mysterious past stands in the way of his being accepted by her. The rising action is Gatsby’s lavish parties, Gatsby’s arrangement of a meeting with Daisy at Nick’s. Nick Carraway; Carraway not only narrates the story but implies that he is the book’s author.Nick Carraway narrates in both first and third person, presenting only what he himself observes. Nick alternates sections where he presents events objectively, as they appeared to him at the time, with sections where he gives his own interpretations of the story’s meaning and of the motivations of the other characters.
The film Gone Girl is a psychological thriller created by David Fincher. Fincher was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director. Nick Dunne and Amy Dunne look like your average married couple at first, but as soon as the movie progresses, you get to see how crazy Amy is. Nick is a cheater, he's disrespectful, sneaky, and he's a liar. He only cares about himself. Amy however wanted to be the perfect woman for him. She did things she didn't necessary like to do that she mentioned in the movie. Amy claims that she forged the man of her dreams. Conformed to the ways of their world in order to keep the relationship going. She was a smart woman with a Harvard degree, but psychologically she was lacking basic knowledge. My interpretation of the movie was you can never know who you are dealing with no matter how long you have been with the person. People will never cease to amaze you.
ReplyDeleteA few employees of the presage paper are on their way to the company’s retreat, but while the bus crosses the North Bay Bridge, Sam Lawton has a premonition of the bridge collapsing, killing everyone but his recent ex-girlfriend. Because Sam saves a few of his employees from the accident, he has interfered with their destiny. (DEATH) This film was premiered in 2011and directed by Steven Quale. Final Destination 5 is a 2011 American horror film written by Eric Heisserer and directed by Steven Quale. It is the fifth installment of the Final Destination franchise. It stars Nicholas D'Agosto, Emma Bell, Miles Fisher, Arlen Escarpeta, David Koechner, and Tony Todd. Denotative meanings: This film consists of a numerous denotative meanings such as, the wind blowing right before someone is about to die, the long shot view of the bridge before it collapses and the long shot view after it collapses. Just to give an example of a connotative meaning, the “watch your step” sign on the bus at the beginning of the movie is a signifier that they will have to watch where they are walking when the bridge collapses. : My interpretation of the findings is that you can never run from what is meant for you, and be careful who’s life you take because it may be your own
ReplyDeleteThe movie I analyzed was do the right thing by spike lee. I found that that movie highlighted the unfinished business of the United States in the department of race, poverty, as well as immigration and global warming. Lee did a great job conveying that message to the audience with the narrative and the camera usage. It is very important to look back at how society was in those days and we can use this movie as a mirrored society at that time. This can also help up draw conclusion about the future. With the riots in Baltimore this is a relevant topic. In do the right thing police brutality was a main problem that still hold true today.
ReplyDeleteThe movie I analyze was "Chronicle" Cultural Studies assumes that the object of knowledge will determine the methodologies to be used. In critiquing the traditions used in media, cultural critics avoid privileging one cultural product over another and often examine texts that are largely seen as marginal and unimportant in traditional criticism, such as those connected to various forms of pop culture.
ReplyDeleteMy movie was pulp fiction The intertextuality of the film was not hard to find. Tarantino did a great job with making this movie full of mysteries. Here is little intertextuality I found. In a scene during the Gold Watch story, Butch and Marcellus are held hostage by these perverted white guys and Butch finds a way to escape. Before he leaves he refers back to the animosity between him and Marcellus. He could have easily left Marcellus in the back to continue to be raped, but he doubles back. Butch tries to choose a weapon to go to save Marcellus and this scene is intertextual in reference to horror cinema Texas chain saw massacre. (1974) As he progresses through the choice of his weapon, a hammer, a bat, a chainsaw and finally he chooses a samurai sword. When he picks up sword Japanese samurai cinema also in reference to “Kill Bill” which Uma Thurman played in. Another intertextual reference was Uma Thurman as Mia Wallace and her haircut is styled in that of the same way of Louis Brookes, in Pandora's Box (1929 G.W. Pabst). Also in the 2nd story when Vincent takes Mia out on a date, the wait staff dressed as celebrity impersonators in the Jack Rabbit Slim’s Restaurant.
ReplyDelete"Pulp Fiction"-The movie doesn’t have just one plot; it has three for each story. The plot of the story of Vincent of Marcellus’ wife Mia Wallace (played by Uma Thurman) is Vincent was told a story by Jules about how Marcellus threw a guy four stories from a building because of a foot rub he gave her. Then Vincent was given the task to take her out on a date by his boss. He takes her out on a date where there is a part where Mia draws square on screen in the scene, which shows the film draws attention to construction of graphics, showing how Tarantino breaks the Fourth wall and acknowledges the audience. The plot of the story with the Gold watch with the boxer Butch (Played by Bruce Willis), he wins a fight that Marcellus told him to lose against a boxer. Butch kills the boxer in the ring and he has to escape from Marcellus’s hitman Vincent. At this time in the 2nd story Jules (Samuel L. Jackson) has retired from working because of the incident of him getting shot at and not dying in the third story. But we don’t notice that he wants to quit until the final story. Butch escapes from the boxing match to meet with his girlfriend and he gets upset with her because she forgets his gold watch that his father left for him after he died in the war. He has to go retrieve it from his apartment which he knows that Marcellus’ hitmen are waiting for him. In the Golden Watch story you expect Butch to die in the plot, but he doesn’t. Instead he kills Vincent. In the shots that he murders Vincent, you see that Butch is brightly lit from the side and Vincent. The director could have decided to use less light on Butch to show the darkness inside of him when he kills Vincent, but in that shot, it is almost as if god’s light is shining on Butch to justify his killing. Vincent is shown have his face well lit as he comes out of the bathroom, but in his death, you see his face darkened and plain even though there is light coming into the bathroom. Jazz music plays as Marcellus Wallace is being raped, which is a really direct way of stating that he is being raped even though we do not visually see it, because jazz is another way of saying sex. Butch escapes but stops right at the door while a strip of sunlight is show onto his face, unlike how the rapists were lit with indoor lights. When he is looking for weapons to go and save Marcellus Wallace, in the shot that he is looking up, his whole face is lit, unlike the previous shots. With him looking up and the light on his face, it is as if God is giving him a sign. After he grans the Katana, the shot of him ripping down the curtain to the basement and standing in a battle stance makes him appear to be a shining crusader as he is brightly lit from the side once more. As soon as Butch goes into the room where Marcellus Wallace is being raped and starts killing, the jazz music fades.
ReplyDeleteMy criticism research paper is about the movie The Equalizer. Despite being a more recent film, there were a number of things about the movie that peak my interest. One, on the surface, it is nothing more than your typical action flick. Yet, there are unconscious messages being made regarding the properties of a true hero, sacrifice, and injustice. Two, it stars one of the all-time great actors in Denzel Washington. His demonstrated dedication to playing characters always serves as a boost to any film he is in. And three, it is Washington kicking butt. It is hard to find anything wrong with that. While The Equalizer might not be a classic film, it is a solid action movie that understands the basics on how to revolve a film around pitting good against evil.
ReplyDeleteRobert McCall is a retired black ops operative that works in a hardware store as he adjusts to what can be deduced as a normal life. He embodies the definition of a "good Samaritan." He will volunteer his time to help anyone in need, especially his co-workers. But on the same token, he uses his skills from his former career to exact vigilante justice for innocent people that are not able to fight back themselves. His drive for justice is truly tested when a teenage girl, a victim of sex-trafficking, is assaulted by her bosses. After killing those responsible for beating the girl, McCall finds himself in a battle against the Russian mafia, facing the real possibility of sacrificing himself for the protection of those around him.
Throughout the movie, McCall is clearly shown to symbolize what it means to truly be heroic. His interaction with those around him paints the picture of a likable man that is approachable and can be trusted. The people around him look to him for guidance and assistance. Ralphie goes to McCall to train and get the extra motivation he needs for a career in police enforcement. Alina goes to McCall for comfort as a means of getting away from the pain of her life: being sold at a young age to men by her pimp. Even Ralphie's mother accepts McCall's assistance in cleaning up and restoring her shop once it is realized that she is being strong-armed by the police.
While the message of heroism isn't the selling point of The Equalizer, it is a message worth holding onto. As you watch the film, you cannot help but find yourself sucked into the story of McCall coming to the rescue of those that cannot defend themselves. That not only says a lot about how well Washington played the character, but also says a lot about the amount of thought the film places in understanding the qualities of a hero that people will universally root for.
My criticism research paper is about the movie The Equalizer. Despite being a more recent film, there were a number of things about the movie that peak my interest. One, on the surface, it is nothing more than your typical action flick. Yet, there are unconscious messages being made regarding the properties of a true hero, sacrifice, and injustice. Two, it stars one of the all-time great actors in Denzel Washington. His demonstrated dedication to playing characters always serves as a boost to any film he is in. And three, it is Washington kicking butt. It is hard to find anything wrong with that. While The Equalizer might not be a classic film, it is a solid action movie that understands the basics on how to revolve a film around pitting good against evil.
ReplyDeleteRobert McCall is a retired black ops operative that works in a hardware store as he adjusts to what can be deduced as a normal life. He embodies the definition of a "good Samaritan." He will volunteer his time to help anyone in need, especially his co-workers. But on the same token, he uses his skills from his former career to exact vigilante justice for innocent people that are not able to fight back themselves. His drive for justice is truly tested when a teenage girl, a victim of sex-trafficking, is assaulted by her bosses. After killing those responsible for beating the girl, McCall finds himself in a battle against the Russian mafia, facing the real possibility of sacrificing himself for the protection of those around him.
Throughout the movie, McCall is clearly shown to symbolize what it means to truly be heroic. His interaction with those around him paints the picture of a likable man that is approachable and can be trusted. The people around him look to him for guidance and assistance. Ralphie goes to McCall to train and get the extra motivation he needs for a career in police enforcement. Alina goes to McCall for comfort as a means of getting away from the pain of her life: being sold at a young age to men by her pimp. Even Ralphie's mother accepts McCall's assistance in cleaning up and restoring her shop once it is realized that she is being strong-armed by the police.
While the message of heroism isn't the selling point of The Equalizer, it is a message worth holding onto. As you watch the film, you cannot help but find yourself sucked into the story of McCall coming to the rescue of those that cannot defend themselves. That not only says a lot about how well Washington played the character, but also says a lot about the amount of thought the film places in understanding the qualities of a hero that people will universally root for.
My film analysis was on Boxtrolls. An adventurous movie of stop animation. Each frame is molded and snapped as a picture until a story line is created. A kid named Eggs is an orphan raised by creatures living in an underground cavern inventing their little harmless lives away. Archibald snatcher (the antagonist) wants to become respected in town as a king so he make lies to gentlemen of the town about the box trolls hoping to kill them and be apart of the respected. this film express determination and morality in several ways. A must watch.
ReplyDeleteThe film I will do my film analysis on is The Color Purple. The film is a 1985 movie that focuses on a character, Celie who struggled. When I viewed the movie over the weekend, it started off with the audio of the two girls clapping and singing. When the movie finally showed, the camera panned on purple flowers which are both denotation and connotation. The denotation of the flowers defines the powerful relationship Celie ands Nettie have throughout the movie. The connotation symbolizes beauty, honor, and favoritism.
ReplyDeleteWhile the two girls are in the field, the camera angle shows Celie pregnant. How did Celie become pregnant in the beginning of the film? The second scene of the movie moves forward by Mister indicating to her not to mention anything about her sexual relationships he had with her. He quoted the statement after he took the child away and gave it to a married couple.
The movie also relates a lot of talking to God from Celie because she is going through so much in the movie. As she talks to God, it is like she is writing private letters to him on what is going on. The first few words she told God was that she has always wanted to raise children, but one of them were murdered by her father, and the other one was given away. Celie also states, “I am only 14 years old and need guidance from you because I do not know what is happening to me.” In other words, she does not understand why her father abuses her so much. As the movie continues, things get a lot worse, but at the end, situations turn around for Celie. This is a very powerful movie for anybody to watch because even though African American characters struggle, the movie does not focus on that. While the characters are sad, they are happy at the same time.
The movie analysis I plan to do is the movie Biker Boyz. An action packed movie that has Laurence Fishburne ( The king of Cali ) and Derek Luke playing as Kid from Antwan Fisher. This movie is about a young prospect Kid, who creates his own biker club and begins to come for Smokes Crown ( Laurence Fishburne ). This movie has a lot of action packed scenes and has a great plot and story behind the camera. Directed by Reggie Rock By The Wood.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPAFue9tDhU
ReplyDeleteTrailer for Biker Boyz
Beyond the lights is a romantic dramedy about the life of rising pop star noni jeans the film was released in the year 2014 the title itself means to look beyond stardom and fame and glamour and look at the life of the individual a focus on the singers internal battles with herself love and happiness the movie has a lot of parallels and anesthetics that you could find in the films The Bodyguard and also love and basketball the culture of the film is very today from the interactions of social media paparazzi news and even the special guest appearances by other famous artists from this era. The movie if a post Multi suicidal film it deals with depression and self-esteem. It's also a post African American pride movie. Which is very evident by how much pride the star takes in wearing her own natural hair the film was directed by Denise Prince
ReplyDeleteMy film analysis was done on city of God. The film is a crime drama that takes place in the slums of Rio de Janeiro. It was nominated in four different categories for the Academy Awards in 2004.The protagonist is a young man who goes by the name of Rocket. Rocket wants to become a photographer but he must try to survive in a drug infested community by young drug dealer who goee by the name of Lil Ze. The movie was interesting due to the editing in the film as well as the cinematography.
ReplyDeleteThe Film I analyzed was Mean Girls. the film revolves around the character of 'Cady' a new student who while looking for ways to fit in with the status quo at high school, finds herself mixed in a web of lies which ultimately diminish this new found stature that she now possesses.
ReplyDeleteWithin the film itself, teenagers are the central characters with the exception of a few adults who take the form of teachers and parents. The four leading girls all represent somewhat of 'Stock Characters' and stereotypes, 'The Leader'--Regina George, 'The Sidekick'--Gretchen Weeners, 'The Dumb one'--Karen Smith and 'The Convention breaker'--Cady Heron. Through use of stereotypes through these female character it is immediately insinuated that all girls have these characters in them, and females themselves fit the stereotypes that have been presented. However, due to the stereotypes being presented and the almost exaggerated and comedic personalities that are tied in with the stereotype, audiences are encouraged to believe that these characters are almost caricatures and meant for comedic effect. The Movie had a relatable Plot hence the reason I chose it, also, it had great cinematography, and there were all sorts of different angles, lighting, and things being used.
The film that I analyzed was Crooklyn. Troy is a 10 year old from Brooklyn new York who must grow up faster then most others after the death of her mother. She is the only girl with four brothers. The movie has a lot of cultural indications throughout the film. One example would be how the view of the movie changes when the family leaves from up north to go down south. When they arrive in the south the lens changes to a lens that makes everything look closed in and squeezed closely together. This represents the south and how everything is slower and nostalgic there.
ReplyDeleteJuice was written and directed by Ernest Dickerson. He was most known for his work with renowned director Spike Lee, serving as the cinematographer for a number of Lee’s films. Juice serves as a crime drama film and was released in 1992. Notable celebrities appear in the film including Flex Alexander, Queen Latifa, and Samuel Jackson. The starting cast is headlined by no other than deceased rapper Tupac Shakur, who played the role of Bishop; a seemingly typical New York adolescent in the early 90’s who changes for the worst once a handgun falls into his possession. My overall interpratation of the movie speaking from a cultural standpoint, it is a site that I have seen with my own eyes. Someone so stuck on gaining attention can be so blinded or distracted that they easily forgot the blueprint they had already established that was crucial to the success they had already gained. They call it getting beside yourself or getting the big head. Whatever you want to call it, Juice did an excellent job in portraying an example of that, so much that in today’s culture, twenty-three years later, the word is still being used in the same exact context as it was initially intended too.
ReplyDeleteThe film "The Great Gatsby" starring Leonardo DiCaprio as Gatsby, Carey Mulligan as Daisy, and Tobey Maguire as Nick Carraway is based off the novel written by F. Scott Fitzgerald. This film shows a society gone crazy on alcohol, conspicuous consumerism, the emptiness of wealth, and hollow relationships. Luhrmann’s frenetic scenes of the parties contrast with the slower, more stately episodes of Gatsby’s doomed love. The green light, the adultery, the endless wealth, and the empty conversations tell of the death of both Gatsby’s dreams and the American Dream. At a crucial, climactic moment, a scene in a suite at the Plaza Hotel, the director mutes his irrepressible, circus ringmaster showmanship and plunges into undiluted melodrama. The music stops, and the camera cuts among the assembled faces as the emotional core of the film is laid bare. This scene stands out in a movie that is otherwise gaudily and grossly inauthentic. Jay Gatsby is too, of course. He is self-invented and also self-deluded, spinning out fantasies for himself and others as easily as he gives parties. As a character, Fitzgerald’s sentences and in our national mythology, he is a complete mess. This movie relatable and relevant to the audience.
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ReplyDeleteThe movie i chose is Baby Boy, the title of the movie gives insight on the actually meaning behind the film. The Director John Singleton wanted to show how and why the black man in america is symbolized as a baby, someone that has not matured and do not know their own capabilities as a man. Baby Boy shows a 21 year old man name Jody with two kids that still lives at home with his mother. Throughout the movie John Singleton uses connotative meanings to explains certain things in the movie, the first scene of the movie it shows Jody, a grown man inside of a womb, Singleton uses this scene to indicate that the black man is still a "baby" mentally and has not yet fully matured. Singleton also uses semiotics (the science of signs) to indicate different meanings. In the opening scene of the movie Singleton get a close up shot on the fashion trend that Jody is wearing, he does this to show the audience the cultural setting that the film will portray. I chose this movie because i was able to relate to the film and understand the meaning behind it.
ReplyDeleteThe movie I chose to analyze is The Fault in Our Stars. The title alone tells the story of the two main characters. It tells how the fault was aligned in their stars and they had no control of what could happen to them. Being that both of the main characters were diagnosed with cancer but continued to live life to the fullest spoke to me the most. The dennotative meaning of the film would be that two teenagers were diagnosed with cancer, they met a cancer support group and fell in love while spending the rest of their days together. The connotative meaning is to never let anything stop you from enjoying life because you only get one.
ReplyDeleteThe film had many different types of camera angles to better explain the love between the main characters. It also showed a lot of mis-en-scene, props were used to sign the love.
My overall interpretation of this film is that this is a very good film. I watched it a couple of years ago and I failed to notice all of the details I noticed this time around after taking this class.
The film I analyzed is the 2005 thriller Hide and Seek. It was directed by John Polson and it starred Robert De Niro and Dakota Fanning. The movie is about a widower and his daughter who moves from the city in New York to the outskirts. Once there, Emily creates an imaginary friend named Charlie but her father doesn't like it because Emily is starting to act out. Strange things start to happen that Emily continues to blame on Charlie. Later in the movie, it is revealed that the father is actually Charlie and he has split personalities. The denotative meaning from this movie is a father that is mentally torturing his daughter and using her for his own game. The connotative meaning of the movie is the display of Monarch Programming, which is a form mind control used by people with multiple personalities. His idea was to continue the cycle of the mental disease. At the end of the movie, Emily moves in with her father’s coworker. The last scene of the movie is symbolic because Emily is sitting down drawing a picture of herself and it is shown that Emily drew herself with two heads. That meant that she also has split personality and it is also probably dangerous. My evaluation of the film is that it is a good film about living with something with a dangerous mental condition.
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ReplyDeleteThe film that i chose to analyze was The Wizard of Oz. Its about a small town girl from kansas who gets caught in the midst of a tornado and ends up landing in a magical land called Oz. Although the movie had speculations of being tied back to history of the late 1800's, thats not the ideal i gathered from the film. With all of the references in the movie (things like home, bravery, power, etc), I feel that the main idea of the movie was that we all must go on a journey of self discovery in order to truly know our strengths and true selves. Hints why Dorothy had to follow the yellow brick road.
DeleteThe film I chose to analyze is Dope. Dope follows the main character Malcolm and his two best friends as they try to survive in their neighborhood. Malcolm and his friends live in a tough neighborhood where they find it hard to fit in. Throughout the movie they are faced with hard choices and we see how their lives are impacted by these choices. The denotative meaning of the film would be a group of geeks trying to survive their neighborhood. The connotative meaning of the film is there are different paths in life and you don’t have to take the expected path. The film takes place in Inglewood, California which considered a tough neighborhood. In hoods like Inglewood people are expected to be in drugs and gangs. The film shows some of the problems kids who live tougher neighborhoods face when they don’t fit into a certain mold. The director Rick Famuyiwa uses the situations in this film to show that you can rise above your circumstances like he did.
ReplyDeleteMan on Fire is a novel that was written by A.J. Quinnell in 1980. The first Man on Fire film was released in 1987. The one I am analyzing was directed by Tony Scott and it was released in 2004. The movie starred Denzel Wahsington, Dakota Fanning , Christopher Walken and Mark Anthony.
ReplyDeleteThe movie is about an alcoholic ,ex CIA agent who is dealing with his past. He comes to Mexico to visit his friend and ends up working as a bodyguard. The movie was filmed in Mexico, City which is the number 1 country with the highest rates for kidnappings.
Tony Scoot made some really bold choices when directing this movie. The colors were very saturated and the tones were dark giving the film a gritty feel, since it was about kidnapping and filmed in Mexico City which is dirty and dangerous. There was a lot of different types of cultures seen in the movie.
Culture- Race: Mexican the father , who is proud of his heritage and his religion
White American Female his wife , loves her husband loves her daughter but wants her to party
African American - Creasy Alcoholic who battling depression and suicide
Culture: Money- The family is going broke but they are all about keeping up with appearances. The wants to maintain that status in order to keep his wife.
Denotation: We see a gun, it is a weapon
Connotation: At pitas swimming competition it is the thing that sets her free to be able to swim
Denotation: A Bible is a book
Connotation: Pita's mom uses it as comfort after she is kidnapped
Denotation: A bullet is what is used in a gun
Connotation: It controls life and death
Editing: This movie was filled with over layering tremors and flash frames with gave the film its sense of urgency.
Scott used a lot of dizzy disoriented edits and double exposure to put un in Creasy's mind.
Symbols: Fire means destruction: Greasy was destruction he had no reason to live until he met pita.
Volcano: Represents the journey we take and the obstacles it take to get there. In the beginning and end we see Creasy pass this volcano and in the end as he dies he is at peace because he has found redemption.
Music is key to this movie it pulls you in emotionally and carries you throughout the story. This is done by the use of violins and a few piano strokes. The songs Blue Bayou and Una Palabra really tell the story of loving someone and having them taken from you. When Pita is kidnapped and then presumed dead Creasy then sets off to kill anyone that may have been involved. After suffering multiple gun shot wounds and finding out pita is alive, he sacrifices himself in order to reunite her with mother. Even though he dies moment later the film shows you it all wasn't done for nothing because now he can die in peace he isn't burden down anyone with guilt of his past.
Overall Analysis: What I got from it is that yes we may do bad things in life but Creasy knew better and wanted to be forgiven by God. In the end the movie was about redemption and because of his faith he believed it was possible but it took meeting pita to realize that. No matter what obstacles you go through in life you have to keep going and believe that it will be alright in the end.
The Color Purple was released in 1985 and is based off of a 1982 novel written by Alice Walker called The Color Purple.
ReplyDeleteSteven Spielberg directed the movie along with other classics such as E.T., Jaws, Jurassic Park, and Super 8.This movie invites the viewers into a world where they can see first hand the struggles that are faced such as gender and intertextual perspective. Although the movie was made in 1985 , the relevance of the issue with regards to woman’s identities are still applicable in today’s society. The Color Purple focuses on Women’s suffrage.This movie is unique in its efforts with spiritual survival and with exploring the oppression's, insanities, and triumphs of black women. Instead of black oppression by whites, however, in this movie there is black oppression by blacks.The relationships between men and women; the relationships among women; and the relationships among people, God, and nature.Women are constantly fighting against men’s attempts to oppress them
In The Color Purple, men see women as objects to control; to have a healthy relationship, the movie implies that most of these women have to turn to other women, like Shug and Celie. Abused by father, uncles, mister and then she turns to women.After Celie finally leaves Mr. he goes into a state of depression. After he rebuilds himself he freshly paints the house white. White: Symbolizes Rebirth. In the book Celie states that her favorite color is purple.Whenever this color is shown in the movie Celie is experiencing a sense of joy. It is her reminder that there is God even though she has doubts. She often believe that this color shouldn’t exist because she is undeserving.
I chose the movie The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 because of the amount of publicity it received. Some of the hidden meanings that I received from the movie was the weight that the male's voice held compared to a woman's voice. Katniss realized at the moment where she was stuck between the commander and Gale that her words were not enough to stop the problem from escalating. There were white flowers in the room where Katniss and Peeta were they were symbolic of the young children's innocence. When they were in the forest, Peeta says "God, it's hot", in reference to what Miss Amber Kennedy relayed to our class during her presentation, the heat is incentive for individuals to commit murder. Because the point of The Hunger Games is to kill of each other until you are the last one standing, this played well into the theme. Something else I realized was that whenever President Snow was involved in something, the color red would mysteriously appear indicating that something about him was evil and not right because majority of the movie scenes were utilized with treys, whites, and black colors. My favorite concept as well as one of the biggest meanings that I grasped was the importance of age. Although Mags seems to have a small role the average human being, she is very significant due to social group that she embodies. Mags shows us the true meaning of sacrifice and looking out for each other no matter how hard it gets. I respect Mag's character the most because she was non remorseful when it came to giving her own life for some one else to keep theirs. When Gale was being beaten, it reminded me of Jesus Christ being whipped in front of the entire town. I think that maybe Francis Lawrence intended to mean that the good are slaves to the bad because Gale was one of the most pure hearted individuals throughout the whole movie. Francis Lawrence encoded plenty of messages throughout this production, although I could not decode each and every one of them, I admire and appreciate his work.
ReplyDeleteThe motion picture Friday is a satire; however it additionally portrays numerous imperative social issues. The story is set in the city of Los Angeles, California, as known as a high class ghetto. The fundamental subject of the film is around a youthful dark man who loses his occupation and is affected by his best friend to smoke marijuana. The motion picture additionally demonstrates the connections of his family and different individuals from his neighborhood. With a crazy cast of characters and a clever script this films touches on everything from posse brutality to the utilization of drugs, wrongdoing, weapons, relationships, sex and life in the ghetto. In view of every one of these issues I discovered this fascinating film with a wide assortment of points to address.
ReplyDeleteGet on the Bus was meant to encourage public discussion about how African Americans are treated in this country. This is similar to many of Spike Lee’s films in regards to how African Americans treat each other. From homeosexuality to religion, and political beliefs, Spkie Lee is shining light on issues in the African American community.
ReplyDeleteI Analyzed School Daze that’s directed by Spike Lee. The reason I selected this movie is because Spike Lee is my favorite director and has deep meaning behind all of his works that he publish. This movie also has a special place in my heart because it’s filmed on a HBCU campus and overall the plot is about the HBCU experience. The classic struggle between selling out and giving up. You CAN make decisions to help yourself and your family without selling out. Make sure to never forget where you come from and who you are at heart. One thing is for sure no one should consider themselves a "nigga." That mentality does nothing but holds yourself and other people back.
ReplyDeleteMy overall interpretation of the film the Grand Budapest Hotel, directed by Wes Anderson, is that he wanted to visualize a movie written from a book's perspective. I think he wanted the audience to be aware of Zero's surrounding and what Zero had to endure in order to establish the wealth of his mentor Mr. Gustave. He used color schemes throughout the movie to show reality from being in the future after the war to going to the past to use vibrant colors showing how Mr. Gustave dealt with war through his eyes. I loved the fact that Mr. Gustave gave Zero a chance to be a lobby boy, although he had no family, no experience, and no education. The director could've of been trying to say that just because you don't have the experience it doesn't mean you can't be trained or taught if you have the desire and willingness to do so. As a reward to Zero helping him escape jail because of false accusations of killing his ex-lover in the beginning of the movie, he was able to attain knowledge, a girl, all of his assets and his hotel that his ex-lover left him. The director Wes, was trying to get the audience to understand that through all the war and disaster that happened in the movie he is able to remain happy, calm, and collected through a brink of a war.
ReplyDeleteThe movie that I chose was Freedom Writer's. The denotative meaning for this movie is during the 90's LA riots cause a lot of chaos in LA. Police brutality became a huge issue, racial divides, education inequality. The title Freedom Writer's let the view know that the students in the classroom were writing about their personal life experiences. The connotative meaning reveal that the journey of their life experiences were expressing themselves in through writing and they could escape their problems of injustice and discrimination by freely writing. By writing their life experiences down they realized that their life experiences connected them and that they were more similar then they were different. That it no longer matter about the color of their skin. They were all exqual human beings.
ReplyDeleteThe film i chose was War of the worlds directed by Stephen Spielberg.My interpretation on the film was that Spielberg main objective in the movie was to make the mind wonder what would really happen if aliens were real and came to attack the earth. He showed it from a perspective of if they do come what would happen and how do we know if theywould even survive on earth. They have never experienced our oxygen and our viruses and bacteria that we have adapted to over the years. The aliens end up dying because being on earth too long and not having the technology to survive our everyday lives. It’s just the same as if we went up space without a space suit we would not be able to breathe because our bodies cannot survive without oxygen. Its such a different approach because most films of this genre go with the aliens attack and we end up dying or we end up beating them with our weapons. This is the first film of its kind to show the other side of what if.
ReplyDeleteReleased in 2002, the film of choice for me was The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers directed by Peter Jackson. It is based off of the book written by J.R.R. Tolkein of the same name and is part of a trilogy. Jackson did a great job bringing out the dark elements within the mise-en-scene. The film was supposed to be more dark and gory than its predecessor and because of that, light was shown to be a symbol of good. Jackson repeatedly uses Gandalf, one of the main protagonists, to wield light against evil usually resulting in victory for the protagonists. Character development was the best feature to me however, every characters race is clearly defined through his personality, clothing and weaponry. Tolkein wanted to show that people of different races, backgrounds etc. can come together in pursuit of a common goal. Here dwarves, elves, man and wizard have come together to prevent the genocide of all their respective races.
ReplyDeleteReleased in 2002, the film of choice for me was The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers directed by Peter Jackson. It is based off of the book written by J.R.R. Tolkein of the same name and is part of a trilogy. Jackson did a great job bringing out the dark elements within the mise-en-scene. The film was supposed to be more dark and gory than its predecessor and because of that, light was shown to be a symbol of good. Jackson repeatedly uses Gandalf, one of the main protagonists, to wield light against evil usually resulting in victory for the protagonists. Character development was the best feature to me however, every characters race is clearly defined through his personality, clothing and weaponry. Tolkein wanted to show that people of different races, backgrounds etc. can come together in pursuit of a common goal. Here dwarves, elves, man and wizard have come together to prevent the genocide of all their respective races.
ReplyDeleteAfter analyzing my film, Thor: the dark world The dentoation of the movie is that Thor after fighting with the avengers had his own world to save and as he saves it realizes he doesn’t want to be king which sets up loki to trick Thor and make him king. The director called it the dark world because most of the main characters were in a dark place in this film. Thor lost his mother and for a while thought he lost his brother too. He also watch the love of his life almost lose her life to the Aether. It laso ends on a dark note. Loki is an evil villain and he means to destroy. Asgard just went to war and they are going to be looking for a new leader and once thor turned down to be king and loki was transformed into being his father, that means loki now has control over asgard. The movie might be saying asgard is now going to be in a dark place now because Loki means to bring nothing but destruction to everyone. Overall, from the representation of the film through lighting, costumes, and various shots the director did an amazing job continuing the sequel of this movie and foreshadowing the next.
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ReplyDelete“Boyz N The Hood” gives any audience an opportunity to get a glimpse of life in the Black community within South Central, Los Angeles, California. Collectively, the film uses a message, semiotics, and elements of mise-en-scene to present a depiction of such. For the message, it uses the themes of Black-on-Black violence, fatherhood, and external factors that affect the Black community. For the cinematic approach, it uses symbols, such as the gun, to display the different ideologies pertaining to the narratives. Finally, in the mise-en-scene, the film used a combination of music, camera shots, and costume to express emotion, conversation, and character.
ReplyDeleteThe 1995 film "Friday" give its audience the general idea that second class African American has been a target of destruction. Throughout the movie the liquor store is shown to be in the community, there are black on black crimes and of course drugs being distributed. And what the director does, he giving the second class citizens in a black community a look in the mirror. And with that interpretation the reflection the black community is a person (community) that is seen when looking in the mirror that is poor, ugly, and uneducated.
ReplyDeleteThe film I chose to analyze is “Higher Learning” by John Singleton. The denotative meaning of “Higher Learning” is education or learning at a college or university level. The connotative meaning behind the movie is that Columbus University which is the center of higher learning serves as microcosm of America. While there the students encounter social issues such as racial issues, sexual orientation, and class distinctions. The social issues that the students ran into on the campus are some of the same issues that are in American society, the point behind the film was to bring to light the social issues that are prevalent in America but are rarely addressed. In order to do this Singleton used symbols such as the American Flag, Swastikas and neo-Nazi characters to represent the ideology of white supremacy. He also used differences between the characters to represent class distinctions and the characters story line to represent issues with sexual orientation.
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ReplyDeleteThe pursuit of happiness is a heart-felt 'must see' film about a man named Chris Gardner who is striving to obtain a job as a stockbroker in San Francisco California to provide for his family. Homeless, Chris has to care for his son and overcome many unfortunate obstacles in the process. I believe the overall ideology of the film is be happy, follow your dreams, and get what you want, no matter how tragic your circumstances may be. Also, we shouldn't wait for things to be perfect to be happy. Directors did an amazing job utilizing camera angles of the emotions of the characters and transferring those same emotions to the audience.
ReplyDeleteRevenge, justiciable or unjustified, is a relevant theme in the Hughes brother’s film. It is responsible for a majority of murders throughout the movie. When Caine’s cousin Harold is killed, Caine and his friends retaliate and kill those responsible. When Caine pistol whips Chauncey. Chauncey gets his revenge by sending the police a robbery tape. Revenge is significant because it also leads to Caine’s death. After Caine’s gets into a fight with the cousin of a girl he impregnated, the cousin doesn’t want rematch with fist. Instead he delivers a drive by on Caine, which also results in his friend Sharif being killed. The cycle of vengeance can last forever simply because it is natural to humans. Instead of seeking vengeance humans should solve problems in a respectable manner. When payback is associated with violence, one must simply chose the high road although it may be difficult.
ReplyDeleteRevenge, justiciable or unjustified, is a relevant theme in the Hughes brother’s film. It is responsible for a majority of murders throughout the movie. When Caine’s cousin Harold is killed, Caine and his friends retaliate and kill those responsible. When Caine pistol whips Chauncey. Chauncey gets his revenge by sending the police a robbery tape. Revenge is significant because it also leads to Caine’s death. After Caine’s gets into a fight with the cousin of a girl he impregnated, the cousin doesn’t want rematch with fist. Instead he delivers a drive by on Caine, which also results in his friend Sharif being killed. The cycle of vengeance can last forever simply because it is natural to humans. Instead of seeking vengeance humans should solve problems in a respectable manner. When payback is associated with violence, one must simply chose the high road although it may be difficult.
ReplyDeleteThis film is a drama/romance between two lovers Augusta Waters and Hazel grace which shows their struggles dealing with their different types of cancers and conquering their inner demons. This movie introduces obstacles in which no one thinks they can overcome but with the strength that lies within them and the growing love that they have for each other seems to be the only reason to push through their life.The film I chose is " The Fault In Our Stars. This film has many denotative and connotative meanings. One is the term water. Water in this film represents the fluid in Hazel Grace lungs, But the denotative meaning of water is a colorless transparent, odorless, tasteless liquid that forms the seas, lakes, rivers, and rain and is the basis of the fluids of living organisms.
ReplyDeleteThe Road Within is a comedy/ drama film about a young man name Vincent, who has Tourette's Syndrome and persuades two of his fellow patients from a treatment facility to go with him to spread his recently-deceased mother's ashes. Starring Robert Sheehan, Dev Patel, and Zoe Kravitz this film shows many signifiers showing progression and regression in relationship to the character's disability. An example of a connotative meaning from the film is when Alex, played by Dev Patel, finally took off one of his gloves and actually held a hand of a friend. This showed a progression in the control he has over his disability.
ReplyDeleteRemember the Titans is a very inspirational and uplifting film about two different football teams, whites and blacks coming together to overcome racial issues during that time period. Furthermore, in 1971, at the desegregated T. C. Williams High School, a black head coach Herman Boone, played by Denzel Washington, is hired to lead the school's football team. Boone is assigned to the coaching team under a white coach, Bill Yoast, played by Will Patton, in attempt to face rising racial tension. I strongly encourage all races in today’s generation to see this film because racial conflicts due to stereotypes still exist in today’s society; therefore is imperative that we shouldn't judge a person due to their race, even as different as we may be as individuals we are all human and most importantly if we all work together to reach a common goal we will have unity and succeed, but if we are divided, we will fail. Or as the Bible puts it, “A house divided against itself can't stand." I strongly believe this particular movie did a great job in filming this movie, through the characters, mis en scene, semiotics, and discourses; everything the filmmaker and/or writer displayed was intentional and for an exact reason so the audience could get a better sense of the inspirational movie.
ReplyDeleteDe'ja Rashai Jones
The film that I analyzed was "The Matrix". The film depicts a future in which reality perceived by most humans is merely a simulated reality called The Matrix. which is created by machines to overcome the human race while their real bodies are used as an energy source. The main Character, Neo, who is played by Keanu Reeves, is referred to as "The One" throughout the film. This automatically lead me to believe that this film was in comparison to Christianity. Neo went through a rebirth at the beginning of the film when he decided to find out about the "real world" and later in the film he was killed and resurrected. These actions are both similar to Jesus Christ. Other characters in the film have bible like characteristics as well. Morpheus could be looked at as a God like figure because he was sort of the father of the real world and he was the one that deemed Neo "The One". Agent Smith could be thought of as a demon because his goal was to keep the world corrupt. The Oracle could represent John the prophet. Cypher could represent Judas one of the twelve disciples that turned his back on Jesus in the bible. The main signifier in this film was the telephones. The phones were a way for Morpheus and his crew to teleport from The Matrix to The real World. This film makes humans question if life is real of if in actuality life is just a game that they were placed in.
ReplyDeleteThe film that I analyzed for my presentation was Frankie & Alice. Directed by Geoffrey Sax, Frankie & Alice is a 2010 Canadian drama film that is set in the 1970s. It is an inspired true story centered on a black go-go dancer Frankie (Halle Berry), who battles with multiple personality disorder. After experiencing many blackouts, Frankie encounters a psychotherapist (Stellan Skarsgård) who tries to uncover the truth behind these personalities, including that of a powerful white racist woman (Alice) and an intellectual child (Genius). This film was made to show the actual intensity of personality disorder in the world during the 1970s. Frankie & Alice, has a few signifiers that triggers Frankie, but the main one is terms or objects associated with babies like the baby raddle and cradle.
ReplyDeleteThe connotative and denotative meanings of the story are a little more difficult to find. When Frankie’s friend from the club ask to see the newspaper and notices that the crossword puzzle is already complete, she call her genius as if being so smart to know every word, thus creating the denotative meaning. The connotative meaning on the other hand is that the term Genius is actually the name of one of Frankie’s personalities that she has no idea that exist.
-Tori R. Henry
The film Pulp Fiction is a uneventful story about a black Los Angeles Mob boss and his hit men. It caught my attention for two reasons;
ReplyDelete1. It featured Sameul L. Jackson.
2. I am a fan of the director.
The director, Quentin Tarantino, is known for his violent, bloody, over exaggerated camera angles, and straight forward films and this was the best one. Pulp Fiction doesn't have a specific message but it makes you think, "What's the worst that can happen?!"
Skeleton key has a way of making you think one thing is going to happen while another is taking place. During the movie, it goes into depth about how each soul is being trapped inside of a new younger body to keep living. Reverse psychology plays a major role because that is how they lead their victims into their house. This movie has many complex messages and it shows just how complex they are once the main character begins to discover what is really going on. The denotative meaning was that the main character was being lured in because the wife needed her body to continue to have her soul living. The connotative meaning was that she was just hired as a nurse to take care of her husband who was sick.
ReplyDeleteThe 1950s were indeed a dreadful time for people of color. Racial tensions were high, schools, jobs, public housing and transportation was segregated, civil unrest was abound in Black communities and race relations were anything short of reconcilable. A time period where Jim Crow laws reinforced segregation and made it unlawful for blacks and whites to interact, integrate and peacefully coexist. The recently released film “Fences”, starring Denzel Washington and Viola Davis, is a theatrical adaptation of the play written by veteran playwright Arthur Wilson that conscientiously captures the aura of animosity exhibited by the harsh conditions of the time period, causing it to antagonize the protagonist.
ReplyDelete-Jaylon O'Neal
The film I picked was Hangover. The film is about a gathering of friends who are taking a street trip they will always remember. Presently they need to recall what happened. Their is a child in the wardrobe, tiger in the restroom, Stu is feeling the loss of a tooth and Doug is missing. The film is field with puzzles and with each riddle comprehended it gives them a prompt the following secret bearing in mind the end goal of discovering Doug.
ReplyDeleteThis film is loaded with great comedy. It gives you living free on occasion. We as a whole have a little revolt in us and this film demonstrates that. The auto was played as the real meant question and it highlighted brought out extraordinary demonstrative importance of whjat occurs in Vegas remains in Vegas.
I chose to write about the film Django. Its a favorite of mine with the great film executive Quentin Tarantino.Django Unchained is a 2012 American revisionist Western film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, starring Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kerry Washington, and Samuel L. Jackson. Set in the Old West and Antebellum South, it is a highly stylized tribute to Spaghetti Westerns, in particular the 1966 Italian film Django by Sergio Corbucci,
ReplyDeleteTarantino won an Academy Award, a Golden Globe, and a BAFTA award for writing the film's original screenplay. The film grossed over $425 million worldwide in theaters against its $100 million budget, making it Tarantino's highest-grossing theatrical release.
For my film analysis, I chose Beast of the Southern Wild". A Sundance Drama/Fantasy/Adventure that surrounds a free spirited six year old named Hushpuppy who lives in a impoverished community in the outskirts of Louisiana referred to as "The Bathtub". Hushpuppy is portray as a chaotic protagonist who means well but is followed by trouble wherever she goes. The film hs a denotative aspect of how serious the poverty issue in America but also ha the idea of global warming as a connotative meaning.
ReplyDeleteFor my film analysis, I chose Beast of the Southern Wild". A Sundance Drama/Fantasy/Adventure that surrounds a free spirited six year old named Hushpuppy who lives in a impoverished community in the outskirts of Louisiana referred to as "The Bathtub". Hushpuppy is portray as a chaotic protagonist who means well but is followed by trouble wherever she goes. The film hs a denotative aspect of how serious the poverty issue in America but also ha the idea of global warming as a connotative meaning. This film contains a lot of symbols and motifs that drive the story forward. The film also does not contain a lot of dialogue which makes the visual aesthetic of the film even more powerful. the camera angles and special effects is what truly makes this a great film.
ReplyDeleteI chose the film Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs. This movie was a family oriented movie targeting the youth crowd. It is an animation, action, adventure, comedy, romance, science fiction film. This films denotative meaning was the basic themes that are clear towards children which is family is the most important thing and bravery. Whereas, the connotative meaning is about global warming. Because in the movie before this it was "The Meltdown" and it was showing how the ice was melting, and now I feel like this movie is portraying the affects of climate change and how it is effecting the animals. All in all, I really enjoyed this movie because it kept me interested the whole time with the different colors, sound, and music.
ReplyDeleteFor my film analysis I chose the 2016 movie Moonlight. The movie follows Chiron through the three chapters or stages of life as a little boy, teenager, and grown man. As Chiron grows up we get to see him struggle internally and externally with his image. The movie is set in the 1980’s in Miami in a predominately black neighborhood Liberty City. The first scene of the movie establishes the theme for the rest of the movie. As we follow Chiron as a little boy there are a lot of point of view angels so we can see things the way he would to get the best understanding. Moving on to his teenage years where most of the action occurs we get more close ups to get more personal with the actors. With the close ups more emotion gets through to the audience. Also in this chapter the camera even gets in between the actors so the audience can get the feeling of being in between the action. In the third chapter Chiron is now a grown man and we him continue to struggle with his identity. Even his childhood friend has to question who he is. This part of the movie also gives us close ups once again to bring a personal feel as Chiron comes to terms with who he is. I determined the denotative meaning on the title “Moonlight” is that, most things in the movie like in the African American happen at night in the moonlight. I also determined that the connotative meaning on the title is that, your true self will shine through any and all the time even when you are in the dark. The movie does a great job on how masculinity is forced on males, especially black ones and causes internal conflict. Also the movie shows that you can become a product of your environment. Additionally the movie does a great job of displaying the journey of self-discovery many people not only black males go through.
ReplyDeleteThe film I chose to analyze was the film " Straight Outta Compton". Straight Outta Compton is a movie that depicts the relation between police and African Americans, the evolution of new genre of music, and the ideal of a brotherhood or family. Throughout the movie this was shown chronically especially since our main protagonist group is affected by their surroundings. There were also a few key things semiotics wise during the film that was reoccurring as well. The use of slow motion during the movie was very key because it happen mostly during the conflicts with the police.The use of montages were mostly shown through the music to pass the time especially during the beginning when they made the first album,the use of dates were come throughout the movie, and every time a scene would change to an important moment in the movie. In the movie the connative meaning was shown by each character has something that described them throughout the movie ( Example Ice Cube with his composition book filled with lyrics.In my opinion the movie was a excellent depiction of how America was during the late 80s and early 90s. I feel that it would be great tool to teach students about how things that was consider to be old problems are still current problems till today. If there was things I would change though in the film it would be that I would maybe have changed the way some things were put into scene.
ReplyDeleteDon’t Breathe is a film that uses various filming and editing techniques to give the viewers an exciting thrill without leaving one location of a specific character’s home and with only a 6-man cast. The filming techniques in this film will have the viewers on edge of their seats. The director and editor of this film manage to make a 10-million-dollar budgeting film revenue over 157 million. Some of the filming and editing techniques used included symbolism, montage, long shots, tracking shots, close ups shots, slow motion, lighting, and audio.
ReplyDeleteIn this film, the connotation is the three thieves were surprised to find out that a blind man could have the capabilities of finding and executing people without his sight. In the beginning, Money gets the information that this is an old blind man that won a settlement followed by the death of his daughter and only child, the characters thought that it was going to be an easy job but end up with one person living at the end of the film. Denotative mean is when Money takes the gun into the house because he knows that the blind man is also a Veteran from the military. Alex is also very literal in this film. He emphasizes the actual risk they all take doing certain thing, and taking certain things. He believes in the system and reality of things and takes precaution throughout the film giving the audience a real life feeling for the film. My personal interpretation is that I feel like this film is revolved around greed and underestimations. I also feel like in the plot twist where they find the girl kidnapped that the film was revolved around the culture of family and gave the film depth. The blind man emphasized how much he cared for having a daughter after the pregnant woman died and he tied up Rocky and almost injected her with his sperm. This film was very interesting and was very entertaining to watch. I think the directors and editors did an outstanding job with this film.
The film I chose for my movie analysis was Get Out. The African-American experience has often been, by any unbiased interpretation, a sickening one. So it might be surprising that in the history of American movies, Jordan Peele’s “Get Out” is namely the first horror film directed by an African American man ever financed by a major Hollywood studio. The film, which was No. 1 at the box office, is based on interracial relationships, benevolent racism, cultural barriers and how it feels to be a black man in America. The movie is a major achievement in black cinema showing scares, humor, sinister intelligence, and the constant paranoia that resides within the hearts of blacks that must cohabitate in white spaces. From what I’ve discovered in my findings from the artifact, the movie Get Out has several denotative meanings. The explicit meaning of the movie is showcasing the race issues still prevalent in popular culture through a dark satirical eye. Each sequence of events leading up to the climax of the movie when Chris realizes the Armitage’s true intentions, get more suspenseful and genuinely scary. The sequence does not capture a man all of a sudden being forced into dispute with a random iniquity in a place in which he usually feels safe and sound. It features someone who generally moves in constant fear, and said already feels uneasy by his surroundings, have his biggest fears suddenly come to life before his eyes.
ReplyDeleteConnotative meanings were not as difficult to spot either. A teacup and spoon are the items that Rose's mom Missy uses to spellbind Chris and hold him under the Armitage’s control. We as viewers perceive the "silver spoon" as a different method of expression to depict privilege that has been passed down through generations in their family. The same goes for the Armitage’s who are ensured by two significant points: their whiteness and their riches. Dean, Rose's father and Missy's wrongdoing, and the horrendous things their children to do, have gone unnoticed in light of the fact that they're protected by riches. The silver spoon, both actually and symbolically, enables them to control inconspicuous Black casualties at their impulse and without outcome.
Overall, the movie was an excellent interpretation of probing the very real anxieties fabricated by racism and in this case another form of slavery. Though the film does not go into depth using a deep analysis of the references, which are being expressed, their effects are more than powerful. From the painful point-of-view shots, to seeing the world being portrayed through a camera lens, the imagination of the movie is appreciated and entertaining.
For my film analysis I decided to use the movie The Blind Side. The movie is the movie is about the life and football career of NFL star Michael Oher. This movie the prefect representation of how sports can be used as a the African American males "way out" of poverty and crime. Michael Oher was eventually adopted by Leigh Anne Tuohy , a white woman who gives him the necessary tools to get through high school and go play professional football. The director of this film John Lee Hancock does a good job at showing a clear distinction of the way both characters lives. He's able to use different angles and lighting throughout the scenes to show the hardship of Michaels life and the different between his new life. He also shows a distinction between how Micheals life could be without sports.
ReplyDeleteThe film analysis I decided to use was the movie the Titanic.The movie is about two lovers and ill fated maiden voyage of the R.M.S Titanic. The largest moving object ever built at the time I believe this movie illustrates a perfect example of just how far love can take you between a movie outline and movie director editing with writing scripts. Rose Bukater a 17 year old passenger was a wealthy person with a fiance ends up falling in love with poor but charming artist Jack Dawson. The director of this film does a great job in showing crystal clear of the plots forming and background scenery with cast. He is able to use to great long,medium,and short shots and also different angles of lighting. It displays a sense of common and popular movie Romeo and Juliet and plot twist within the movie.
ReplyDeleteThe film that I selected to do my film analysis on was White Chicks. I feel like this movie had much more to offer to audiences than just comedy. The main theme that I came across in this movie was that love conquers all. Shawn and Marlon Wayans, both undercover FBI agents, are attempting to save their jobs, catch a kidnapper, and keep their love lives in tact all at the same time. Marlon Wayans is dealing with his wife who thinks that he is cheating and Shawn Wayans takes on the task of trying to please a reporter by the name of Denise Porter. Despite its comedic background, White Chicks serves a purpose to audiences.
ReplyDeleteMy film analysis paper was on the film “The Birth of a Nation” 2016. This film is about Nat Turner who is an enslaved Baptist preacher who lives on a Virginia plantation owned by Samuel Turner. With rumors of insurrection in the air, a cleric convinces Samuel that Nate should sermonize to other slaves. As Nate witnesses the horrific treatment of his fellow man, he realizes that he can no longer just stand by and preach. On Aug. 21, 1831, Turner's quest for justice and freedom leads to a violent and historic rebellion in Southampton County.
ReplyDeleteThe denotative meaning that stood out to me in this film was the fight against the whites and the troops results in white families dying and innocent blacks being murdered and this Leads to Nate turner being hung. The connotative meaning I gathered from the film was Nat turner gives sermon to other slaves because he worships the Lord and thought they should as well and fights for black freedom. Another semiotic would be the signifiers and signified in a film. In Birth of a Nation some signifiers would be blood, and the sun and night sky. My overall evaluation of the film was growing up in slavery was the most hardest thing any black human being could go through but everything that the blacks fought for made a way for us to see better days.
The film I selected for my film analysis is " Glory Road " 2006. This film starts with Coach Don Haskins of Texas Western College trying to recruit players of any race to his basketball team. At this time, many basketball teams had almost all white players. After being decline by a majority of the people he was attempting to recruit, he decides to go on a different route. Coach Haskins and his partner Jerry Armstrong go cross-country looking for black players for his team. In the end, he has seven black players and five white players - something very different for the time period. Coach Haskins puts his players through tough training and figures out where they fit and do their best on the court. Once their places and duties are decided, Texas Western begins to win almost every game. The more they win, the more racial discrimination is thrown their way due to the amount of time black players are given on the court. While on the road, a player is beaten up in the bathroom. After that, they agree to go in pairs wherever they go. When they get back to their hotel room, racist things are written all over the walls, but the team gets through it. Texas Western makes it all the way to NCAA Championships. Coach Haskins tells the team that only the black players will be starting the game. At the end of the game, they are forced to go into overtime. Texas Western is about to win when Kentucky scores a goal, but it's called a foul, causing Texas Western to beat Kentucky 72 - 65. The team arrives back to El Paso to a loud crowd.
ReplyDeleteAn African American photographer, Chris Washington, is with his white girlfriend, Rose, on the way to meet her parents for the first time. Rose assures Chris that her parents are not racists. Chris is welcomed by her neurosurgeon dad, Dean, psychotherapist mom, Missy, and a weird presence from Rose’s brother, Jeremy. Chris almost meets the eerily hostile groundskeeper and the unblinking maid, which they seem a bit too happy enough to be there. The family seem harmless and square, making clumsy attempts to connect with Chris by conspicuously name- dropping President Obama and Jesse Owens. At first, Chris reads the family's overly compliant behavior as nervous attempts to deal with their daughter's interracial relationship, but as the weekend progresses, a series of increasingly disturbing discoveries lead him to a truth that he never could have imagined. For report finding of analysis, the movie used mostly symbols and signs to bring the message out in the movie. The tea cup and spoon is the object Rose's mother Missy uses to hypnotize Chris and keep him under the Armitages' control. The "silver spoon" is shown as a figure of speech to describe privilege that is passed down through generations. The same is true of the Armitages who are protected by two very important attributes: their whiteness and their wealth. In Webster dictionary, the definition of white is association of good character; innocent. An example of white in the movie would be in the beginning when Rose’s brother used a white car to kidnapp the black guy. Another example would be when Rose was eating cereal towards the end of the movie. She separated the milk from the cereal ( separating white from color) which showed how evil and no good she truly was. The dennotative meaning of the movie is that Get Out is the suspicions African-Americans have with white people, because of their history with them. The connotative meaning is that All white people are not innocent. And that’s because to the signs like the tea cup and the Plot twist in the movie.The cinematographic language of the movie is that it uses long shots, a bit of montage and continuity, but mostly cut, jump cut, and fade. The movement of the screen space was fast because Get Out is a horror/thriller, so its visual style had fast paced cuts to give the audience more of a thriller feeling. The film directly addresses race and the anxiety around this social construct of skin color. The timing of the film reflects America’s struggle with race, a nation still plagued by ongoing, institutional injustice. Get Out act as entertainment predominantly with daily reports of black men killed for the color of their skin, it’s also a vital reminder that racism remains a more terrifying force than any horror character or film.
ReplyDeleteThe film I decided to critique and analyze is "City of God", it was produced in Brazil in 2002. This movie is focused on the poverty, crime, and drug wars that take place in this country. Adding on a flash-front scene as the first scene of the movie was an interesting and smart way to begin the film, because finally reaching that part clears up where that scene came in to play in the first place. With drug trading and violence throughout the entire movie made fro a good film to portray the criminal life taking place in the slums of Brazil. The denotative meaning of the film would be the relationship between Benny and Carrot, keeping the peace between the two drug lords Lil Ze and Carrot and his death ultimately lead to the climax of the movie.
ReplyDeleteMy film is the classic archival movie Gilda. Perhaps one of the greatest pieces of film in history, Gilda is best known for a single quick shot: the first appearance of the title character, played by Rita Hayworth in her most famous performance. Even if you’ve never seen the movie which was originally released in 1946, and now joins the Criterion collection you’ve probably seen this moment, which turns up in virtually every montage devoted to Gilda itself is much more than a single indelible image. No film noir course would be complete without it, in part because it’s at once prototypical and highly unusual.
ReplyDeleteThe American 3D computer-animated comedy film Toy Story 3 unites many different non fictional ideologies that are present in everyday life and reforms them within a fictional environment in order to appeal to a wide range of people, corresponding to the idea that ‘the defining characteristic of a Disney film is that it is a classic.
ReplyDeleteDisney Pixar, the creators of the film, present various ideas in relation to modern day life and dominant ideologies that exist within this, these ideas are reflected immediately even before the film is released. The main focus is on family and how there is a household hierarchy within Andy’s life; the toys are directly affected by what Andy does yet Andy is impacted by the decisions that his mother makes.
The movie I chose was The Color Purple. This film is based off of a novel written by Alice Walker and was released in 1985.Steven Spielberg directed this movie, as well as many other great movies. Such as Jaws, Super 8 and ET. This novel mainly focuses on a character named Celie who struggled to have self- confidence and respect for herself. This movie invites the audience to focus on a women's suffrage. In The Color Purple, men see women as objects that they can control, which results in women turning to other women for support.
ReplyDeleteIn this movie there are a lot of strong social codes in the color purple that goes beyond a denotative meaning. Purple represents all good things in the world. At the beginning of the movie Celie has no sense of the color purple. She has such a horrible life that she is just living day by day, not stopping to smell the roses. After meeting a local blues singer, Shug Avery, Celie begins to understand the concept of life and begins to love the life she is living.
The film The Hunger Games, released in 2012 and based off the first book of a literary trilogy, has become a source of entertainment and intrigue among many Americans. Featuring a futuristic and dystopian United States, it has captured the imagination for some and kindled an intense obsession for others. While on the surface this movie might seem to simply be a story with a riveting plot line about young love, vicious combat, and survival, it is much more than that. As most films do, if one takes a closer look, The Hunger Games gives rise to multiple sociological patterns and themes. But, if we observe closer we notice that the Hunger Games focuses on the theme of social class division and injustice.
ReplyDeleteThe story takes place in a dystopian post-apocalyptic future in the nation of Panem, which is divided into 12 districts, where a boy and a girl from each district, between the ages of 12 and 18 must take part in The Hunger Games, a televised annual event in which the "tributes" of each district are required to fight to the death until there is only one survivor. Katniss Everdeen volunteers to take her younger sister's place. With her district's male tribute, Peeta Mellark, Katniss travels to the Capitol to train for the Hunger Games under the guidance of former victor Haymitch Abernathy.
Symbolism of the film- The Hunger Games is a novel about the "haves" and the "have nots" that is, the people who have money and the people who don't. While the Capitol is wealthier than all of the districts, some districts are more privileged than others, so they can train their tributes to do well in the Hunger Games.
Mise en scene
Setting, lighting, costume, props and the behavior of figures help show the differences between the two worlds. The capitol (wealthy) and the districts (poor)
Lighting in the capitol was very bright (high key) with warm colors while the district lighting appeared to be dark (low-key)
Cinematography language
Transitions-jump cut and continuity
Long shots were used to establish the setting.
Medium shots were used to capture both the character and the background
Close ups were used to show the emotions and reactions of the characters
Analysis of the signified
Denotative- Bow
Connotative- power
Signifier-Fire
Signified-Hope
Semiotics
Peeta's Bread symbolizes hope, survival and friendship
Conclusion
In conclusion, semiotics in the Hunger Games strengthen the plot by adding to the visual and ideological comparison and characterization of characters, objects and locations. With a closer look at the aesthetics of the film, we get a clearer view of how the visuals supports the overall theme of social class division and injustice.
I did my film based off my favorite Literary novel "The Great Gatsby". The Great Gatsby was released May 1, 2013 directed by Baz Luhrman. The movie received many impressive awards such as Best costume design, best cinematography, best editing, and etc.The Movie is a narration in film, told in first person narration. Nick Carraway is in a psych ward due to depression and alcoholism, therefore it is suggested by his doctor that he write about what brought him to this point. Throughout the film, Nick narrates the story as he recalls what happened seven years prior.
ReplyDeleteIn the movie, Nick is back from World War I and is renting a house in West Egg. His cousin Daisy and Tom lives across the bay in East Egg. Jay Gatsby, Nick’s next door neighbor, a wealthy newcomer who throws large parties weekly wants Daisy and to be able to be in the American upper class. The tale is based on Nick Caraway, who is a Midwestern war veteran in the summer of 1922, who finds himself obsessed with the past lifestyle of his mysterious, wealthy neighbor Jay Gatsby and his love for the beautiful Daisy Buchanan. Nick Caraway, helps reunite lost loves Jay Gatsby, his neighbor and Daisy Buchanan, his cousin.
The Setting takes place in Long Island and New York City specifically in West Egg and East Egg.
The costumes in the movie was AMAZING!!! The characters were dressed based off the era they were in which was the roaring 20s. The women were dressed in extravagant dresses while the men were dressed in suits and tuxedos. The wealth of the character were expressed through their clothing through the quality of garment and fabric types.
The lighting in the movie was great as well although it was mostly artificial but had high key lighting.
Throughout the movie, there were several themes in which i felt help me to get a better representation of what it was like during the 1920s in America. The themes included The American Dream since it was during the decline of that time, society and class had a big impact because money and greed caused many confusion and had several deaths occur in the film. Other themes included love, desire and relationship because each main character basically had sexual relations with someone even though majority were married.
Throughout the film there were several symbols such
Signifer-the green light, the signifed was Daisy's hopes and dreams for the future. Another one was signifer-the valley of ashes, the signifed was the representation of the moral and social decay that results from the pursuit of wealth. The last signifer was the Eyes of Doctor T.J Eckleburg, with the signifed being that the eyes represent that God sees everything. In conclusion, the semiotics in the Great Gatsby gave me a better understanding of the entire movie though the visuals, character costumers, symbols and the locations . With me analyzing the film, it showed me how money and social worth makes people do dangerous things that sometimes result in death due to greed.
Raisin in The Sun tells the story of rags to riches for a Southside Chicago African American family. Th family has received a $10,000 life insurance check and has a chance to escape the impoverished life they live for a better one. However, with money comes problems. Not everyone in the family agrees with how the money should be handled. This creates tension, conflict, and distance amongst the family members. The message of the film shows the power money has and the amount of will a family obtains t not let money tear them apart.
ReplyDeleteFor this research paper, my film of choice is the animated motion picture, “Inside Out.” This film begins with an 11-year-old Riley Anderson making a big move from Minnesota to San Francisco because of her father’s job. Although Riley and her parents play a part in how the film ultimately unfolds, they are not the main characters of her story. Joy, Fear, Disgust, Anger, and Sadness, Riley’s primary emotions, run the show. With Joy being the protagonist, most of the film is centered around her and the decisions she makes for Riley. The film is broken up into two different perspectives: Riley’s literal perspective of outside events, and the metaphorical perspective inside her mind. To give the audience a better understanding of Riley’s circumstances, the narrative continuously switches back and forth between these two perspectives. Hence the name “Inside Out.”
ReplyDeleteThe denotative meaning of this film is the “inside out” aspect of it. Throughout the film, the audience is given these two different perspectives which also acts as the narrative structure. The connotative meaning lies within all the special details the film has to offer. Almost every little thing in this film represents something deeper than what is seen.
This film attaches a light-hearted meaning to our emotions. It is telling the audience that giving attention to all emotions is necessary for a healthy/balanced human mind, and that the suppression of emotions can cause severe dysfunction. Basically, our emotions are a package deal and as we age we learn that it is ok to experience more than one at a time. The film also digs deep into what happens with the coming of age, and how the human brain adapts. This adaptation comes with certain sacrifices, new interests, disinterest of old things, and the overall better understanding of life circumstances.
Friday night lights is a true story about a TEXAS High school football team. In a small town at Permian high where its Racially divided and economically dying, there is one night that gives the town something to live for; Friday Night. The Permian Panthers have a big winning tradition in Texas high school football, led by QB Mike Winchell and superstar tailback Boobie Miles. This sports drama has many different camera angels that show so many emotions and different shadows of lighting; like hard and soft lighting.
ReplyDeleteIn the game of football you have to be all for the team if you want to win. When there is ADVERSITY how will you act on the situation, WILL YOU CRUMBLE LIKE A PIECE OF Paper or come together as one to rise like the fire that burns in your soul for the partition of the game . In this movie we see the Permian Panthers have difficult season but kept fighting every game to make the playoffs. I feel this is one of the best football movies every told. The director had little side stories that dealt with different characters but still making it about the team. Peter Berg did a great telling the lives of the key characters.
The movie that i chose to do was Get Out this film is about a black male name Chris and this is his first time meeting his white girlfriend Rose’s family when he finally meets them he thinks it may be wired because he is black but it is far more to be worried about. On the surface we see modern day slavery but if we take a closer look we see the overall theme that liberal whites are just as harmful as overt racists. There are a lot of symbolism in this movie for example the deer that is hit in the begenning of the movie is symbolizing black people because it’s a species they show no remorse for and feel as though it should be gotten rid of. The signifier in this movie is the tea cup because without it you can’t be drawn to the sunken place which is the climax of the story. This close up in this scene revealed Chris’ true feelings and emotions as we see the tears flowing from his eyes and his mouth left wide open. There are colors that symbolize the flag Rose has on a red striped sweater while Chris has on a blue shirt. Liberal racism and white supremacy
ReplyDeleteThe movie that I picked to breakdown and analyze was Remember The Titans.The movie is about the true story of a newly appointed African-American coach and his high school team on their first season as a racially integrated unit. The coach has to bring his team together in a social time, where blacks, and whites did not get along. along with getting the team to come together, the team bought the entire community together. Showing how football, and a group of teenages can bring an entire community together.
ReplyDeleteThe movie goes into depth, showing us a bigger picture. The team started off not liking each other, because of the racial discrimination, but shows us, if we all come together, we can accomplish anything, and that's exactly what the titans did. The team came together and put their difference aside and won the state championship. while that was happening, it also bought the community together, forcing them to put aside thier racial differences and support the team
DeleteMy movie that i chose to do my report on is Forrest Gump. The thesis from the movie is Love Forrest Gump gave us some classic quotes: "Life is like a box of chocolates" Friendship, Education, Dreams, Hopes, and Plans.These quotes is basically speaking to forrest gumps life on how you never know whats in store for you the next day but everyday you get is a blessing so just life everyday like it's your last.The mode of production is that it's a typical sentimental drama from the mid-'90s. And, in a way, it is. But, you might not have noticed that this movie was using some pretty sophisticated special effects for its time.
ReplyDeleteThe Cinematography systems from the movie is that Forrest Gump narrates his life predominately from a bus stop bench through stories to highly variable strangers over the course of an afternoon while waiting for bus number nine: a black housekeeper, a white mom and her young son, on old business man, and an old lady. The spatial relations between Forrest and his company maintained the 180° system which not only preserves continuity in the shots, but it also supports the emotional connections between Forrest as the storyteller to his listener. Through a subjective point of view, temporal relations are also supported in these scenes because his dialogue fades into a flashback of the story that is viewed by the viewer in the following scene. Throughout the majority of the film, the transitions between the present time at the bus stop and the flashbacks to different stories from Forrest’s past establish the emotional connections of the viewer to Forrest Gump through his mannerisms and personality traits in connecting to complete strangers.
ReplyDeleteThe film Moonlight is about the battle between external persona and internal real self. This film shows the same person as different people at different stages in their lives’, serving universal themes about identity, sexuality, and masculinity. The concept of the movie is unconventional because it follows the untold story of a young gay black boy in the hood. Its’s narrative structure is broken down into three chapters, telling his story as a child, teenager, and young adult. Moonlight thoroughly uses semiotics, which is what makes the film so attractive, using the color blue, the ocean, and the breeze, all three having a symbolic connotative meaning. For instance, the color blue represents freedom, peace, masculinity and sometimes sadness. But the denotative meaning is that in fact in moonlight black boys do look blue, which is proved at the end of the film when a boy is standing under the moonlight by the ocean and his skin has a blue tint.
ReplyDeleteTHE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS is an emotional and motivational film. Will Smith stars in this moving tale inspired by the true story of Chris Gardner, a San Francisco salesman struggling to build a future for himself and his 5-year-old son Christopher. When his girlfriend Linda walks out, Chris is left to raise Christopher on his own. Chris' determination finally pays off when he lands an unpaid internship in a brutally competitive stockbroker-training program, where only one in twenty interns will make the cut. But without a salary, Chris and his son are evicted from their apartment and are forced to sleep on the streets, in homeless shelters and even behind the locked doors of a metro station bathroom. With self-confidence and the love and trust of his son, Chris Gardner rises above his obstacles to become a Wall Street legend. The film has an underlying message to black men in America that are single fathers or parents overall. when the going gets tough dont give up but go harder because what hurts you wont kill you. you are already hurting from it so get an award from it.
ReplyDeletePrecious was a coming of age film that depicted a young girls journey to a better life. Precious lives a life that includes many sociological issues that have unarguably caused her great pain throughout her young life. Having endured poverty, sexual abuse, and verbal abuse her life has been far from perfect, but she realizes the need to defeat these negative sociological factors to achieve a life that seems to her as only a fantasy. Lee Daniels effectively portrays the source of Precious’s problems, as well as the way in which she deals with them; thus, achieving his goal in allowing the audience to see the effects of negative home environments and how outside factors like teachers and social workers really shape the lives of kids from these types of backgrounds.The use of color to evoke emotion in this film was subtle but very much powerful. Daniels used red yellow and orange tones in the home scenes to give you the personification of anger and rage festering behind the walls of a place that should be considered safe. He used blue and white tones in the exterior scenes to show that any peace to be found was going to be found outside of the home. One factor of semiotics he used throughout the film was the use of a handheld camera or a "shakey cam" this gives the audience a perceived realness to the scene. It feels like they're actually in the room while the scene is taking place.
ReplyDeleteWhile the Armitage family works to balance the intellectual superiority of white people with the physical advantages of the black community, Chris holds himself back–participating in the modern tradition of African-Americans to blame a lack of agency on a system that just isn’t fair. Agreeing to produce a State I.D. when it isn’t warranted, merely for the sake of keeping the peace? Chris, like so many men and women in his position, fails to take action because of a problem and equity. The dramatic theory of the story defines equity as a balance, fairness, or stability. This effort to maintain balance because “shit isn’t fair” holds people back from solving personal problems. Sometimes as Chris later learns a little inequity is needed to move things forward. This drive towards Equity also reduces capable and productive members of society to sniveling and affable slaves, happy to keep peace with their masters at any cost even if it means forgetting their true selves. The genius of Get Out lies in the connection between Chris’s issues and the issues suffered by the rest of the cast at the hands of the Armitage family. Both the main character problem and overall story problem share a similar focus on Equity.
ReplyDeleteAdonis Johnson (Michael B. Jordan) never knew his famous father, boxing champion Apollo Creed, who died before Adonis was born. However, boxing is in his blood, so he seeks out Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) and asks the retired champ to be his trainer. Rocky sees much of Apollo in Adonis, and agrees to mentor him, even as he battles an opponent deadlier than any in the ring. With Rocky's help, Adonis soon gets a title shot, but whether he has the true heart of a fighter remains to be seen.
ReplyDeleteThe message that the movie creed sends is that in life it's deeper than just your job or what you do for monetary gains or to satisfy yourself. It's worth much more when you fighting for something deeper.Creed passes on the family name so in a way he is also honoring his father. Creed Tells the true story of a underdog with back against the wall. Protagonist rises against all pressures placed on him. You have your humble boxer, his mentor and the woman who becomes his significant other and foundation of support. There is also the famous boxer who gives our hero the boxing match chance of a lifetime. using these elements similar to “Rocky”, “Creed” then tweaks them, playing on our expectations before occasionally surprising us“Creed is what I call a ‘baton-passing story.’ Conlan is the Nemesis in the Final Struggle / Big Fight. But he and Donnie don’t actually intersect until late in the movie. So the screenwriters smartly pass the nemesis baton, one character to another.” Donnie is so eager to prove himself that he almost loses sight of why he began his Journey.In the fight there are many forms of opposition for the protagonist but in “Creed” they pass the baton through different characters. No matter the odds No matter who the opponent is in life the biggest battle will be within yourself. The theme is control what you can control.
The film Stomp The Yard and is dance drama romance motion picture centered around DJ Williams and young man who has just went through a traumatic event in his life where his brother was killed in front of him. His mother sends him to Atlanta from LA to go to school at Truth University, a historically black university. While in this whole new world he has to balance work and school and a social life like any normal college student. DJ is trying to register for his classes when he is chasing after a girl and literally runs into greek life on campus. He first encounter isn’t a good one because he causes more tension between Theta Nu Theta and Mu Gamma Xi. Grant the soon to be president of Mu Gamma Xi and April Plamer are dating but April catches DJ’s eye and he won’t stop until she is his girl. Eventually April realizes that’s grant is not good for her and she starts dating DJ. This makes Grant furious along with the fact that DJ pledges Theta Nu Theta instead accepting his invitation to join Mu Gamma Xi. The two fraternities are training and practicing for the step battle that the Mu’s have won for 7 years in a row but Theta Nu Theya believe that with DJ’s dance abilities that they can win. Grant sees DJ as a threat so he looks up his criminal record and finds that he was charged with battery in the death of his younger brother Duron. April’s father is he dena of students and agrees to lift the suspension of DJ if he agrees to stop seeing April. DJ refuses and April decides that her father either lift the suspension to keep her in his life. DJ ends up blowing the crowd away and winning the competion for the Thetas. Symbols in the film are the gloves that Duron wore at the time of his death and DJ uses them in the final battle of the competion to honor is brother.
ReplyDeleteMy reflection on the matrix was a good one. The movie is mind-boggling A computer hacker Reeves learns that his entire life has been a virtual dream, orchestrated by a strange class of computer overlords in the far future. He joins a resistance movement led by Fishburne to free humanity from lives of computerized brainwashing.Mr. Reeves plays a late-20th-century computer hacker whose terminal begins telling him one fateful day that he may have some sort of messianic function in deciding the fate of the world.
ReplyDeleteTwelve Years a Slave is an American dramatic film, released in 2013, impressed critics and audiences with its disturbing depiction of slavery in the antebellum South. The movie won the British Academy of Film and Television Arts Award (BAFTA), the Academy Award for best picture and received the Golden Globe Award for best drama. The film chronicles the rough experiences of slavery and the dehumanizing effects of human bondage on everyone involved (Bauer 2017). McQueen uses the medium of film for its highest purposes: to elevate, educate the audience on the cruelty of slavery by presenting them with something that is truthful and electrifyingly (real). According to McQueen, “This film for me is about love,” he said, also referring to the movie as “a discussion about human dignity … It's a fight for soul; it's a war for his spirit. It's a very silent war, but a war none the less”. (Shoard 2013).
ReplyDeleteThe slave chains, whips, music, and the lynching scenes are important symbols in the film. The chains illustrate how white people in society, politicians and slave owners oppressed the black slaves. The chains symbolize the near impossibility of escaping slavery. The whip is the ultimate symbol of dehumanization of black slaves by white slave owners; it signifies control and punishment. The music/violin expresses Solomon’s pride and identity. Music becomes a symbol mirroring both survival and loss (Magdalena 2018). The lynching of Solomon is an uncomfortable scene for the audience to watch but it depicts the brutal, inhumane consequences of slaves when they disobey their Masters (slave owners). The film portrays the everyday practices of lynching amongst slaves because in the background, slaves are working and children are happily playing in the yard unconcerned about the plight of Solomon (who hanged with a noose around his neck for an entire day) (McQueen 12 Years a Slave).
Twelve Years a Slave is a testimony of the human spirit of Solomon Northrup and the enduring determination of his faith, hope, courage, and willpower in the midst of impossible circumstances. Solomon stated in the film, “I don’t want to survive; I want to live, and he was able to do both (McQueen 12 Years a Slave)!
Moonlight is about the battle between external self (who you are on the outside) and internal self(who you are on the inside. This movie shows the same male character as three different people at the three stages in his live, showing the different universal themes about identity, sexuality. The main idea of the movie is unusual because it tells the untold story of a young gay black male in the street and hoods of Miami. The narrative structure is explained into three chapters, telling story as child, teenager, and young man. Moonlight uses semiotics, which is what makes the film so good, the color blue is the main representation and semiotic meaning of the film.
ReplyDeleteThe ocean, has a symbolic connotative meaning. For example, the color blue represents peace, and freedom and also can represent being sad. The denotative meaning in the film is black boys look blue, which you see at the at the end of the movie. With a image of the a little boy standing at the beach and the moonlight shines down on him leaving a blue colored look on his body. Moonlight demonstrated in the film that its stages into finding out who you really are.
In my personal opinion, the film A Time To Kill was and still is important for the radical society we live in today. The film shows the savage racism and the bias this country allows. It also sheds a light on just how horrific the crimes committed against blacks were (can be) while displaying boldly how a race flexes control/power in situations involving its own. Using the state of Mississippi for the film is a statements itself with the belief of many civil rights activists that Alabama and Mississippi were the two places needed to get on board for real change in the south. The all-white jury was connotative of the white population as a whole being that they were unable to put race aside when a mans actions were understood/rationalized. A time to Kill tells the world we are all the same in showing that pain, grief and revenge has no race.
ReplyDeleteKamaria Winfield
ReplyDeleteSeven Pounds a movie carefully crafted by the director Gabriele Muccino and editor Hughes Winborne. The film signifies acts of selflessness but has an uncanny way of presenting it. A man so hurt carries the pain for the death of seven people he caused by his lack of attention when driving from a car accident. The film displays genuine in its purest form. The main character played by actor Will Smith, Tim Thomas seeks out a group of seven people whom he feels would be worthy of his seven organs. These individuals who he seeks worthy to help Tim states in the film “… are having a really hard time, who need help but is too proud to ask for a handout.” For these seven strangers he sacrificed his heart, eyes, home, and other organs that would dramatically change their lives. The narrative structure is broken down with flashbacks, confusing the audience throughout the film as to why this character is hurting but still expressing his generosity to help others. Concluding the film, the narrative comes together with the missing piece of the flashback that made his actions, pain, generosity, and hurt understood. Assessing the film Seven Pounds, semiotics, denotative vs. connotative, and analysis of the signified will be evaluated for a better perspective of the director’s point of view.
Connotative vs. denotative meanings are used to get a better interpretation of the film. Connotative refers to symbolic cultural value whereas to denotative being more literal, and common meaning. With beginning with connotative, the boxed jellyfish can be considered again like before with semiotics. Yes, the jellyfish was a deadly creature but the way it moved can signify so much more to look at as beauty. Another connotative meaning would be the title again referring to flesh being a way to pay for a dept. Of course, flesh is not looked at as a way of exchange for a good but the connotative meaning of it used in the film made it understood of the perspective of the film. Moving on to denotative symbols of the film “death and a meaning of life” can be one of the main factors. With evaluating the saying as well as referencing it back to the narrative Tim Thomas brings life to these individuals by costing his own. With the phrase being referenced to the film makes it appear as a certain sacrifice for a certain good.
Directed by Stanley Kubrick, 2001: A Space Odyssey is a dramatic science fiction film that addresses artificial intelligence, evolution, and the cycle of human life. The film is regarded as the greatest movie of all time as well as the most boring movie of all time. While the film is visually complex and stunning, there is very little dialogue. Throughout the film, a black, rectangular, featureless monolith appears at random yet significant moments. The monolith causes confusion and sparks the imagination but after analyzing the film, I believe that connotatively the monolith represents the presence of a higher more intelligent being that dictates and observes human evolution. According to my analysis, the monolith signifies Jesus Christ and the higher being is God. Although the monolith does nothing to directly instruct humans, it occurs at significant moments in human evolution and also encourages humans to reach their full potential and search for answers/knowledge.
ReplyDeleteThe Hate U Give directed by George Tillman Jr based on the narrative written by Angie Thomas was a film based on the tragedies in the black community. The movie is about a girl named Starr who witnesses her best friend Khalil being killed by a white police officer after a traffic stop. The police officer mistakenly thought Khalil was armed although in his hand he carried a hairbrush. This movie was a sociodrama-thriller. A sociodrama serves the purpose to study and/or remedy the problem that is in a specific group. The film was inspired by the iconic rapper Tupac tattoo on his chest, “THUGLIFE”. THUGLIFE represents the hate u give little infants f’s everybody meaning the hatred that is placed in black communities starts in us as kids and grows bigger and bigger as we get older. This is also the denotative meaning of the movie; however the connotative meaning not only gives awareness to others about the troubles we go through in our community but also displays problems that are deeply rooted in our community as well. After Starr witnessed Khalil being shit and killed, she goes through a lot from her community threatening her to conflict within her friend group at Williamson. Williamson is a charter school that Starr and her siblings attend. I believe this movie is very powerful as it sheds light on the problems within our community. It also sheds light on the fact the world is still very much racist and police brutality is still happening in the 21st century.
ReplyDeleteAmerican Gangster, directed by Ridley Scott and edited by Pietro Scalia, is an Oscar award winning film worthy of its title. The plot revolves around a Harlem drug dealer and his rise to power in the 1970s New York. On the other sides of society, a hard working cop dedicates himself to taking down the drug dealer. The concept of this is unconventional because it follows 2 point of views of a drug lord and an honest cop. The narrative structure of the film is broken down into three parts (beginning, middle, and end). In the beginning of the film you see how one character raises to power, but as the film continues you see the problems start to unfold ending in a dramatic conclusion. You can see how the two main characters struggle with their egos or internal problems. One character feels they have to prove themselves to his former family and the people he works for, while another character has to prove to his community that he is a man to respect. This movie does good with semiotics. There was one scene with a chinchilla coat. In society this coat represents wealth which would be the denotative meaning. The connotative meaning is that a man with no job cant afford that and is clearly up to illegal activities.
ReplyDeleteMy analysis was on Bad Boys 2. The main characters were Martin Lawrence as Marcus Burnett and Will Smith playing as Mike Lowrey. In my thesis statement I included while being partners and friends tjat don,t get along all the time, while solving the investigation, causes them both to face the universal themes of man vs himself and man vs the workplace. Marcus was always a family man, but his job was beginning to become a problem within his wife and family. He feels like he's missing out on the important years of his children life. But he's stuck between doing what he loves and being there for his family. I stated that as Americans we tend to feel like we always have to work and we forget about what's important like our family. America is a face paced country so it feels like if we're never doing enough or making enough money. With Mike, he is secretly dating Marcus' sister. He is struggling with telling Marcus because he knows that he would feel betrayed. This is where the theme man vs himself comes into play also. He knows what he's doing is wrong, but he chooses not to deal with it.
ReplyDeleteMy film analysis was based on the film Do The Right Thing produced and written by Spike Lee . This film was about a poverty stricken neighborhood in Brooklyn , New York. The biggest theme in the movie was the misunderstanding of cultures and races , and how each race desire respect and acknowledgement of their traditions and way of life. The film was based in a time period where racism, police brutality and black awareness was extremely vital . The film showed the everyday struggles minorities had within their communities competing with higher powers and or foreign cultures , and that there are many unjust acts that are done to them in their own environments. The genre was a comedic drama, and the movie symbolized many real world social issues that still exist present today in the story line. With the killing of Radio Raheem by police brutality ,aggression and hatred amongst the blacks and whites / Italians/ Hispanics displayed a conflict of man vs. nature for main character Mookie , whom was played by Spike Lee.
ReplyDeleteMy film analysis was on the film ATL. The main characters in this film were rapper T.I and actress Lauren London. The film is directed by Chris Robinson and it centers around the west side of Atlanta, GA. Rapper T.I stars as Rashad Swann who is African-American high school senior that plans on graduating and saving up enough money to get him and his younger brother Antwan out of the "hood". Throughout the film Rashad is faced with man problems that cause major changes in his life. For example his tries to keep his brother on a straight and narrow path but Antwan chooses to sell drugs instead. He also meets the love of life New-New (Lauren London) and discovers that she is actually bot the person she portrays to be. I stated that the overall message of the film ATL was to show the audience how African-Americans in America are treated differently because of the environment they live in. An example of this treatment took place in the film when Rashad's best friend Esquire had to lie about where he was from in order to get accepted into a predominantly white institution.
ReplyDeleteThe film I chose to analyze was Freedom Writers which is an informative drama based on true events. An idealistic teacher in a racially divided Los Angeles school is determined to break down the walls separating her students from one another. Instead of giving up, she inspires her students to take an interest in their education and planning their future. Each character faces a battle of their own, but the director decided to focus more on Eva, the Latina student constantly facing decisions where she is presented the option to make the wrong or right choice. The denotative meaning behind the film is that the youth from bad neighborhoods don’t take their education seriously due to all the gangs, drugs, and violence. If they merely wake up to see another day that’s good enough for them. The connotative meaning behind the film left a message that regardless of wherever you’ve came from you are responsible for where you want to go in life.
ReplyDeleteDirector, Richard La Gravenese, even went as far as to include a class lesson about the holocaust to emphasize the word genocide and how disliking one another based on physical appearances is major set back considering what this country has encountered in the past. Overall, my analysis of the film Freedom Writers allowed me to acquire a better understanding for racial discrepancies and examine issues encountered by the less fortunate youth in America. I thought Freedom Writers would be a good movie to analyze because it touches on so many different elements of society that are usually ignored or dismissed. It provides an emotional experience while watching and enlightens viewers of the burdens of being a minority.
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ReplyDeleteMy film analysis was on a quiet place is is about a family who lives in post-apocalyptic world world were they have to survive with their wit and willingness to survive from creatures who fee off of acute sounds on any type of noise and if they hear you they will kill you!
ReplyDeleteThe style and genre of this film, is Sci-Fi, Thriller, and Horror as this family tries to live what is no longer a normal lie they have to compromise their living to speak if make any noise or their lives could be a stake. As they try their best to navigate in a world without sound as well as finding the monsters weaknesses
The main Motif is the daughter hearing-aid as she is deaf her self without the monsters being around as the family tries to understand what its like being in her world , the father constantly tries to fix hear broken hearing-aid that makes screeching noises when turned , the creatures weak point is found as they feed off sound this sound basically kills them and scrambles with how they move and function in the world
The Denotative meaning in this film as the daughter constantly struggles with her own hearing problems with the hearing-aid and the family was trying to finding the creatures weaknesses what you may be looking searching , what your problem was, was really your solution sometimes we have to not look just look at the big things at the little individual pictures.
My Overall interpretation is a family who tries ti survive in world without sounds because sounds is their enemy to them being killed by creatures who live off of sound. As the survive with will and love for another to do whatever it takes to live.
My film analysis was based on the film The Help. The film is directed by Kathryn Stockett. It is about Black and White families living in Jackson, Mississippi in 1962 amongst the racial divide which existed at this time. The help was a civil rights drama film that ignores the civil rights movement. The women are divided by wealth and race but are held to expectations that have harmful consequences. White women have hired assistance with housework who in this film consists of entirely black women who has no choice and are expected to be the white women's help in order to survive financially. The style and genre of this film is Drama, Romance and Historical period drama as the African Americans are working in white households in Jackson, Mississippi. The denotative meaning of this film is that the African Americans worked as maids raising white prominant families. Although the maids were at peace with the white children, The white childrens parents were insulting and treating the maids as if they owned them. The connotative meaning gives awareness to others about the troubles African Americans went through in Jackson Mississippi and also displays problems that are deeply rooted and was made into an law in the 1960's as well. My overall interpretation on this film is that is an remarkable film. It is heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time. I am deeply moved everytime I see it.
ReplyDeleteWhat Happened to Monday is a Sci-Fi action film starring Willem Dafoe, Glen Close and Noomi Rapace playing the seven grown-up septuplets. At the beginning of the movie, it is showing old beaches, many people walking around, overcrowded areas, and subways as well.They show a clip with Obama speaking saying how the climate is changing, and the overpopulation. As it is showing all of that, a man begins to say " “Too many people, not enough food.”, which is connotative, referring to the overpopulation and saying there is not enough food to feed everyone. My film "What Happened to Monday" is about identical septuplets named Monday-Sunday. Terrance Settman who is the grandfather of the septuplet, discovers that his daughter who he hadn't been in contact with in a long time had passed away during birth without notifying him who the girls father was. One doctor who was standing there with him looking at them in the NICU asked how was he going to manage to keep the babies a secret, and he replied with "I'll manage". So now in the movie the watchers began to ask "Well will he keep them safe" "How will he manage". He made them, an identity named "Karen Settman". Due to overpopulation they have to identity themselves as"Karen Settman". Every family is only allowed to have one child,says Dr. Nicolette Cayman who is over the "Child Allocation Act" meaning the other children would have to get in the cryo-sleep which is supposed to freeze them in a deep sleep until the overpopulation era is over. The sisters live a day to day routine just to survive. They have one identification bracelet that was able to be scanned, but also has a camera so at the end of the day they can show their sisters what happened before they go out on their day. They were only allowed out on the day of the week corresponding to their name. The denotative meaning of my movie is about the overpopulation, and the people being told how many kids they can have, just like in other countries like Japan has a 2 child policy. In other countries there are limited items such as food, and clean water as well. Monday had to make a deal with Cayman in order to get the life she thought she deserved. The price she had to pay was priceless, it was the loss of her sisters.
ReplyDeleteMean Girls is a comedy directed by Mark Waters. The overview; Cady Heron (Lindsay Lohan) was homeschooled in Africa by her parents, then when her family moves to Illinois, Cady finally gets to experience public high school. She soon gets a quick look on the cruel, tacit laws of popularity that divide her classmates into cliques. She befriends a popular girl clique “The Plastics," but Cady soon realizes how her shallow new group of friends earned this nickname.
ReplyDeleteIn scene 1 I showed Semiotics:Red is the main color in this scene. Which signifies love or anger. Cady has on a red shirt which signifies how she is trying to show love to anyone that will be nice to her, since she is the new girl at the school. Everyone else has on red to show anger, and hostility. They are all being mean to her.
Regina is the antagonist. Cady is the protagonist.
When introducing the characters of 'Cady' and 'Regina', initially a medium close-up is show of 'Cady' immediately placing the power with her character due to the clear focus on her face. The camera then pans to the right splitting the screen in half introducing the character of 'Regina' in a longshot Cady is then filmed in a close-up.
Connotative Meaning:
When Gretchen says “the rules of feminism” she is referring to the symbolic association with “The Plastics” rules and how the friends wouldn’t betray each other. It all shows later in the movie how that backfired.
Denotative Meaning:
In a particular scene Cady wins Spring Fling Queen and she referred to the crown as royalty and plastic. As a we know a crown is defined as royalty, and she referred to it as plastic in reference to “The Plastic”.
My film analysis is on the movie "Beyond the Lights". The movie is about a famous singer named Noni going through a depression stage in her life because she's truly just not happy within herself and her life. Her mom is also her manager and plays a big role as to why shes depressed and it all started while she was young. Her mom has control over everything she says and does and Noni just wants to have her own voice but doesn't know how to express it. So one night after winning an award she goes back to her hotel room basically trying to commit suicide trying to throw herself off of the hotel balcony and that's when Kaz the police officer saved her and from that point on they were in love but never knew it. He helped her realize who she was inside and brought out the real her.
ReplyDeleteConnotative Meaning - When Kaz says "I see you" to Noni as shes trying to jump off the balcony he was referring to seeing who she actually rather than seeing her like everyone else sees her. He saw the potential that she has and also the REAL her which made her realize what she was doing and not to kill herself.
Denotative Meaning - In a particular scene when Kaz and Noni get away from all the drama and press they go to mexico and spend quality time with each other on the beach. And as time went on she realized that all the stuff she had on like the fake hair, all the makeup, and fake nails wasn't her. SO while Kaz was sleep she took it upon herself to remove all of that from her body because those things represent the "old Noni" and as she removed them she became the better version of herself and she finally felt free.
The Last Dragon is an action, black exploitation, drama, cult film directed by Michael Schultz. The overview, Leroy Green, a young martial artist living in New York City, trains tirelessly to attain the same level of mastery as the great Bruce Lee. One night, his life changes forever when he rescues television personality Laura Charles from evil businessman Eddie Arkadian. Impressed by Leroy's bravery, Laura falls for Leroy -- but to keep her safe, he will have to defeat a gang leader named Sho'nuff, the self-styled Shogun of Harlem.
ReplyDeleteIn scene 3 or chapter 3, I showed the scene of the movie theatre and how the colors represent a character’s personality and supposed to make you feel a certain way during the scene. In this scene Bruce Lee is wearing all white showing he is the purest and Godly figure in the scene since that is who Bruce Lee idolizes and wants to be like. The rest of the setting is mostly red, even some of the extras, the people watching in the theater. The reason why the scene is red because even though the “Enter the Dragon” scene that is being showing in the movie theater is white, the action is violence. So, the audience thrives off that violence feeling when it sees red. When Sho’nuff comes in theater and stops the movie every single one of his sidekicks are wearing red including himself, every time Sho’nuff comes on any scene in the movie he’s aggressive and violent, the same color red is known for. Also, some actions are mirrored from what is happening in the movie “Enter the Dragon” and what is going on in the actual scene. For example, when one other audience member movies got tired of the b-boys playing music and dancing, he jumps and smash their radio. Bruce Lee does it also after defeating one of the big huge person. .
Protagonist – Leroy Green / Antagonists – Sho’nuff and Eddie Arkadian
Signifier - Master / Reached the final level
Signified - The Glow
Indexual - “Glow” is linked directly to Final Level / Master
My analysis is on "Remember the Titans". In the early 1970s, two schools in Alexandria, Virginia integrate forming T.C. Williams High School. The European American head coach of the Titans is replaced by an African American coach from North Carolina. Tensions arise when players of different races are forced together on the same football team. Many of these tensions are eased during the two-week training camp in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. When players returned from camp the players found the city in great confusion due to the forced integrate of the high school. As the season progresses the team's success caused the community to accept the changes. After the Titans' perfect season, the team and the city were closer than ever.
ReplyDeleteconnotative meaning: In the scene when the team was in training camp Coach Boone told the team he wants everything perfect. When the team was practicing in camp all the player was wearing white and white is post to mean prefect and that showed later in the movie with the team winning their games and having a perfect season.
My film analysis is on the movie "Moonlight".This film is about the look at three important chapters of Chiron's life.A African American male growing up in Miami, its shows his journey of dealing with his sexuality, being an outcast,but also having a support group to help him grow into a man.
ReplyDeleteIn the film, water is one of the symbols and it represents life,baptism and rebirth .Then you have the breeze which is another symbol which means peace and calmness.
When They See Us is a four-part drama web television miniseries created, co-written, and directed by Ava DuVernay. It is based on five young men of color who were prosecuted on charges of rape and assault of a woman in Central Park, New York City in 1989. The film explores the lives and families of the five male suspects that maintained their innocence while incarcerated and spent years fighting the convictions, hoping to be exonerated. This series covers a quarter of a century, from when the then teens were first questioned about the incident in 1989, through their exoneration in 2002 and the settlement reached with the city of New York in 2014.
ReplyDeleteThe five juvenile males of color were divided by a prosecutor into two groups for trial. Each youth was convicted of various charges related to the assault and were sentenced to maximum terms for juveniles except for Korey Wise, who was 16 at the time of the crime and treated as an adult by the legal system. He was held in adult facilities including Rikers Island, Attica correctional Facility, Wende State Penitentiary, and Auburn Correctional Facility where he served time in adult prison. When They See Us has relevancy given the inequities that persist in terms of law enforcement’s treatment of people of color. When They See Us may ultimately have a triumphant ending for its protagonists but more than anything, this miniseries reminds us that what happened to those five boys three decades ago could just as easily happen today, in the name of what some powerful figures would perceive as justice. the denotative meaning is that many people of power (law enforcement, judges) target people of color and the connotative meaning is that no matter how well off you are or your age, People are still going to think less of you because you are a minority and a person of color. I chose this film to analysis because not only is it a story that should be heard, but from a cinematography standpoint, it includes variations of lighting, music, camera movements, and angles.
After analyzing When They See Us, A four part Netflix series, i noticed what the writer, Ava DuVernay, wanted it to relate with the new generation. The extensive use of lighting, the music choice, and even the way the camera is angle. The thought that five innocent boys were caught in the wrong place at the wrong time and being charged of rape of a random woman can happen to any person of color in this time.
ReplyDeleteThe movie “Menace II Society” is about growing up in the gang lifestyle of the Los Angeles projects and how 18-year-old Caine Lawson wants his way out. Everyone around him, including his unpredictable friend O-Dog is trapped in their lives of crime and violence. With the help of his caring teacher and supportive girlfriend, Caine plans to leave the city for good. But in a series of tragic events, Caine realizes that escape will not be easy.
ReplyDeleteSymbols:
Big Wheel
Signifiers:
Red- death
White- Pure
Black-killer
Freedom Writers is a sociodrama film that is based upon at risk students living in a lower-class community. Hillary Swank (Erin Gruwell) plays the English educator that was granted the job to come in and make a difference. Two years prior a massive Los Angeles uproar changed their city for the worse such as racial tension, segregation, and gun violence. Freedom Writers is an impactful and relevant film for the simple fact that in the present society not only in the lower class community but, the middle and higher class we are losing our youth to gun violence, lack of education, guidance, and support. The overall message in this film is to show the lack of resources lower class communities have and and how the people who are supposed to help you the most fail you. The music choice throughout the film relates to the the tragedies we went through as a country. In the film, the composition notebook, gang violence, and the different ethnic group represents different symbols.
ReplyDeleteThe movie I did my critical analysis essay on is "Get Out". this movie was written, produced and directed by Jordan Peele in 2017. It went on to win an Oscar and was a commercial success at the box office making over $255 million against a budget of $5 million. g. “Get Out” emphasizes racial tensions and stereotypes in the modern day. This film shows what the everyday black man goes through living today. Themes include: Race and Racism, Slavery, and Trauma. The film follows a young black photographer, Chris Washington, who goes with his girlfriend, Rose Armitage, who is white, to her family’s suburban home. She hasn’t told her parents that her boyfriend, Chris is a black man; she tells him not to worry, that they’re not racist at all. Her parents, Dean, a neurologist, and Missy, a psychiatrist, are warm and welcoming, yet Chris senses that something is wrong. Rose’s brother, Jeremy played by, a medical student, is oddly aggressive. The family’s staff, Georgina (Stepford wife-like) and Walter, middle-aged black people, oddly distant, mentally neutralized, remote-controlled. A gathering of family friends places Chris among clueless white people who make insensitive, racially charged remarks that are meant to seem friendly; he meets another young black man, Logan King , whose behavior seems whiter than white; and, when he realizes that he needs to get out, it’s too late. The dreadful plot for which Rose’s family is grooming him has already been set into motion. Some Of my analysis includes: 1. In the opening scene a black guy is seen walking at night in a suburb-type of neighborhood. He turns to go the other way as a car was driving behind him. He is then taking away.
ReplyDeleteThis scene symbolizes a reference what young black men today has to worry about. Being in the wrong place at the wrong time can and will get you in trouble. Makes a reference to Trayvon Martin; being a young black man, walking alone at night in a “White neighborhood”. The deer running into their car scene. The deer runs into their car reminds Chris of the hit-and-run accident his mother died from. It symbolizes loss, helplessness and his mother. Dean, has a parallel between deer and black people. He feels a need to hunt both and to keep them as trophies. Overall, the movie deals with racism and how the white superior society interact with black people.
My analysis paper is on "Little Shop of Horrors". The movie is about a young man who finds a plant after a total eclipse and feeds it flesh and blood in return for his desires. The style of representation was portrayed as a thriller and musical that showcased what can happen when you make deals with the devil in hope for your dreams and promises. The denotative meaning of the film is a flesh and blood eating plant that causes harm and horror in a little flower shop. The connotative meaning of the film is potentially getting eaten by a a giant plant in a shop and then getting chased down in the streets by multiple plants taking over the world. (Original Ending).
ReplyDeleteMy overall evaluation of the film is how dangerous it can be to put your dreams and desires in the hands of others instead of working for them the hard way. As well as listening to the promises that others may make in order to persuade you to do what they what and most importantly that deals like that always goes wrong.
My film analysis is on the film " The Sixth Sense." The Sixth Sense was produced in 1999 and directed by M. Night Shyamalan. The whole film revolves around Cole's special ability to converse with spirits through his sixth sense. With Cole being able to communicate with Malcolm he was able to evolve emotionally and mentally. Likewise, Malcolm was able to prove himself as a child psychologist. Overall, the film is a great example of how the use of cinematography can mislead viewers and persuade them into believing anything. This film belongs to multiple genres which includes thriller, suspense, supernatural, horror, drama, psychological thriller, and mystery. This film was well thought of in order to guide the thoughts of viewers. In the end, all expectations and assumptions were eliminated by the truth of Malcolm's existence. The film was shown through his point of view therefore the truth was not easily found. Malcolm did not realize that he was dead so we believed he was alive. The camera angles and focalizations provided the foundation and our minds did the rest. The movie is titled "The Sixth Sense," which by dictionary term means " a supposed intuitive faculty giving awareness not explicable in terms of normal perception."This definition is spot on but in this movie I believe it has a deeper meaning; a connotative meaning. For me Cole's sixth sense represents a gateway that allowed needed communication in both the real and spirit world.Basically, a symbolic meaning of a second chance.
ReplyDeleteSex and the City: Movie is a 2008 American romantic comedy film written and directed by Michael Patrick King in his feature film directorial debut and a sequel to the 1998-2004 HBO comedy-drama series of the same name about four female friends. The movie plot is a New York City writer on sex and love is finally getting married to her Mr. Big. But her three best girlfriends must console her after one of them inadvertently leads Mr. Big to jilt her. The style of representation was portrayed as a romantic comedy and explored the significance of forgiveness and friendship. Forgiveness was the message of the movie because the main character, Carrie was in a situation where she has to forgive Big and Miranda. The denotative meaning of “extremely cruel” (it’s what Carrie tells Miranda that when she finds out she’s part of the reason Big left her) The connotative meaning of it is “violent to the point of entertaining”. My overall analysis is it allowed me to understand the true meaning of the movie in other perspectives. Sex and the City: Movie definitely gives you an get ideal of what friendship should be about.
ReplyDeleteBY:JUSTICE WESTON
Darrell Emerson:
ReplyDeleteMy film analysis is on the film In the Hive (2012) by Robert Townsend. This film is about troubled, Black teens, focusing on one Black teen in particular, who come from rough homes, are on the wrong track, and are in the streets who are then taken into a place called "The Hive" in hopes of turning their life around. This is a great film because it humbles the more privileged Black teens, like myself, and informs us that we should be grateful that we have both parents to bug us and possibly be strict because they're teens out there, like the ones in the movie, that would do anything for what we have now. The themes of this movie are power of love, self worth, and unity. Power of love comes from the place, called, "The Hive", which is similar to an alternative school and also one of the movie's denotative meanings."The Hive" represents unity, another theme of the film. It's a place where these Black teens are treated and cared for like the human-beings they are. They have to wear uniforms, which is another denotative meaning in the film. The uniforms are for the teens to realize that one of the reasons that they are wearing them because everyone cannot afford a nice clothing therefore they are all one and no one will outshines the other. The third denotative meanings were the mentors because they act as the parents and role models these teens have never had. Overall, this movie is for mature audiences and informs us how cruel society stereotypes us black people much like they do today.
The film I chose was Paid in Fa. After watching and evaluating the movie, I realize that money rules the world. Money will conquer friendships and family. The only thing you have in the world is yourself so you must look out for self only. When Ace looked out for himself, he made it out of the hood and set his family straight. ull. This film was produced in 2002 and directed by Charles stone.
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