...forms of art. ✔ understand how and why most of the formal mechanisms of a movie remain invisible to casual viewers. ✔ understand the relationship between viewers’ expectations and filmmakers’ decisions about the form and style of their movies. ✔ explain how shared belief systems contribute to hidden movie meaning. ✔ explain the difference between implicit and explicit meaning, and understand how the different levels of movie meaning contribute to interpretive analysis. medium. With so much experience, no one could blame you for wondering why you need a course or this book to tell you how to look at movies. After all, you might say, “It’s just a movie.” For most of us most of the time, movies are a break from our daily obligations—a form of escape, entertainment, and pleasure. Motion pictures had been popular for fifty years before even most filmmakers, much less scholars, considered movies worthy of serious study. But motion pictures are much more than entertainment. The movies we see shape the way we view the world around us and our place in that world. What’s more, a close analysis of any particular movie can tell us a great deal about the artist, society, or industry that created it. Surely any art form with that kind of influence and insight is worth understanding on the deepest possible level. ✔ understand the differences between formal analysis and the types of analysis that explore the relationship between culture and the movies. ✔ begin...
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... 1 An Analysis of P.S. I Love You Tammy McDaniel ENG 225 Jonathan Beller August 15, 2011 P.S. I Love You 2 An Analysis of P.S. I Love You The 2007 film, P.S. I Love You, is a film about learning to let go and move on with your life after the death of a spouse. The Film stars Hilary Swank, Million Dollar Baby and Gerard Butler, 300. It also stars Lisa Kudrow as Denise, Gina Gershon as Sharon, James Marsters as John, Kathy Bates as Patricia (Holly's mom), Nellie McKay as Ciara (Holly's sister), Harry Connick Jr. as Daniel, and Jeffrey Dean Morgan as William. This paper will critique the film, 'P.S. I Love You,' through textual and formal analysis focusing on the following elements.. Storytelling, Acting, Cinematography, Editing, Sound, Style and Directing, Societal Impact, Genre, and Film Criticism and Analysis. By examining the films technical elements, you can gain a better understanding of the director's vision of the film. P.S. I Love You is a 2007 American drama directed by Richard LaGavenese. The screenplay by LaGavenese and Steven Rogers is based on the 2004 novel P.S. I Love You by Cecelia Ahern. This film was shot on locations in New York City and county Wicklow, Ireland.(Imdb.com) In this film, P.S. I Love You, Hilary Swank plays Holly, an American who marries an Irishman,Gerry (played by Gerard Butler). Gerry is Holly's soul mate, the love of her life. A few weeks shy of her 30th birthday Gerry dies from a...
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...Watching God tells a story about a young woman going through life and finding her voice, the movie made by Oprah Winfrey flips the story and its characters making the main character and everyone in the story different. Oprah does a wonderful job at completely destroying the morals of the time period, and the symbols shown in the book. The movie changes relationships making the main character stronger and more independent. The beautiful love story shown by Oprah became a ridiculous rendition of Zora Neale Hurston’s classic novel missing key elements from the book. Oprah Winfrey completely disregards the moral fiber of the time period. In the movie some scenes got extremely graphic with the kissing and love making. These scenes...
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...A Little Princess (1995) I chose the movie ‘A Little Princess’ because it showed the perseverance of a little girl during her darkest times. She was faced with a disastrous situation, yet it did not change who she was, a kind and gentle person. Synopsis The movie takes place during World War 1. The main protagonist, Sara Crewe, is a fun-loving and kind hearted little girl who loved to hear stories. She grew up in India but was later enrolled in a seminary for girls in New York when her father, Captain Crew, decided to fight for British in WW1. He was quite wealthy and made sure that Sara would not have any sort of discomfort. Many other students liked Sara and her exciting stories, while others grew jealous over her popularity. The seminary’s headmistress, Miss Minchin, is very intolerant and narrow-minded. One day Sara gets the news that her father died in the battle and all his wealth and estate is seized by the government. Miss Minchin forces Sara to be a servant along with the other servant girl, Becky. Sara still continues being who she was. When taunted by her headmistress, she firmly said she believed that ‘every girl is a princess’. In the end, we find out that Sara’s father didn’t die but had severe amnesia and temporary blindness. When he regained his memory, he came for Sara. Miss Minchin got kicked out off the seminary and became a chimney sweep, working under a boy whom she mistreated in the past. Topic I am interested in learning about social inequality and...
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...critical analysis paper using sociological literature to analyze the movie “Soul Food.” The topics I plan to analyze are coming to terms with death, family values during and after the death of a loved one and the ability to move past the hurt and pain after a death occurs. Soul Food depicts an African American family with many underlying issues for each child in relation to each other and also in relation to themselves individually. Mother Joe is the patriarch of the family who, despite her every effort to maintain peace and harmony, has her hands full with her daughters. Family is the thread of our society. Success for an individual is measured by the way he or she interacts with family. In relation to death and dying, the movie, Soul Food has every element that families encounter when attempting to grasp the concept of a loved one dying. The overall summary of this movie is about a matriarch, Mama Joe, who is adamant about family. She has three daughters, all with differing dramas in their lives, and issues with each other’s lives. Every Sunday, the family would gather at Mama Joe’s for Sunday dinner. There, family conflict would begin, be discussed and most times, end over dinner. Traditions are begun at the table and never forgotten because of Mama Joe. Children With Differing Personalities Dealing With A Major Life Change The daughters in this movie are seen in varying ways. In each of their respective ways, all daughters love their mother and care for her, but...
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...Kate Bordley Writing and Inquiry Cole 6 December 2012 While watching a movie, we often don’t tend to observe some of the deeper meanings that are hidden within the use of themes and symbols. A movie that I saw for the first time, V For Vendetta, blew my mind when I started analyzing it deeper. The movie is based around the idea of social change and revolution. The main character, V, can only be considered a ‘terrorist’ despite the well meaning he has behind his actions. This movie has fans in great numbers due to our ability to relate with V. His charisma shows through making him seemingly charming and dramatic. The movie is a symbol of rebellion, the possibility of a simple idea changing the world. As I watched the movie, a theme of terrorism seemed to arise. V is made to be likable yet he is doing anti government actions and behaving in a way that we would usually be more resilient against and brutal towards. The idea that V is fighting against an all-controlling government helps us accept that V is technically a good guy, fighting for freedom like the United States. Another common theme throughout the film is lies and deception. The government shields the truth from the public, even though they know it couldn’t possibly be true. For example, when they lie about the blowing up of the statue in the beginning. The government continues to lie about the state of danger the country is in by showing inaccurate news reports of officers shooting their own peers who happened...
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...G141/COM1002 Section 02 Introduction to Communication - 2015 Spring Quarter Movie Analysis – Juno By: Hope Schabel Juno is a movie that came out in 2007 written by Diablo Cody, and directed by Jason Reitman. Juno is based on a young girl who gets pregnant at sixteen years old and has to make some hard decisions about how to proceed regarding her unexpected pregnancy. Juno first goes to an abortion clinic but then decides to have her baby and put the baby up for adoption because she realizes she is too young for the responsibility of taking care of a baby. Juno goes to the baby’s father, Paulie, to tell him she is pregnant and see how he feels about giving the baby up. Paulie agrees with Juno. The rest of the movie takes us through Juno’s experience finding an adoptive family, her pregnancy, the internal battles she is facing with finding the right family, having to give her baby up, and trying to maneuver through an adult situation being only a teenager and understand it all. In the end Juno does give the baby up for adoption and even though difficult she begins to learn to move on and live her life again as a teenager knowing her baby is in the very capable, loving hands of Vanessa, the adoptive mother. During the course of this communication analysis paper the two key comminution elements of Juno that will be focused on will be, the exchange theory (cost/reward) and artifacts. Juno is an excellent movie that can teach us how important it is to have good communication skills...
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...one saw as her equal, according to society. Although the movie was made 25 years ago, it still brings a good message to the audiences that watch it. It has become a classic movie that no amount of technology could change. It takes so much to make a movie, and no one realizes it, but in this paper, it’s going to analyze what made Dirty Dancing become such a classic movie. Storytelling The narrative structure of the movie is told from Frances ‘Baby’ Houseman’s point of view as it was the summer she fell in love. The storytelling in Dirty Dancing is told in chronological order because she sees the dancers, wants to be one, then the female dancing lead, Penny Johnson, became pregnant. Baby fills in for her and Johnny teaches her dance in her place. The story takes place at Kellerman’s country club where she goes on vacation for the summer with her family. The conflict in the story is that Baby comes from a respectable family and falls in love with Johnny, the dance teacher, and Baby’s father does not like Johnny because he believed that Johnny got Penny pregnant and then moved on to be with his daughter. The conflict is resolved when Robbie, the man that got Penny pregnant, lets it slip in the end that he was the one to do it while thanking Dr. Houseman for helping her out. The symbolism in the moving is dancing. It shows that it doesn't matter where you come from, you can connect and get away from your problems. The irony in the film begins with her dad telling her she’s going...
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...Addiction Movie Analysis Sheri Lewis SCI/100 July 28, 2015 PADMA TADI-UPPALA Addiction Movie Analysis Addiction - “a persistent, compulsive dependence on a behavior or substance, including mood-altering behaviors or activities, despite ongoing negative consequences” (Donatelle, 2014, Chapter 12, Recognizing and Avoiding, What is Addiction?). Less Than Zero An unfettered movie based on a novel with the same name written by Bret Easton Ellis. It revolves around a college student that returns home for Christmas vacation to spend time with his friends. Unbeknownst to him, things are very different from the way they were when he left. Sex, drugs, alcohol and stealing to support the addictions have fragmented a huge part of his friends lives. Addictions Addressed in the Movie Several addictions are addressed in the movie; sex, alcohol, drug (cocaine), and the party lifestyle. These addictions led the characters in the movie to make poor decisions that often exposed them life threatening situations; stopping to have sex in the middle of the interstate to satisfy their need for sexual pleasure, having sex with multiple partners in the same night, breaking into parents’ home to steal money and items to finance their addiction, and waking up in unfamiliar places after a night of excessive alcohol drinking and doing drugs. Julian Julian’s first addiction, alcohol, began in high school. He received a bottle of champagne...
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...Parenting Movie Analysis The movie “Little Miss Sunshine” is about a 7 year old girl named Olive Hoover whose dream is to be entered into a pageant called Little Miss Sunshine.The movie includes an extended family including their uncle and grandparent. Moreover, when she discovers that she’s been entered her family face many difficulties. Though they do want Olive to achieve her dream they are so burdened with their own quirks and problems that they can barely make it through a day without some disaster occurring. This movie relates to the Caregiver Identity Theory because the Caregiver Identity theory is the theory “Multidimensional roles caregivers play when they are both a loved one of the patient and the caregivers”. This relates to...
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...Character Analysis Paper Donna Easter University of Virginia Introduction to the Gifted and Talented EDLF 5500 Dr. Kelly Hedrick October 02, 2011 Character Analysis Paper In summarizing the movie Akeelah and the Bee this writer will begin with a description of the leading character Akeelah Anderson. Akeelah is an eleven-year-old seventh grade African-American female living in the inner city. Her educational background revealed she was promoted to a higher level in the second grade. This caused her to be a young middle school student. She is the youngest child of four children. Her father was murdered which caused her to be the product of a single family home. She attended a school that appeared to be aged and had a history of low academic achievement. She was invited to participate in her schools spelling bee where she became the winner for the school. This movie was a depiction of her journey to a national title. While Akeelah demonstrated many gifted characteristics. Research indicates that culturally different learner’s score on average lower than middle-class students on standardize intelligence tests. This may have been the case for Akeelah. According to Frasier & Garcia, (1995) test bias, selective referrals and reliance on deficit-based paradigms cause underrepresentation and identification of minority students in gifted programs. These children are not easily identified and remain invisible (Davis, Rimm, & Siegle, 2011, p. 328). Current research...
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...The Wizard of Oz- A Film Analysis ENG:225 Introduction to Film Professor Daniel Burrello April 20, 2015 The Wizard of Oz - A Film Analysis The 1920's and 30's marked the beginning of a new world for movie directors and audiences alike, prompting directors to challenge traditional American values and push the filming process to new boundaries. The early part of the 20th century was tainted with the Great Depression and the beginning of World War II, millions of Americans were losing their jobs, and security became a big concern for the people of the States. Although citizens struggled during these times, they remained hopeful as cinema became the drug of choice through the expensive use of color and sound to transfer audiences from reality to a fairy tale place. Director Victor Fleming's classic film, The Wizard of Oz (1939), gave the audience an 'identity', touching on social attitude and the way people play a powerful role in their own lives through escapism and symbolism throughout the film. In 1939, MGM director Victor Fleming, in collaboration with Harold Rosson as cinematographer, released the classic blockbuster fantasy film The Wizard of Oz, starring Judy Garland as young and innocent Dorothy Gale, a young girl from Kansas who is swept away during a tornado along with her dog Toto. During her adventure in the land of Oz she kills The Wicked Witch of the West played by Margaret Hamilton, and embarks on a journey to find the almighty and powerful Wizard played by...
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...Analysis of The Matrix by the Wachowski brothers * Question: Films use Cinematographic techniques to enhance the their purpose of entertaining, informing and persuading. Discuss how one film you have viewed uses cinematographic techniques to fulfil this purpose. * * The movie the Matrix, made by the Wachowski brothers in 1999, was one of the movie highlights of the new millennia revolving around the genre of scientific fiction and exploring themes such as Man vs. Machines, Reality, Technophobia, Salvation, Simulation simulacra and to a small extent, on war. The Matrix was made to open our eyes to how humanity lives today and a very possible dystopic future where humanity might face the wrath of its own creations. The Matrix is a very intricate movie that entertains the audience, informs and messes with the audience’s mind evoking strong responses through the use of cinematography, conventions and SWAT codes. Movies are created with a purpose and for most movies that purpose is to entertain and inform the audience about certain issues that exist in our social norms or some other thing that the directors of the movie may want to send across to the audience. A casual viewer could watch the entire Matrix without assessing all the other philosophical and Intertextuality references and still enjoy the movie. The Matrix is a very entertaining movie and it uses Technical codes such as Computer graphics to keep the audience engaged and greatly entertained. The Matrix was...
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...Title of Assignment – Move Analysis Paper - CRASH Student’s Name – Emmanuel Rweyemamu Professor/Institute – Dr. Lisa McDonnell Course, Date – SOC 1101 Analysis of Movie, Crash Introduction and Thesis: Written and directed by Paul Haggis, “Crash” was released in 2004. The movie highlights the trials and tribulations experienced by a various racial ethnical groups from varied geographical locations. Acculturation is not easy for these several Racial Groups such as Hispanics, Asians, or Africans, as the incidents in the film covering a time span of 36 hours, reveal. The characters are portrayed in the context of several ethnic stereotypes in prevalence, even in the 21st century due to ethnic differences. To illustrate, “The predominant modern stereotypes are the violent, brutish African-American male and the dominant, lazy African-American female - the Welfare Mother (Green, 1998-1999, p. 1).” Set in a mixed society of different cultures the aim is to prompt the audience into ‘looking into themselves’ and acknowledge their own personal prejudices; they are overt or covert racists too. The 3 elements of cultures openly portrayed are the language used, the norms maintained by society, both formal and informal. As far as how many viewers actually have the courage to accept their faulty mindsets, is left to them. While at first glance, the movie appears to send out a passionate appeal about ending racism and discrimination, an in-depth probe reveals that the ‘wrongness’ of proclaiming...
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...“American Violet” Critical Analysis Ashley ReBarker SOCI 3025 Dr. Sitawa Kimuna The “American Violet” sparks up a lot of issues that we see today in our society. These issues are very important as they deal with equality among our citizens but they may often be overlooked. The issue I am going to discuss in this critical analysis is Racial Prejudice in the Criminal Justice System. Racial prejudice happens every day and may never completely end, but one would think that it would not take place in a professional, uniform place such as the Criminal Justice System. After watching this movie, I have been taken back by the actions of the people in charge of this system. The 14th Amendment states that “ no state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; no shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws” (U.S Constitution). The individuals in this film were not treated equally compared to the whites in this town and this was the result of racial prejudice. Dee, the main character of the movie, is a mom to four kids in a small town in Texas. The movie starts out with the SWAT team/policemen raiding the “projects” where Dee lives. At this time Dee is at work at a local café where they eventually find her at and arrest right on the spot. Not once do they tell her what she is being arrested...
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