John Woo’s film The Killer (1989) became a pivotal film in Woo’s career, as it generated western audience’s interest in Hong Kong New Wave cinema and integrated Woo into the Hollywood industry. The Killer has gained cult status with western audiences since its release due to its radical differences from Hollywood action films. Although, it is important to note the reception of postcolonial Hong Kong cinema can be problematic through an “orientalist” reading of the film (Kam). For instance, David Bordwell argues that Hong Kong cinema is simply a “cinema of imitations” (Xu). In contrast to Bordwell’s argument, John Woo’s work evidently displays cross-cultural influences within Hong Kong cinema, thus complicating the notion of reducing the genre …show more content…
In examining the cross-cultural ties within John Woo’s work, it is important to note that Woo worked for the Chinese film director, Chang Cheh, in the 1960s. Chang Cheh was influential during the Mandarin- language period of cinema through his development of the “yanggang” subgenre of the “wuxia” genre film (Hall 5). Wuxia is a genre of martial arts film known for its emphasis on special effects through use of acrobatics and swordplay occurring within a fantasy or traditional setting (Szeto 21). Cheh’s subgenre yanggang, translates to “staunch masculinity” which diverted from the women’s genre films being made through focusing on heroic masculine figures and male homosocial relationships (Yip 20). John Woo’s films pay homage to the yanggang genre, incorporating the narrative from Chinese traditional folklore with modern weapons and settings. The Killer in particular, borrows from a fable dating back to the Yuan Dynasty of China (Fox). The ancient fable negotiates themes of honor, loyalty and the protagonists strive for justice and glory which parallels with the narrative of The Killer …show more content…
In David Fox’s article, “For Fun and The Killer: Directions in Chinese Cinema”, Fox argues that Hong Kong cinema differs from Hollywood action films through its “aesthetics of violence” (Fox). Throughout John Woo’s work, the overarching theme of innocence colliding with violence of a political nature is regarded as normative (Xu). In The Killer, both Jenny and a young child become accidentally injured through acts of violence within their surroundings. Another John Woo film, Hard Boiled (1992) is famous for the hospital scene in which the protagonist shields an infant from gunfire during a shootout in a hospital. When taken into account the historical context of The Killer, the representation of violence towards the innocent could be interpreted as a direct reference to the trauma of the Tiananmen Square massacre. However, western filmmakers typically do not allow women or children to be violently wounded or killed within their films due to codes of censorship
2. According to Sobchack, contemporary screen violence greatly differs than portrayals of violence in years past. Today, violent scenes are careless and lack significance because we as audiences have become calloused and desensitized to any acts of violence. She states that there is “no grace or benediction attached to violence. Indeed, its very intensity seems diminished” (Sobchack 432). Senseless violence, gruesome acts, and profound amounts of gore are prevalent in movies today, and because even this is not enough, it must be accompanied by loud blasts and noise, constantly moving scenes to keep audiences stimulated and large quantities of violence for viewers to enjoy what they are watching. Decades ago, it was the story that was engaging to audiences and filmmaking was an art.
Director Jim Jarmusch’s film Deadman displays many of the accepted conventions for Western genre films, but manipulated in such a way as to create a revisionist, rather than a classical, western. The most obvious example of this manipulation are the characterizations of the hero, William Blake, and his Native American partner, Nobody. Blake is an awkward easterner who travels westward unaware of the different rules governing western life, instead of the rugged, knowledgeable outdoorsman who “does what he has to do” to defend justice and honor. Nobody’s character is unusually independent, educated, and kind towards Blake, instead of the traditional Western genre’s violent, unintelligent Indian.
In The Pathos of Failure, Thomas Elsaesser explains the emergence of a new ideology within American filmmaking, which reflects a “fading confidence in being able to tell a story” (280) and the dissolution of psychologically relatable, goal-oriented characters. He elaborates that these unmotivated characters impede the “the affirmative-consequential model of narrative [which] is gradually being replaced by another, whose precise shape is yet to crystallize” (281). Christian Keathley outlined this shape in more detail in Trapped in the Affection Image, where he argued that shifting cultural attitudes resulted in skepticism of the usefulness of action (Keathley). In Robert Altman’s McCabe & Mrs. Miller and Roman Polanski’s Chinatown, this crisis of action is a key element of the main characters’ failure, because it stifles the execution of classical narrative and stylistic genre conventions.
In Classical Hollywood Cinema, the plot moves forward mostly by the conflict between order and chaos. This is the case for most of the Film Noir movies, a popular genre that started in the 1940s. In The Big Sleep (1946) and Chinatown (1976), the two main characters, private investigators, are associated with order while all of the “femme fatale” characters bring chaos to the narrative of the films.
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.
The American film industry’s early attempts at the narrative Western were limited and in the early years were produced mainly in the east. During this early time in the film industry the...
The viewer sees a private eye and beautiful client. First thought, "It’s definitely another Hollywood crime drama." On the surface, Chinatown has all the elements of a film noir: the presence of a beautiful but dangerous woman, otherwise known as the femme fatale, a gritty urban setting, compositional tension (highly contrasting light and dark colors or oblique camera angles), and themes of moral ambiguity and alienation. Chinatown, however, is different. Polanski shot Chinatown with color film, and though his colors do appear especially vivid, color film precludes the contrast intensity that black and white film offers. In addition, Evelyn is not the classic femme fatale. Though Jake mistakes her for her husband’s killer at first, Mrs. Mulwray eventually emerges as the story’s most tragic victim. Yes, Chinatown for the most part conforms to the structure of film noir, but this film departs from the general genre, creating an entirely different element in which Roman Polanksi examines not only big-money corruption and its malignant obsession with money, but also larger, more human themes such as ignorance, authority, and the pervasiveness of evil.
One of the first and most significant films in American New Wave cinema, Arthur Penn’s Bonnie and Clyde (1967), revolutionized the movie industry by producing a motion picture mixed with graphic violence, humor, and moral ambiguity. With a similar revolutionary idea, Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers (1994) used every cinematographic opportunity to disclose the incestuous relationship between crime, the media and pop culture. Although both films operate with similar themes such as undermining gender ideologies,…, and…;ultimately, Natural Born Killers acts as a development of Penn’s 1967 film, by displaying the characters Mickey and Mallory, as more aggressive and extreme versions of Bonnie and Clyde.
For my final essay, I have chosen the movie “Fatal Attraction”, and I will focus on Alex Forrest and her mental disorder. Borderline Personality was displayed in the movie and Alex had almost every symptom of this disorder. Throughout this essay, I will be discussing Alex’s characteristics, intelligence, motivation, stress, social influences and/ or personality theories, treatment, and if the depiction of the disorder and treatment is consistent with what was discussed and read in the course.
Mimura, Glen M. "What Is Asian American Cinema." Introduction. Ghostlife of Third Cinema: Asian American Film and Video. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota, 2009. N. pag. Pdf.
ChinaTown, directed by Roman Polanski, is a non-traditional hard-nosed detective film made in the 70's. The typical elements of character type are there; J.J. Gittes (a private detective in LA) played by Jack Nicholson is the central character, sharing the spotlight is Fay Dunaway playing the femme fatale Evelyn Mulwray. This film breaks all types of norms when compared to the hard-nosed detective films it is modeled after. The film is filled with allusions to the Big Sleep, especially taken from scenes of Marlowe and Vivian. Chinatown has formal elements indicative that it is going to be in the style of traditional Film Noir hardboiled detective, until you examine the characters' personalities next to the story content.
This paper will examine 10 major Hollywood films, one per decade between 1924 and 2013; with determining how Chinese image has been portrayed and how their portrayals have changed over time. The research also includes 3 case studies; I will select three famous Chinese actors who had achieved success in Hollywood and with reviewing their careers to examine the nature of stereotypies, as well as the power bal...
While there are many different ways to classify a Neo-noir film, Roman Polanski’s, Chinatown captures many. The 1974 movie consists of many of these elements, including both thematic and stylistic devices. One of the main themes of neo-noir film that is constant throughout the film is the deceptive plot that questions the viewers’ ideas and perceptions of what is actually happening in the film. Every scene of Chinatown leads to a twist or another turn that challenges the practicability of the film’s reality. All of the never-ending surprises and revelations lead up to the significant themes the movie is trying to convey in the conclusion of the film.
In recent times, such stereotyped categorizations of films are becoming inapplicable. ‘Blockbusters’ with celebrity-studded casts may have plots in which characters explore the depths of the human psyche, or avant-garde film techniques. Titles like ‘American Beauty’ (1999), ‘Fight Club’ (1999) and ‘Kill Bill 2’ (2004) come readily into mind. Hollywood perhaps could be gradually losing its stigma as a money-hungry machine churning out predictable, unintelligent flicks for mass consumption. While whether this image of Hollywood is justified remains open to debate, earlier films in the 60’s and 70’s like ‘Bonnie and Clyde’ (1967) and ‘Taxi Driver’ (1976) already revealed signs of depth and avant-garde film techniques. These films were successful as not only did they appeal to the mass audience, but they managed to communicate alternate messages to select groups who understood subtleties within them.
Evidence of professionalism on the part of the two killers, Al and Max, is that they both wear a uniform? They wear overcoats. that are too tight for them, gloves to prevent finger prints, and Derby hats. This might be for intimidation, to suggest they are. gangsters or something similar, or it could be that they are not so.