...Brazil (1985) directed by Terry Gilliam is a film that brings together some of the problems of the century and presents it in the plot of the movie. It has all things that is Gilliam is known for in his other films. The film portrays ideas and themes of industrialization, terrorism, government control and bureaucracy, technology gone wrong and taking control, plastic surgery, communism, dehumanization, going against the system and love. Terry Gilliam is an American Director born in 1940 who is known for “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” (1975), “Monty Python’s Flying Circus” (1969 – 1974), Jabberwocky (1977), and The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009). In his films he has been known to have remarkable visual elements in his films. His trademarks in his films are the male protagonists in his films often dream about a woman whom he has not met yet but whom they meet throughout the course of the film. Gilliam often have people and/or animals charging through the walls and ceilings. He also uses a lot of wide angels in his films and a heavy use of television monitors. All these trademarks are evident in the film ‘Brazil’. Gilliam’s use of the characters charging through walls and ceilings is evident in the beginning of the film when the Ministry of Information arrests Mr. Buttle instead of Mr. Tuttle due to a mistake in the paper work. His trademark of a male hero dreaming of a female who they have not met is also evident in the beginning of the film just before he is introduced...
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...Summary of A Doctor’s Journal Entry for August 6, 1945 by Vikram Seth A Doctor’s Journal Entry for August 6, 1945 by Vikram Seth is a remarkable poem describing the horrors of the aftermath of an atomic bomb explosion. This tragic poem describes the condition of the survivors of the atomic bombing by the United States on Hiroshima during the end of the World War II on 6th of August 1945. The narrator in the poem, A Doctor’s Journal Entry for August 6, 1945, is a doctor. The poem begins with a calm and serene note. The doctor says that it was dawn and he was in his bed, not fully clothed. When he stretched out and looked outside, he saw shining leaves and shadows. In the next moment, there were two sudden flashes of strong light and the old stone lantern in his room lit up by itself. The doctor wondered whether the flashes were magnesium flares seen during a war. In the next moment, the doctor finds out that the roof and wall of his building has collapsed and the debris were scattered all over. Dust covered up the whole place and clothes disappeared from his body. They were burnt. The doctor was wounded on his cheek, thigh and he was bleeding. A piece of glass had entered into his body which he removes ‘detachedly.’ He was wondering what suddenly took place and what had happened to him. The narrator called out his wife, ‘where are you, Yecko-san?’ Yecko-san looked pale, frightened and had blood stains on her body. The doctor assures his wife that they would be fine and they...
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...characters, Billy Pilgrim and John Yossarian, are differently characterized, but their objective as soldier fighting for the United States in World War II is the same. They are located in abundantly different regions, Billy in Dresden, Germany, while Yossarian finds himself in the Italian island of Pianosa. To ironically display the theme of anti-war, Slaughterhouse-5 accurately represents a marking event in world history taken from actual experiences while Catch-22 presents a real location but with fictitious events. Slaughterhouse-5’s story is mainly focused around Billy’s experience during his time spent in Dresden as a prisoner of the Germans. Dresden is known for its cultural and artistic splendor, with churches (such as the Frauenkirche), concert halls and gardens which contribute to its fame. In the novel, the American soldiers were transported to the city by foot and later by train to finally reach Schlachthof-fünf, German for slaughterhouse five. The bombing is foreshadowed many times before its actual execution in the novel, and at one point even directly contradicted by an Englishman before the departure: “You needn't worry about bombs, by the way. Dresden is an open city. It is undefended, and contains no war industries or troop concentrations of any importance” (Kurt Vonnegut 186). The bombing took place in February of 1945 when American allies dropped about four-thousand tons of explosives on the city’s center, forming a fierce fire storm that massacred thousands...
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...message? How does irony get this message across? 6. Give an example of allusion. Why does Bradbury use this piece of writing? 7. What would you say is the theme of this story? 8. What other post-apocalyptic stories do you know? What does this remind you of? ideas • • • • • • • • • • • • • “Reckless folly of thoughtless technological development” Martian Chronicles – expansion to mars, wild-west like American Dream can equal misunderstandings and waste Ray Bradbury concerned with the loss of freedom of thought and the clash between individuality and a highly technological society Setting as a character. How is the house personified? The fire? Context – Hiroshima 1945, 1950s bomb shelters, Cold War 19471991, bomb drills, nuclear fallout shelters, nuclear devastation Russia, Cuba Contrast between the destruction of humanity and the survival of nature “altar” “ritual of religion” the poem – Sara Teasdale, nature will prevail without humans WALL-E Contrasts the beauty and eternity of nature with life that is subject to the technology and vulnerability of machines irony – house is destroyed by fire but lived through a nuclear fallout, the fire alarm is destroyed by fire Irony / Theme – Human beings have been destroyed, rather than saved by their own technology. Imagery – war torn suburban city – grotesque and the pleasant Themes – individuals versus machines Analytical Essay Structure “There Will Come Soft Rains” Introductory Paragraph • Name of...
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...The original “Godzilla” movie, released in Japan in 1954, is not only entertaining but also conveys a serious theme still relevant today — the horrors of nuclear weapons. Japan suffered tremendously when the United States dropped atomic bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during WWII, a tragedy that killed over 200,000 people. Godzilla, or Gorjira, is about coping with and taking responsibility for unbelievable manmade tragedy. It deals with the effect of nuclear radiation on Japan - in this case, problems caused specifically by the United States. The film essentially communicates the despair Japan felt during these nuclear tragedies by expressing the metaphor of bomb-as-Godzilla. Godzilla opens with a scene showing a fishing vessel appearing to spontaneously combust, drawing a parallel to the incident that inspired the creation of the movie. On March 1st, 1954 the United States tested a hydrogen bomb at Bikini Atoll – one more powerful than the atomic bombs of WWII. They under-calculated how large the blast would be, and the radiated ash landed on a Japanese tuna boat, Lucky Dragon No. 5. The crew members suffered from radiation sickness, with one member dying from the symptoms. This event caused more uneasiness in Japan, enough for Tomoyuki Tanaka to decide to make a film...
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...Susan Napier is a well known academic who studies themes and topics found in anime and other Japanese pop culture. In this article, she explores why the narratives of Japanese science fiction films, such as Godzilla and Akira, heavily revolve around disaster (328). According to Napier, science fiction, especially that of the apocalyptic sub-genre, is used to address both historical and current issues in a setting that is not burdened by the rules of reality (331). This allows for the issue or historical event to be analyzed or rewritten in a way that permits the audience to engage with their "fascination with disaster" from a new, potentially more accessible, perspective (336). Napier states that the "nuclear anxiety" that arose after the...
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...Essay – By the Waters of Babylon Written by Christian Dall In this essay I will analyze the text By the Waters of Babylon, which is a post-apocalyptic text. In the analyze, I will look at the following aspects of the text: Setting, Persons, the relationship between father and son, The title, the messages and the themes. We are in a savage land, and meet a young boy named John. John is the son of a priest, and now he must go on a journey to become a real man. On Johns journey his spirit leads him to the forbidden land, which is called the “God place”, the god place is an abandoned city, and here John finds out that the god place, aren’t where the god lived, but it was ordinary men, destroyed themselves, with war and nuclear weapons. The story takes place in a savaged land “Everywhere there are the ruins of the towers of the gods” (19. 38-39), there are the hill people, where john lives and then there are the forest people. The two different people can be compared to two different rival tribes. You don’t really know how long the story stretches across but I guess it is about a week, otherwise john wouldn’t have time to get to the god place and back. John is very curious; he is an explorer and wants to know more and more “my knowledge and my lack of knowledge burned in me – I wished to know more” (17. 7-8) At the start John is just a young boy, but on his journey he grows up and becomes a real man and sees the world for what it really is “I am a priest” (22. 56) This is what...
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...HIS 102 December 7, 2012 Film Review of Dr. Strangelove or: How I learned to stop worrying and Love the Bomb Plot Summary: The class was asked to review the film Dr. Strangelove or: How I learned to stop worrying and Love the Bomb. The movie was a satirical comedy about nuclear weaponry and what could happen if the wrong person pushed the wrong button. At the core of the film was the story of top-ranking men of the United States and the Soviet Union who had become so destabilized by their inferiority complexes, they dared to use nuclear war as a way to supplement their short-comings. Ironically, the movie was made during a time when the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union was, perhaps, at its worst. To the politically-aware, the film could have seemed rather untimely. The film was a ridiculously exaggerated take on Cold War attitudes, with the primary focus being the satirical theory of mutual assured destruction (MAD). Even though MAD was a realistic threat during the time, the film made it seem trivial and funny. The film opened with the mid-air refueling of a long-range bomber with obvious sexual overtones. After that, the movie shifted into gear when General Jack D. Ripper became mentally unhinged and sent bombers to attack the Soviet Union. The subject of the movie was Dr. Strangelove, a mysterious, wheelchair-bound German scientist whose mechanical arm was always on the verge of a Nazi salute. Loaded with...
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...wrote the short story “By the Waters of Babylon”, showing a naive narrator exploring New York City after the city is hit with nuclear bombs. The short story “The Sniper”, written by Liam O’Flaherty is a setting where a sniper is going against an enemy and when he kills the opposing person he finds out horrific news. A speech given by Carl Sagan called “On Nuclear Disarmament”, states...
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...novel “Night” by Elie Wiesel was about a young boy who was born in Sighet, Transylvania, he was a teenager and in 1944 his family and him were taken from their home and were transported to a concentration camp in Auschwitz. There were two different ethnicity groups the Jews and the Germans, each had different rights because they believed that the Germans were more powerful and higher class than the Jews. Elie Wiesel shows three overlying themes throughout the novel those themes are hope, fear, and faith. These themes help create the images, and the details that Elie provides it helps us better understand what he is trying to tell us by providing us with more knowledge that allows us to realize each of the three themes and how those themes are represented throughout the novel. In the book “Night” there are several overlying themes and one of those themes is hope. Hope is a feeling of expectation and a desire for something to happen. In the novel it states “every bomb that hit filled us with joy.” When Elie and the others heard all of those bombs they were glad to hear that sound because it made them think that everything would be back to normal again and...
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...Humanities 101-03 10-30-13 George Orwell’s 1984 In the book 1984 has a futuristic setting from when it was wrote. Oceania is the super state where Winston Smith lives; he is the main character of the novel. Outside the streets are covered in trash and buildings are run down. The whole place just looks like a war zone. You can hear bombs and gunshots going off when Winston is just standing in his apartment. Winston’s job is changing the newspaper to make the paper seem more appealing. The government is not like ours, it is like Joseph Stalin with his fascism regime. But instead of pictures of Joseph Stalin it is a picture that looks like a mixture between Stalin, Franco, and Hitler. The picture is all over the place on these telescreens. Not only is the picture of Big Brother on these screens everywhere even in every house, but also they can see you threw the screen and watch the population. The government even tries to dumb down or depress it’s people. They push alcohol and cigarettes to keep the people drunk and dumb. They do not want the people talking and try to over throw the government. The people in this super state all wear blue overalls to make them the same. Men and women are not aloud to have sex for fun only to reproduce, that’s it. Men call women sister and women call men brother. It is the most ridicules society ever imaginable, it is one hundred percent controlled by the government and helicopters and tanks come by to check on the people and make sure they know...
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...Jacob Ellinger The Hurt Locker The Hurt Locker is a movie written by Mark Boal and directed by Kathryn Bigelow. It displays combat at its best in Iraq. The movie reflects on the celebrated life of a soldier and is entitled, “war is a drug.” The soldier vividly displays war as a drug that needs to be taken by all soldiers at all times of their lives for their survival. The writer depicts this through the display of the paralyzing life of a soldier in war. She emphasizes this through the main character whose daring nature puts him at loggerheads with his colleagues (Eldridge and Sanborn). This paper critically analyzes the Hurt Locker with a specific focus on conflicts, symbols as well as irony presented in the movie. Various conflicts are displayed in the movie, first, when James is hired to replace the previous team leader, Sergeant Thompson. With his experience in war, he conflicts with the rest of the soldiers owing to his aggressive nature and failure to follow protocol. The soldiers find James’ ways reckless and disturbing but his spontaneity is seen to assist them soldier on to the end. Further James conflicts with Sanborn while trying to pursue the suspects of a petrol oil tanker that had exploded. Sanborn argues that the work should be left to the three platoons in the area. James however wins him over. Again, an external conflict is encountered while driving back to their camp, the three soldiers, Eldridge, Sanborn and James come into conflict with five mercenaries...
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...Duck and Cover Duck and Cover After the discharge of the original atomic bombs, many Americans were elated that World War II was at an end. As additional research was conducted about the effects and power of atomic bombs, anxiety began to move throughout the United States. But when the first atomic bomb was tested by the Soviet Union in 1949, anxiety turned to terror and alarm. To alleviate Americans’ fears, the U.S. Government created films that shed light on the characteristics and showed practices for persisting an atomic attack. Duck and Cover, a movie, was presented to school aged children starting in 1950. This film featured a cartoon turtle with a jovial theme song, and sound advice. Duck and Cover was supposed to reassure children that they would know what to do, in the event of an atomic strike. Instead of reassuring the kids, pictures of little Billy fleeing to the basement, it convinced youngsters that the atomic shells could drop at any time and gave them bad dreams. The government’s theory during this juncture was that atomic could be used as part of a “conventional” battle between America and Mother Russia. If that occurred, America would need to continue the manufacturing of war products. Large cities would surely be targets, and in the occasion of evacuation, cities would be gridlocked. Citizens of American were advised to formulate plans for potential nuclear occurrence, to recognize what to do and where to go if the air raid sirens ever went off. With...
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...The book Persepolis describes the themes revolution, religion, nationalism, social classes, and Imperialism through different pictures that represent Iran in accurate and negative ways. Revolution is shown throughout the book and in many examples like in Tehran of people speaking out for what they think is right. Religion is also a big part of Persepolis and many people practice different religions everyday. Nationalism is expressed by people who are proud to be apart of their country which is shown through Marjane’s eyes in Persepolis and in many different instances of people in the world. Social classes show where people stand in their society which is a part in every countries society just like in the book Persepolis. Imperialism has changed...
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...Wolf’s Lair in Rastenburg, East Prussia and Operation Valkyire was originally a plan to continue the government after an emergency but was changed so that the conspirators would be able to take control of Germany after the assignation of Hitler. The plan was instigated by Colonel Claus von Stauffenburg (Played by Tom Cruise) who was recruited by conspirators to come up with the plan. The film also has many themes and uses a few literary elements. This movie is a pretty realistic portrayal of the actual event and has a pretty good story. The film Valkyrie takes place during World War 2. The film covers the events of the July 20 plot. The main character of the story is Colonel Claus von Stauffenburg. The story follows him from the beginning of the story when he gets recruited to the cause. He then meets other committee members such as Dr. Goerdeler, and Witzleben. There Stauffenburg comes up with assignation plan. Their first attempt at the plan fails but they get another attempt ot try again. The second time they try the bomb is placed and the plan looked like it worked with the bomb exploding in the meeting room with Hitler. They then mobilize the Reserve Army and attempt to take over Berlin. However their blast did not kill Hitler and he was alive. Their plan then falls apart and most of them get arrested. In the end they all end up dying of execution or suicide. The main purpose of this film was to inform people of failed assignation attempt on Hitler. Many people probably did...
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