The Lego Movie (Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, USA, 2014) is more than a children’s animated film, it is a film about ideology. It is a film that questions the condition of our existence and the idea that reality is a structured fiction. The Lego Movie’s protagonist must confront his own reality and reshape his existence. The audience is not excluded from participating; The Lego Movie confronts the viewer on their own contribution to societal ideals. The Lego Movie makes us question if we can break free from normative expectations and strive for an authentic and creative life. Often we cannot understand the possibilities that lay outside of our reality. In the case of our protagonist Emmett (Chris Pratt), he doesn’t understand any other way of living until he is violently thrown out of his reality and can see his “standard” from an outsider’s perspective. Not everyone has the opportunity to take a step back and recognize that life has been constructed in a way that keeps them in their place, to sustain a sense of order-- …show more content…
Emmett’s life is literally managed through a construction manual that was created and enforced by Lord Business (Will Ferrell). What happens when Emmett throws away the corrupt how-to guide? His ideology is altered and a new space for endless creative possibilities is introduced. After living in Bricksburg for so long, under Lord Business’ dictatorship, Emmett is left somewhat empty-minded, but this leaves room for many new thoughts to originate. As Emmett spends more time away from Bricksburg and experiences new places, like Cloud Cuckoo Land--which is completely self-governed, his self awareness begins to develop and expand. Now that there are no limitations placed on Emmett’s creativity, he can recognize the power of his unique ideas and his ability to help rebuild the oppressive society he lives
This story gives the readers the feeling of ambitions. There might be some misguided individuals out there that have an similar lifestyle to McCall and reading this book would potentially help them seek desire for success. Growing up McCall had intentions of being different. For instance, while he was in prison he recalled back to the time he study so hard for Mr. Brown test. Even his parents knew he was different because out of everyone around his neighborhood he was the only one who attended a white school. Then when he attended a black school he wanted to learned, but got caught in society. Prison was a good place for him because to occupy his time he start reading and learning. Additionally, prison help him develop a sense of inner discipline and self worth. Gail Jardine stated that “ Makes Me Wanna Holler is a journey not just from degradation to accomplishment, but also from absence to self-determined”. This shows that the book gives the readers more than excitement and the urge to want to keep reading, but also try to find your place in
...s can make a person do unbelievable things. Although he was still an outlaw of society at the end of the book, his status changed immensely. Throughout the novel, he experienced reeducation and rebirth. He became a new man who fought for social amelioration and a better way of life for his people and for all struggling people. Tom learned that a man cannot just look after himself; in the spirit of compassion, he is also obligated to help others.
“More” is a touching, thought-provoking claymation film, directed by Mark Osborne, following the rise of a struggling inventor living in a colorless, monotonous society and working in a factory assembly line, building the same product day in and day out. In a short 6 minutes, the film explores the meaning of true happiness and questions the worth of success as a result of fame and wealth. Mark Osborne’s film proves that achieving innovation and success come at a high personal cost, and one must be willing to make sacrifices in order to catalyze positive change in a community. The films begins with colorful images of children playing on a merry-go-round, which represent memories of the protagonist's lively youth, contrasting the bleak reality
His work in modern media was revolutionary. Moreover, he broadened communication and made it easier to learn about new cultures. Disney’s movies play a vital role in children’s development and their productivity when they enter the “real world”.
I chose to analyze Despicable Me, an animated film geared towards a younger audience, because I was interested in examining underlying theories and messages that this film would be relaying to its viewers. Often times, when watching animated films, children are not aware of these messages, as they are absorbed by the characters, special effects, and humor. But as we have learned throughout this semester, our brains are subconsciously primed by the various surroundings we are exposed to. Since we also studied the impacts of entertainment, such as television and video games, on children, I wanted to see how a popular children’s film might also affect them.
In society today, we are conditioned to believe certain sets of ideals. We use these ideals to interact and get along with the other people we surround ourselves with. These ideals are often the societal norms that form common ground amongst individuals. However, living life based off these basic and unchanging beliefs is not beneficial to humanity, nor does it make life any easier to live. In fact, holding on to the most accepted beliefs holds back society as a whole. Judith Halberstam, in her essay “Animating Revolt and Revolting Animation” challenges these societal norms through the analysis of animated movies and, in doing so, carves a path for a new way of thinking.
Concepts are easier to understand when someone feels like they are connecting to someone they have things in common with, which is exactly what this novel does. I, for one, was always interested in the novel and constantly wanted to continue reading. He goes through the struggles of deciding who he wants to be and who he is. He lived on a reservation with his family and attended the school there.
Presently, Disney known for its mass media entertainment and amusement parks technically bring warm feelings to many children and some adults. Personally, Disney elicits magical fantasies that children enjoy and further encourages imagination and creativity. For decades Disney has exist as an unavoidable entity with its famous global sensation and reach. Furthermore, Disney is a multibillion dollar empire with an unlimited grasp on individuals and territories. An empire per se, since they own many media outlets, markets, shops, etc., you name it they got it. However, the film Mickey Mouse Monopoly presents an entirely new perspective on the presumed innocence projected in Disney films. This film exposes certain traits Disney employs and exclusively portrays through its media productions, specifically cartoons for directing and nurturing influence beginning with children. Mickey Mouse Monopoly points out camouflaged messages of class, race, and gender issues in Disney films that occur behind the scenes intended to sway viewers towards adopting Disney values.
This is a series of scenes from the original Robocop film. Throughout the film there are multiple scenes in which a fictional media forecast is given and a series of fictional advertisements are also shown. While some aspects of these scenes connect back to the films story, there are multiple parts that seem arbitrary. If one looks more closely however, they will find that these scenes are coded with a lot more meaning that goes beyond the films plot. Robocop is known for being a fantastic action flick, but beneath the surface of this is a satire that makes fun of a lot of aspects about American life and culture which is also what makes the film so enjoyable.
The 2009 film “Precious”, based on the novel “Push” by Sapphire, tells the tragic story of sixteen-year-old Claireece Precious Jones; an overweight, illiterate who is now pregnant with her second child. Her life at home is a complete nightmare; her mother, Mary, verbally, emotionally and physically abuses her daily. Her father, Carl, molested her on multiple occasions and impregnated her twice then disappeared. Precious was kicked out of public school and took an offer to attend an alternative school where she meets her inspirational teacher Miss Blu Rain. Precious begins to believe in herself and prepares herself for her future. She becomes engaged in class and learns how to read and write; she was called stupid and dummy all her life and
Toy Story is the groundbreaking 1995 motion picture developed by Disney and Pixar and directed by John Lasseter. The film was so revolutionary not only because it was the first feature length animation to be created completely by CGI (Computer Generated Imagery) but also, also the film was more rounded in all respects. The characters not only looked more sophisticated and three-dimensional but their personalities were also more human and fewer cartoons like. The film uses a constructed text in order to put across a theme of two very different characters learning to work together beyond their rivalries to rise above a common enemy and work towards a common goal. The film uses characters and imagery very cleverly to portray this theme. The music used in the film is also different to other Disney features. Rather than the characters bursting into song themselves as in Aladdin or Hercules, the songs are played and sung by an outside person (Randy Newman) and reflect the mood and emotions of the characters in a particular scene. For example, the title sequence song “Friend in Me”, when Woody and Andy are playing together, and the scene where Andy’s room has been made over to a Buzz Lightyear theme, “Strange Things” where the song reflects Woody’s confusion and fear not only about the change in his surroundings but also the change in his friends and his own character and self-confidence. The attention to the smallest detail for example the reflections in Buzz’s visor give the film even more realism and depth. The use of unusual and imaginative camera angles, made possible by the use of CGI, also adds to the texture and pace of the film.
One of the biggest challenges that Christy had to face was to interact socially with others. Mr. Brown kept young Christy hidden from the insensitive stares and comments made from the people living in the community. People would constantly make rude remarks about Christy while him being present to him them. They would talk about how he was a burden to his mother when blaming him for when she fell down the stairs and that there was no way for him to kick a ball to earn a goal. The audience grows empathy toward Christy as we watch how society underestimates and looks down on him while he is unable to defend or speak up for himself. As the film progresses, Christy grow...
Throughout the story, the boy went through a variety of changes that will pose as different themes of the story including alienation, transformation, and the meaning of religion. The themes of this story are important to show the growth of the young boy into a man. Without alienation, he wouldn't have understand the complexity of his feelings and learned to accept faults. With transformation, he would have continued his boyish games and wouldn't be able to grow as a person and adolescence. And finally, without understanding the religious aspects of his life, he would go on pretending he is somebody that he's not. He wouldn't understand that there is inconsistency between the real and ideal life (Brooks et al.).
“Entertainment has to come hand in hand with a little bit of medicine, some people go to the movies to be reminded that everything’s okay. I don’t make those kinds of movies. That, to me, is a lie. Everything’s not okay.” - David Fincher. David Fincher is the director that I am choosing to homage for a number of reasons. I personally find his movies to be some of the deepest, most well made, and beautiful films in recent memory. However it is Fincher’s take on story telling and filmmaking in general that causes me to admire his films so much. This quote exemplifies that, and is something that I whole-heartedly agree with. I am and have always been extremely opinionated and open about my views on the world and I believe that artists have a responsibility to do what they can with their art to help improve the culture that they are helping to create. In this paper I will try to outline exactly how Fincher creates the masterpieces that he does and what I can take from that and apply to my films.
Movies take us inside the skin of people quite different from ourselves and to places different from our routine surroundings. As humans, we always seek enlargement of our being and wanted to be more than ourselves. Each one of us, by nature, sees the world with a perspective and selectivity different from others. But, we want to see the world through other’s eyes; imagine with other’s imaginations; feel with other’s hearts, at a same time as with our own. Movies offer us a window onto the wider world, broadening our perspective and opening our eyes to new wonders.