...why people treat others the way they do. This is where sociological study comes into play. It analyzes the actions of one towards another and tries to determine the reasoning behind it. The goal of the research we conducted is to learn about sociological concepts and relate them to fictional and possible real-life situations. We decided to analyze the film, Lucky Number Slevin to determine how class and power, race and ethnicity, and gender and sexual orientation are displayed in a Hollywood movie. The main goal for the paper is to be able to get a better understanding of the main concepts of sociology, and how they can easily be related to a major Hollywood picture. The film is set in New York City where there are two major crime bosses that rule the criminal world. These two men are The Boss, and The Rabbi. They are former partners that had a massive falling out 20 years prior that caused them to go into seclusion for their safety from one another. Slevin seems to be a man that is in the wrong place at the wrong time, ending up doing dirty work for The Boss and repaying another man’s debt to the Rabbi. In the end Slevin was working with Mr. Goodkat to overthrow the two crime bosses and get revenge for his father’s death. By looking at Lucky Number Slevin, we analyze each concept separately and operationalize each. The breakdown of the paper was set so that Alexandra Polak worked on the topics of Gender and Sexual Orientation, Ahmed El Najmi analyzed the concepts...
Words: 6330 - Pages: 26
...Analyzing Shawshank Redemption Crystal Gayle Frapp January 31, 2014 Analyzing Shawshank Redemption The film that will be analyzed and discussed is the Shawshank Redemption, which was Director by Frank Darabont and is a Story by Stephen King. It is based in 1946, a man named Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) is convicted of killing his wife and her lover, and him going to prison and dealing with the struggles of prison life as a truly innocent man. . “He's sentenced to a life term at the Shawshank State Prison in Maine, where another lifer, Ellis Red Redding (Morgan Freeman), picks him as the new recruit most likely to crack under the pressure. The ugly realities of prison life are quickly introduced to Andy: a corrupt warden (Bob Gunton), sadistic guards led by Capt. Byron Hadley (Clancy Brown), and inmates who are little better than animals, willing to use rape or beatings to insure their dominance. But Andy does not crack: he has the hope of the truly innocent, which (together with his smarts) allow him to prevail behind bars. He uses his banking skills to win favor with the warden and the guards, doing the books for Norton's illegal business schemes and keeping an eye on the investments of most of the prison staff. In exchange, he is able to improve the prison library and bring some dignity and respect back to many of the inmates, including Red.” After many years and a pick axe Andy manages to escape from prison threw slowly chipping away at the hole in his cell wall where...
Words: 3132 - Pages: 13
...stereotype judgment. The movie “The Chaser” was filmed in South Korea; I will compare the movie with my culture as an Americanized-Hispanic. Introduction Ethnocentrism can be defined as our point of view of another culture; basing our opinion by comparing it to our own culture. Depending on how one uses this categorization we can easily come to a conclusion which becomes more of a stereotype or racist judgment. The effects of ethnocentrism can be negative and affect others in their life in great multitudes. We can use the example from 9/11. Since then many Muslims have been judged and put into a category simply because of their religion; not everybody who is Muslim is also tied into al-Qaeda. Just because woman/man wear head gear also make them an extremist who is out to bomb something. But because of this tragedy, we have done just that, accused and damned their religion and beliefs; because they are not like us and well because of 9/11. “The Chaser” The movie I chose was “The Chaser”; a movie filmed in South Korea about an ex-detective turned pimp who finds himself in financial trouble because two of his girls disappeared. After sending his last girl, he finds out that the customer is also the last customer of the other two girls who just went missing; in his quest of finding the where about of those two other girls he unfolds the truth. This customer is a serial killer! The reason I chose this movie was first because it was...
Words: 844 - Pages: 4
...The movie that I am critiquing is going to be the hangover which was directed by Todd Phillips in 2009. The movie starred Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, Justin Bartha, Heather Graham, and much more. The Hangover is about a man who, two days before his wedding, gets dragged to Las Vegas to have a bachelor party and him and his friends get more than they bargained for in “Sin City”. This movie was filmed in a non-linear form and took place in Las Vegas. The film has a major conflict and that is that the Bachelor of the movie Doug (Justin Bartha) and his friends Phil (Bradley Cooper), Stu (Ed Helms), and Alan (Zach Galifianakis) have a bachelor party in Las Vegas and wake up the next morning and cannot find Doug. The conflict is later resolved at the end of the movie when Stu finally realizes that they moved Doug onto the roof of the hotel when he was passed out drunk. I feel that the symbolism behind this would movie would be to not be irresponsible when it comes to going out and having a good time with your friends. The film helps us relate to the characters and their storyline in many ways. There are many actors in this film but the main ones are Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, and Justin Bartha. Bradley Cooper is a very popular actor and was once named according to people magazine, “Sexiest Man Alive in 2011.” In my eyes the type of acting present in this movie was realism. The Cinematography in this film was really good. The mise...
Words: 925 - Pages: 4
...Stalingrad, Fury, and Inglorious Basterds. Not only that, even this year another WWII-themed movie starring Brad Pitt entitled ‘The Walk’ will also be released. It’s intriguing to know why such ‘war’ genre is still popular and have high demand even after decades since...
Words: 1455 - Pages: 6
...Over the course of the film the votes went from eleven guilty and one not, to a unanimous vote of ‘not guilty’. The movie provides many examples of persuasive speaking, group communication and conflict, and different communication climates. In the movie Henry Fonda’s character made good use of his persuasive speaking skills. He personally had nothing to gain from either verdict, but found the ease with which the others were willing to sentence a young man to death disconcerting. He was firm, but not confrontational when he gave his reasons for voting not guilty. He simply said that he was not convinced ‘beyond a reasonable doubt’ that the boy had committed the crime and asked that they review the evidence. With each piece of cosmetically ‘concrete’ evidence he discredited, he slowly placed doubt within the minds of his fellow jurors. He never out-right said he thought that the defendant was innocent, only that he believed there to be some doubt as to the certainty of his guilt. “It's always difficult to keep personal prejudice out of a thing like this. And wherever you run into it, prejudice always obscures the truth. I don't really know what the truth is. I don't suppose anybody will ever really know. Nine of us now seem to feel that the defendant is innocent, but we're just gambling on probabilities - we may be wrong. We may be trying to let a guilty man go free, I don't know. Nobody really can. But we have a reasonable doubt, and that's...
Words: 525 - Pages: 3
...The movie Groundhog Day, is labeled as a comedy, but in fact it is a story about love, a story about Phil’s transformation based on love. Phil his character is forced to repeat the same day over and over again. He goes through many phases in this movie and in the end changing his persona. When analyzing love, it becomes apparent that much has been written about it. In fact, love has been broken down into different phases such as Eros, Philia and Agape. Being trapped in Groundhog Day has significant effects on Phil’s practices of these three kinds of love Eros, Philia and Agape. One significant effect on Phil being trapped in Groundhog Day is his practice of Eros. According to the article, “Conceptions of Love”, Eros love can be divided into two definitions. One part of Eros is the “physical” attraction and the sensual desire towards someone. The other part of Eros states that with contemplation it can become a more romantic emotion and even appreciation of beauty itself. In terms of Eros being about physical attraction and desire, being trapped makes Phil’s practice of Eros exploitative. As seen in the movie, Groundhog Day, Phil abuses his entrapment to control the women he desires. He exploits people ruthlessly with no regard of their feelings. Phil seeks only the physical, sexual attraction and his only goal is to satisfy his pleasure. For example, when he picks up this woman in the dinner, named Nancy, he says he loves her and sweet talks her into having sex because he...
Words: 1435 - Pages: 6
...understand how genres are interpreted, I chose three movie posters from the same genre to analyze. I observed the posters for similarities that lend themselves to characteristics of the genre. Multiple aspects of the poster were taken into consideration, such as title font, images, layout, and coloring. I concluded that all three posters shared similar characteristics, through which the genre of their movie can be deduced. Introduction In the world of cinema, genres are very important. Audience, film content, and style are just a few determining factors in which genre a movie fits into. Movie posters are a quick way to convey the genre to consumers without having to actually see the movie. Not all movies fit perfectly into just one genre, however, and genres don’t have rigid structures that the movies within them must comply with. Children’s-Adventure movies, for example, are usually animated films that have a plot based on some type of journey or adventure that is taken on by the main characters (Dirks, 1). There is almost always some great obstacle or challenge that the main character(s) must overcome, and usually good trumps evil. These films generally contain light humor, and teach some sort of life-lesson, or have a recurrent morale to the story. Methodology I analyzed three movie posters from the Children’s-Adventure genre to explore the similarities and differences movie posters from the same genre may have. The three movie posters I chose to analyze were from the movies...
Words: 1046 - Pages: 5
...My Movie Critique of The Blind Side Shannon Cowper English 225: Introduction to Film Michael Warren February 2, 2014 Some people may feel that if a movie wins an academy award that it is a great movie because the film critics have experience, the film critics are paid professionals, and also that the film critics decide which movies are nominated for an academy award so the movie must be good. But this is where many people beg to differ regarding the film critic’s reviews on a particular film. In some cases, if a film critic decides that a movie is good, not every movie goer will feel the same way. I have sat and listened to Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert as they either praised or destroyed a film. Whenever I chose to go and view a film they have given their customary thumbs up to I would normally not enjoy the film. It is possible that I did not see the same things within a film as they did as it was evident that I was not viewing the film in the same manner as a film critic by looking for camera angles, editing, or frames. All that I cared about was escaping for a couple of hours and receiving some enjoyment from the movie. Some people feel that this is a special time for film criticism. Never before have more people been able to express their views about a film. Being a film critic was once a profession, but it’s not a job any longer and there is not a huge financial gain by doing so. However, this opens the door for those who want to critique a film and also...
Words: 2094 - Pages: 9
...INTRODUCTION The film Rain Man was released in 1988 and won the Best Picture academy award that same year. I chose the film because it represented a wonderful mix of story, filmmaking, acting and comedic timing. It is my assertion that acting was the most powerful element of this film and crucial for the emotional arc required from the lead actor Tom Cruise. STORYTELLING The story of Rain Man is presented in a way that keeps the viewer in the dark as the story develops; delivering surprises and plot twists along the way. Writers Barry Morrow and Ronald Bass provide an excellent framework for the actors to really shine in their portrayal of the two main characters: self centered, smooth street-smart Charlie Babbit and his institutionalized autistic savant older brother, Raymond Babbitt. We are introduced to Charlie at the start of the film and quickly understand that he is a successful import automobile broker and willing/able to do whatever is necessary to deliver his product- this even includes paying off EPA officials, if necessary. Charlie is unrelenting in his quest to accomplish his goal. When he finds out that his long estranged father has passed away, he is expecting to inherent a portion of his late father’s $3 million dollar estate; only to uncover that he has an autistic brother who has received all of the inheritance money from their late father, the irony is almost too much for Charlie. This is pure genius from a storytelling perspective as it helps to...
Words: 1470 - Pages: 6
...INTRODUCTION The film Rain Man was released in 1988 and won the Best Picture academy award that same year. I chose the film because it represented a wonderful mix of story, filmmaking, acting and comedic timing. It is my assertion that acting was the most powerful element of this film and crucial for the emotional arc required from the lead actor Tom Cruise. STORYTELLING The story of Rain Man is presented in a way that keeps the viewer in the dark as the story develops; delivering surprises and plot twists along the way. Writers Barry Morrow and Ronald Bass provide an excellent framework for the actors to really shine in their portrayal of the two main characters: self centered, smooth street-smart Charlie Babbit and his institutionalized autistic savant older brother, Raymond Babbitt. We are introduced to Charlie at the start of the film and quickly understand that he is a successful import automobile broker and willing/able to do whatever is necessary to deliver his product- this even includes paying off EPA officials, if necessary. Charlie is unrelenting in his quest to accomplish his goal. When he finds out that his long estranged father has passed away, he is expecting to inherent a portion of his late father’s $3 million dollar estate; only to uncover that he has an autistic brother who has received all of the inheritance money from their late father, the irony is almost too much for Charlie. This is pure genius from a storytelling perspective as it helps to...
Words: 1470 - Pages: 6
...Kellyn Lamore Professor Yates Film Appreciation 14 October 2015 Shawshank Redemption The Shawshank redemption is an American drama film that starred Tim Robbins and the amazing Morgan Freeman. The banker Andy was convicted for murdering his wife and her secret lover and was sentenced two consecutive life-sentences. When I watched this movie, I was speechless because I couldn’t believe how the prison guards treated these inmates. Yes, they did something bad, but the way those inmates were treated was so incredibly awful to see. The two major visual components of mise-en-scene are design and composition. Design is the process by which the look of the settings, props, lighting, and actors is determined (Looking at Movies). While composition is the organization, distribution, balance, and general relationships of actors and objects within the space of each shot (Looking at Movies). At first, there was a lot of design in The Shawshank Redemption. For example, the outside world from the prison seems nice lots of freedom. It seems as if at the beginning Andy was a pretty wealthy man by the way he dressed and his job title, a banker. Once he commits his crime, he has to take a scary looking bus into the prison, Shawshank Redemption. Shawshank redemption is a dark, unsafe prison that Andy ended up being placed in. The actors who acted as the prisoners did a good job “greeting” these new inmates by cheering and letting them know that this not the best place to live in. The actors...
Words: 836 - Pages: 4
...racism, sexism, and other forms of social prejudice and discrimination. These applications of the field are studied in psychology, sociology, anthropology, political science, epidemiology, education, social work, business, and communication studies. 12 Angry Men is one such movie which shows how group dynamics can actually lead to success or failures.12 Angry Men is a classic movie which was released in 1957.In the movie 12 men are put in one single room to discuss a case and reach a final decision on it. Until they don’t come up with a final decision no one is allowed to leave. Much similar to a typical GD session.Group dynamics is related with the structure and functioning of groups as well as the different types of roles each individual plays. In the film, twelve men are brought together in a room to decide whether a boy is guilty of killing his father. In the whole movie, each member has been crafted very carefully. He has been given a proper role to play in the group dynamics. The whole spectrum of humanity is represented in this movie, from the bigotry of Juror No.10 to the coldly analytical No.4. Whether they brought good or bad qualities to the jury room, they all affected the outcome. In the start, the movie shocks the viewer. There is...
Words: 1746 - Pages: 7
...INTRODUCTION The film Rain Man was released in 1988 and won the Best Picture academy award that same year. I chose the film because it represented a wonderful mix of story, filmmaking, acting and comedic timing. It is my assertion that acting was the most powerful element of this film and crucial for the emotional arc required from the lead actor Tom Cruise. STORYTELLING The story of Rain Man is presented in a way that keeps the viewer in the dark as the story develops; delivering surprises and plot twists along the way. Writers Barry Morrow and Ronald Bass provide an excellent framework for the actors to really shine in their portrayal of the two main characters: self centered, smooth street-smart Charlie Babbit and his institutionalized autistic savant older brother, Raymond Babbitt. We are introduced to Charlie at the start of the film and quickly understand that he is a successful import automobile broker and willing/able to do whatever is necessary to deliver his product- this even includes paying off EPA officials, if necessary. Charlie is unrelenting in his quest to accomplish his goal. When he finds out that his long estranged father has passed away, he is expecting to inherent a portion of his late father’s $3 million dollar estate; only to uncover that he has an autistic brother who has received all of the inheritance money from their late father, the irony is almost too much for Charlie. This is pure genius from a storytelling perspective as it helps to...
Words: 1470 - Pages: 6
...inventing things nowadays. But there will always be a set of people that come to mind when thinking of those few people in such a big field of interest like inventing, Steve Jobs, Thomas Edison, Nikola Tesla, Bill Gates, the list could go on till you do not recognize anyone else. With actors there are plenty to choose from because actors can play many roles and be considered the star of the show or movie but even a side character can be considered an icon because they lifted spirits in a movie, but in most cases it is because they played so many roles. I’m going to be analyzing an actor that has so many roles he is considered to be Hollywood’s man of a thousand roles (Skillern, M.). His name is Johnny Depp, and he has played many eccentric and villainous roles that he is widely considered an icon throughout the entire acting community. Johnny Depp is the icon of Hollywood’s actors, one of the top 10 fashion icons and could be many more that could be considered an icon above all worldwide. He started becoming known as a Hollywood’s rising star when he landed the role in Tim Burton’s movie, Edward Scissorhands, and then started his career as a thousand roles once he starred in the movies Sleep Hollow and Charlie and the Charlie Factory. But his real career as an icon started when he claimed the role as Jack Sparrow In the...
Words: 1132 - Pages: 5
