How does film apply to you? The idea of civic virtue is what citizens of the global community are obliged to do. It is a philosophical ideal that has become a vital part of the foundation of United States government. Furthermore, the concept of civic virtue also deals with the responsibility of the individual toward society and often the responsibility of society toward the individual. The following films all exemplify the idea of civic virtue, workings of United States government, current social, political and economic issues. The films include: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (directed by Frank Capra), Taking Chance (directed by Ross Katz), American Violet (directed by Tim Disney) and The Insider (directed by Michael Mann). As Frank Capra …show more content…
Smith Goes to Washington directed by Frank Capra was controversial when it was released, but also successful at the box office, and made James Stewart a major movie star. The film is about a naive man that is appointed to fill a vacancy in the US Senate. His plans promptly collide with numerous accounts of political corruption, but he does not back down. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington exemplifies the idea of civic virtue and encompasses the workings of United States government, social, political and economic issues at the time. There exists a corruption problem within the film. Capra uses this idea to make a point about government in film. The characters Senator Paine, Mr. Taylor and a group of people are buying land cheaply to re-sell to the state at a higher price, as a part of a bill. This is an example of insider trading. The main character is put into the situation in order to stop the corruption. And it is his responsibility towards society to do good, known as civic virtue. The group of people frame Senator Smith making the people believe that he came into the senate to be corrupt. Capra uses corruption to make a point about government in film because in government senators and congressmen do not always tell the …show more content…
She must face a distressing choice: Plead guilty and go home a convicted felon, or fight the charges and risk a lengthy prison sentence. Despite her mother's advice and risking everything, innocent Dee chooses to fight the Texas criminal justice system, joined by an ACLU attorney and a former narcotics cop. Dee Roberts is a friendly, compassionate and understanding person with many good qualities. The film shows how the United States government function by providing legal facts and information. It demonstrates the length of penalty versus the actual crime. The plea bargain that Dee takes, does not allow her to take advantage of any federal programs available. For example, she would not have access to federal housing that she needs because she is a single mother with many children without a surplus of money. The film also deals with racial profiling and how Dee’s community was targeted by law enforcement. Dee employs the idea of civic virtue because she has a duty to society to attempt to rid the system of racial profiling. She does this by filing a lawsuit against the Texas Criminal Law system and wins. Her victory represents how the common person is extremely important and can make change in our society. Overall, The film American Violet shows how United States government works and represents the idea of civic
The film Mr. Smith Goes to Washington was made in 1939 but Franco’s portrayal of America has similarities to today’s society. Franco portrays different factors of America. One thing that he portrays a lot is the American Government. He shows that the political figures only care about themselves and based their decisions on what will benefit him. This is shown throughout the film specifically in the beginning of the film when Hopper the governor of an unknown state has to pick a new U.S Senator. Hopper flips a coin to choose between Jim Taylor and Henry Hill. Instead it landed on a newspaper with a story about Jefferson Smith. He then realized that Smith will be easier to influence and vote his way. This has not changed at all in America. In 2014 political figures still choose people that will support them and have the same beliefs. The only difference is now a day’s most Americans know more about politics and if they appoint someone that does not have the qualification the public voices their opinions. Another thing Franco depicts about America in 1939 is that anything can happen anyone can become successful. This is shown when Smith becomes the senator. He had all the odds against him but Smith believed he could be a good senator and succeeded. Throughout the movie other politicians try to take advantage of him but he stood strong and did what he t...
There are many ways that this movie relates to the political process. At the very start of the movie a senator dies. We therefore learn the process in which it takes to replace a senator. The next form of political process that was taught in the movie was when the young boy while escorting Mr. Smith to his seat explained the process of his first meeting in the senate and when he was allowed to speak his mind or present a new bill. The movie also explains how a bill becomes a law and the use of a filibuster and why it may be used.
Mr. Smith is portrayed as an honest man with strong opinions. He is the ideal politician in an ideal society. The film Mr. Smith Goes to Washington depicts a "reassuring image" that happens to be "an image of the past" (Wheeler). However, in today's legislature, people like Mr. Smith are rare due to the fact that a politician's primary goal is re-election. The good of the people may come as another intention of a politician, but it is always secondary to "bringing home the pork." There should be more people like Mr. Smith because the legislature would be able to make decisions more effectively and efficiently, rather than how slowly they currently operate. This is an unfortunate truth, yet it is how our society has been shaped to operate. This becomes apparent after close examination of the United States legislature today and viewing of the film Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.
I realized that sometimes it is fine for things to just be, and I don’t know why. Much of the film has to do with how we think, and what we do in private. Collectively, through these moral and ethical acts (or lack thereof) we can impact the public. Also, by sharing these thoughts and concepts with the public in the documentary, it can affect our thoughts and actions in our private lives; I know it has, at least for myself. One of the earliest topics in the film that I took note of was the ethics of certain matters, in a way that I had never considered before.
The Constitution was issued by prominent figures of society such as lawyers, businessmen, merchants, or investors. Their intellectual ideas were based on Calvinistic views and from Hobbes’s theory. They believed in the sense of human evil and that men are selfish. The makers of the constitution imagined a humane and democratic society that could be controlled by government. The Founding Fathers were concerned to create a government to regulate trade and institute class structure. The actions of citizens from the Shay’s rebellion generated a fear of uprising from lower classes. The Fathers wanted a “balance government” that would not create conflicts among classes. During the convention in Philadelphia, George Washington addressed his view on stability of the people. He urged the delegates not to make a document that only “pleased the people.” Fair treatment within classes was necessary but in contradiction to the Founding fathers belief, “man is an unregenerate rebel who has to be controlled.” (page 7)
Gina Marchetti, in her essay "Action-Adventure as Ideology," argues that action- adventure films implicitly convey complex cultural messages regarding American values and the "white American status quo." She continues to say that all action-adventure movies have the same basic structure, including plot, theme, characterization, and iconography. As ideology, this film genre tacitly expresses social norms, values, and morals of its time. Marchetti's essay, written in 1989, applies to films such as Raiders of the Lost Ark and Rambo: First Blood II. However, action-adventure films today seem to be straying farther away from her generalizations about structure, reflecting new and different cultural norms in America. This changing ideology is depicted best in Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers (1994), which defies nearly every concept Marchetti proposes about action-adventure films; and it sets the stage for a whole new viewpoint of action in the '90's.
...ulture. Together the characters of Watchmen reflect an unflattering image of American identity. We sacrifice morals to defend principles rather than saving people. We sacrifice ourselves for commercial gain and for the fame that comes from the worship of strangers. We worship our own achievements, obsess over time and in the end we lose what makes us human as we continue down a path that takes us farther away from each other and deeper into ourselves.
Every film can be related back to socially significant issues that occurred during the time it was released. It’s a snapshot of the issues during that time period. Film is not created in a vacuum. As described in our textbook, film “Conveys “the temper of an age of a nation” as well as that of the artists who produces it” (Belton 22). Films tend to reflect current society, country ideals or beliefs in order for the audience to relate. Some of those techniques used include, the American dream, family, corruption, divorce, and crime. If a director decides not include current social issues than it becomes harder for an audience to relate to the film because they will not be able to connect to the characters and get into their shoes. One film that encompasses all of these current social issues is American Hustle (David O. Russell, 2013). This film is a melodrama because of the context and social issues this film deals with. American Hustle has a social significance to today’s current culture, society, beliefs and social issues through the use of the American dream, corruption, divorce, crime and family.
To all humans, the most important and influential thing is arguably your own morals. It decides the things you do, the things you say, and controls your overall desires and goals. Morals come from many places, such as nature versus nurture. Many of your morals come from your parents, be it because you learned what they taught, good or bad, or dislike what they taught so you chose the opposite, the rest is already consciously and basically instinctual. This is a very simple way to explain something very complex. In Appendix A, George Washington’s “Rules of Civility & Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation” there is a list of basic morals and behaviors that he believes everyone should be aware of and it is a very interesting read, especially if some of them you may have never considered. While the list can be outdated at times because of the progression of society and culture, a lot of these rules are still very important. In appendix B, there are a list of ‘cognitive bias’ or things that happen subconsciously that effect the way we view things or act. These two sets of information offer a very interesting perspective, especially when applied to each other. From these lists, I have picked a total of 15 rules that I believe to be the most important in becoming a self-aware individual who is
Society tends to associate propaganda films with issues such as Nazi Germany and their film messages for their country; however, it is also possible for small independent companies, groups of like-minded people and individuals to use the media of film to incorporate messages for our society (The Independent, 2010). These messages are often in relation to changes that individuals should make in order to improve the standards by which they live their lives and changes to everyday habits that will benefit the individual, the individual’s family, a group of individuals or even a single person (Barnhisel and Turner, 2010).
“Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” Mr. Smith was too naive to survive as a senator during the time the movie “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” took place. Mr. Smith’s naiveté was most evident in his ambitious proposal to start a national boys camp. However, when false allegations regarding Mr. Smith’s motives for starting the camp surfaced, Smith was too idealistic to defend himself from the political machine that accused him of acting in self-interest. Making matters worse, Senator Smith was a genuinely honest and simple-minded man, making it difficult for him to survive among his scheming colleagues.
Robert B. Ray categorizes Casablanca as "the most typical" American film. Ray uses Casablanca as a tutor text for what he calls the formal paradigm of Classical Hollywood as well as the thematic paradigm that addresses the conflict between isolationism and communitarian participation. The film is typical in its appropriation of an official hero Laszlo, who stands for the civilizing values of home and community, and an outlaw hero Rick, who stands for individu...
Frank Capra’s, It’s a Wonderful Life illustrates a particular set of morals and values. In fact, most of Capra’s films include these basic values, which include love of hard work, love of community, love of country, and love of God (Dillon, 42). However, It’s a Wonderful Life magnifies these ideas in a way that is almost unavoidable. Considering the unpopularity of the film when it first opened, compared to its growing success over the years, a great deal can be said about our changing society and what we deem important today. Why the film began as a flop and grew to become known as a classic has a great deal to do with the history of the United States, the hardships that each generation faced, and how each generation chose to cope with these
One can learn from Tony’s mistakes. One can learn that family comes first. Society can also learn that taking shortcuts in life sometimes lead to a dead ends with no u-turns. This film showcases the time line of how a drug lord could rise to power from nothing. This film also shows how that same power one gets from becoming a drug lord could be taken at any time. Studying how to analyze a movie has definitely changed my perspective on how I view movies. I actually look at all the detailing in movies. I look at the camera angles and how they affect the scene. I even start to question why the director did not use a different angle for certain shots. By using film theories and criticism one can generate enough ideas in order to understand the movie better. When a film is being captured the director focuses on certain angles and lights to get the meaning of the scene to the audience. Just like everything in life has a meaning, everything in film also has a comparison meaning. This course has widen my intellect on how movies affect our societies. Movies can play a major role in how we act or how laws are even created. Movies has the same power as music. I say movies has the same power because one can look at a movie and want to become whatever he or she saw in the movie. One major skills that I developed in this course is being able to focus. Before this course, I could not focus on anything at all. I was the type to focus on three or
The importance of ethics when making a film is paramount. They exist in the filmmaking world to “govern the conduct [because] no hard and fast rules suffice, (Nichols, 2001). As Bill Nichols has argued, the essential question to consider when making a documentary is “How Should We Treat the People We Film (Nichols, 2001)?” The welfare of the people who participate in the film is vital to recognise because they are “cultural players rather than theatrical performers, (Nichols, 2001)”, they are conveying is real life according to them. Each of their movements and words are not scripted, and are real. A filmmaker is documenting their actual lives because they believe that the value lies in presenting something of interest to themselves and to its audience. It is because of this reality that the issue is much more important because it “adds a level of ethical consideration to documentary that is much less prominent in fiction filmmaking, (Nichols, 2001).” People are portraying their real selves and are not masked by a personality that has been asked of them to depict by a director. What must also be considered is how attending to the ethics of filmmaking is the benefits that it holds for the filmmakers and the audience. “Ethica...