As time evolved so did the means of replicating reality. As far back as cave drawings, humans have tried to make sense of their surroundings through artificial means. We can go through time and see this process evolve from engraving, to painting, to photography, and to its most convincing form to date: cinema. In the task of duplicating reality cinema has surpassed all other forms of representation. Looking at the other means which are mentioned above we see cinema is the first mean that is able to capture movement, and nowadays even sound. André Bazin may well be the most influential critic ever to have written about this process. As …. States: “Bazin envisions each rung on cinema's evolutionary ladder as a step toward a more realistic depiction of the world (sound, colour, depth of field, 3- D, etc.)”. Since Bazin believes that the origins of an art reveal its nature, cinema's quest for realism supports his claim for an objective and pure cinema (…). By using the term pure cinema Basin refers to the truest form of recreating reality. This myth of pure cinema which grew out of cinema's beginnings stands as the standard cinema has progressively evolved toward. Bazin sees cinema as “an idealistic phenomenon” and only consequently technical. Being a humanist he believes that the idea precedes the invention and hence is superior to the technical means used to achieve it (…). To Bazin the cinema is inherently realistic even though the potential for human interference is always present. The myth of total cinema Bazin speaks of concerns the belief that humans’ psychology will always leave men with the need to portray reality, possibly as a way to fight back against mortality. Bazin explains the relationship between the filmed image and... ... middle of paper ... ...more absorbed into the film. As one watches a car crash it is not, in fact realistic that one stays seated in a chair. Even though the movement will not be able to recreate any of the effects that should go along with this example of a car crash, and luckily so, it will enhance the experience of seeing action bound mise en scenes. So the question remains: what applications does Bazin's work have in today's cinema? The reality cinema captures is largely the subjective reality of the filmmakers' distinct worldview and not Bazin's "objectivity in time". You could say, however, that cinema is about different levels of representation, and that the differences between fiction and reality, between subjective and objective, no longer exist. However, you still haven’t established whether modern day cinema is worth looking at as work of narrative art or corporate indulgence.
Damien Echols is found guilty and sentenced to death for the crime of killing three eight-year old boys; for eighteen years he spends his life on Death Row before he is released. Before being placed on Death Row at Varner Super Max Security Unit in Grady, Arkansas and Tucker Max Security Unit, Echols also spent time in Crittenden County Jail for misdemeanor charges he received as minor. While on Death Row Damien explains that it was the guards that he had to watch out for and not the other prisoners. The visits from spiritual advisors as well as the media caused Echols to receive hatred from the guards. They destroyed everything in is cell, planted a knife in his bunk, sent to solitary confinement for no reason, beat up by a team of five guards,
How would mankind communicate to each other without names? Names are what describe people in terms of personality, traits, and association. That’s why names are immensely important and thus, used in films such as Bound, in order to create a deeper meaning in a character’s actions and personality. The film Bound is written and directed by The Wachowskis. The film is about two lesbians: ex-convict Corky, and lesbian prostitute Violet who is in a relationship with mob money-launderer Caesar but decides to escape from Caesar after meeting Corky for she fell in love with her the moment she sow her in the elevator. So Violet wants to leave Caesar for Corky, but that’s not all. She and Corky come up with a strategy to steal two million dollars from the mob and blame it on Caesar. "Your name defines you," says Gregg Steiner, a Los Angeles talent manager (Parenting). In the film Bound, characters’ names have a lot of significance in which some have more connotations than others. Each character’s name holds symbolic meaning to the character’s role in the film and this is very apparent among Corky, Violet, and Caesar as well as the supporting casts: Gino and Johnny Marzzone.
The film 8 ½ centers on a filmmaker, Guido Anselmi, who struggles with the making of a new movie. Throughout the film, we see Guido’s fantasies, dreams, memories, and reality and often the line in between these moments is blurred. It is hard to indisputably tell whether a particular scene is truly happening in the reality of the film. What we do know, though, is that every scene is happening, either consciously or not, for Guido. Even if he does not really live in a house with all of the women in his life, that scene can reveal something about Guido since he is the one having the fantasy.
The postmodern cinema emerged in the 80s and 90s as a powerfully creative force in Hollywood film-making, helping to form the historic convergence of technology, media culture and consumerism. Departing from the modernist cultural tradition grounded in the faith in historical progress, the norms of industrial society and the Enlightenment, the postmodern film is defined by its disjointed narratives, images of chaos, random violence, a dark view of the human state, death of the hero and the emphasis on technique over content. The postmodernist film accomplishes that by acquiring forms and styles from the traditional methods and mixing them together or decorating them. Thus, the postmodern film challenges the “modern” and the modernist cinema along with its inclinations. It also attempts to transform the mainstream conventions of characterization, narrative and suppresses the audience suspension of disbelief. The postmodern cinema often rejects modernist conventions by manipulating and maneuvering with conventions such as space, time and story-telling. Furthermore, it rejects the traditional “grand-narratives” and totalizing forms such as war, history, love and utopian visions of reality. Instead, it is heavily aimed to create constructed fictions and subjective idealisms.
...Lewis' assessment of cinema, with the increase in technology, and modern home theatre capabilities; at this point there is no turning back, and cinema as it once was will never be again. Even with the upheaval of classic film remakes, the technology that is at film-makers disposal makes it impossible for films to ever be made in the way they once were. This is evident in the way films have progressed through their periods as human knowledge expanded bringing new techniques to filming, and acting themselves, where technology is concerned there is no roof yet, and cinema is certain to change with each advancement.
Bordwell, David. “The Art Cinema as a Mode of Film Practice.” Film Theory and Criticism. Eds. Leo Braudy and Marshall Cohen. Oxford University Press, 2009: 649-657.
... movie stars like royalty or mythical gods and goddesses, viewing the drama between great archetypal characters in a personal psychic realm. By considering the statements made and their societal impact from a Marxist perspective, Benjamin’s method is highly effective, as it does not simply consider art in terms of pure aesthetics anymore, but considers art’s place in a society capable of mechanically reproducing and endlessly duplicating film, photography, and digital art. His qualm with losing the aura and mystique of an original work is negated by the cult of movie stars, the adoration of fame, the incorporation of soundtracks which embody a particular time period, cinematographic allusions, and time-capsule-like qualities of a film such as Basquiat, a 90s tribute to the 80s, produced both as a part of and resulting from the art movements and trends it addresses.
3. Throughout the movie, it was apparent that Dr. Francis and Dr. Gallo, displayed the same objective of wanting to discover the cause of AIDS; however, in terms of critical thinking, it’s obvious that they utilize different styles of critical thinking. To further explain, in one segment of the movie, Francis compares and correlates already known viruses that cause cancer, damage t-cells, and exhibit the same symptoms with what he thinks might be the cause of AIDS. However, Francis is comparing his fields of expertise in which he already knows and thinks might be true, not with what has been scientifically proven; therefore, he is using wishful thinking, a speed bump of critical thinking. There are also times in the movie, where Francis thinks
The Analysis of Quentin Tarantino as a Director The director I have chosen to look at is Quentin Tarantino. His films have achieved a cult ang global status and I dont think anyone is going to argue that he is not an auteur. I am more interested in examining his style and seeing how this makes him an auteur and if it has changed when he was receiving a higher budget. Tarantino was born in Noxville Tennessee on 27th march 1963. Tony
What does it mean to give yourself completely to your vocation or life? We find in a fictional story from Wes Anderson, his eighth feature presentation, “The Grand Budapest Hotel” What it means to be completely giving of oneself. Even though Wes’s movie is fictional, we find many deep and underlying themes, tones, and values. these are values are applications that anyone male or female that one can implicate in ones life to any situation. The main values we can find in the movie are simple, but can improve life ten-fold. Three easy steps to improving ones life are as stated: gratitude, positivity, and you must contribute yourself 100% of the time no matter how hard the road in front of you is going to
Even though the still picture and the theatrical play also give the spectator either a visual or an aural image, a motion picture is the one that stimulates the spectator’s senses with its story, color, sound, acting, filming, and editing. Based on Munsterberg’s film theory, what makes a motion picture so distinct from other mediums is that it has several characteristic processes of attention, memory, imagination, emotion, and unity. In the book The Major Film Theories, he says that “Munsterburg had a hierarchic notion of the mind; that is, he felt it was comprised of several levels. Each level evolves chaos of undistinguished stimuli by a veritable act, virtually creating the world of objects, events, and emotions that each of us live in” (Andrew 18).... ...
The Associate is an entertaining movie that brings forth gender disparities in the workplace. Whoopi Goldberg, Laurel Ayers, portrays a financial analyst who has been stuck in a position that does not give her true credit for all of her hard work and talents. The Associate exemplifies the sexism that is occurring in the workplace through satiric wit and a strong story line.
Antirealism in film transcends and brainstorms the fantasies that never become reality. Even though antirealism is apprehensive with a smaller amount then actual stuff, our observation for an...
The ideation of objectivity remains a highly debatable subject among philosophical elites. Some philosophers may argue that human’s understanding of objectivity is subject to the scope of understanding of the term and exposure (Livingstone & Plantinga 10). When the term objectivity is entwined with realism, it yields a complex ideation that remains highly debatable and less agreeable among erudite authors (Livingstone & Plantinga 23). However, to understand and appreciate the concept of realism and objectivity in film, it becomes critical to adopt a definite definition. First, the term reality in film is used to describe concepts that are visible in nature as experienced on a daily life by one or more individuals (Livingstone & Plantinga 24). The term objectivity in this case is used to define a set of ideations or perspectives that are incorporated in the film (Livingstone & Plantinga 24). Documentaries are used to create a form of reality, an experience or ideation of the person or group of person experiencing an event or phenomenon. The argument in this analysis is that it is impossible for documentary films to objectively capture reality.
‘Then came the films’; writes the German cultural theorist Walter Benjamin, evoking the arrival of a powerful new art form at the end of 19th century. By this statement, he tried to explain that films were not just another visual medium, but it has a clear differentiation from all previous mediums of visual culture.