Art influences life and life influences art, film is no exception to this rule. Films like Zootopia, 2016 break down barriers, allowing the audience to reflect on the social issues taking place around them. Zootopia follows Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde as they investigate a series of missing animal cases, which leads to a larger case where someone is framing predators to appear rogue, pitting the society against them. The film explores racial and gender equality issues through an anthropomorphic world. This is not unlike those that came before it such as Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, 1967 which tackled race issues or Legally Blonde, 2001 which dealt with feminism issues. Through film, audiences can zero in on a character and observe how they
Zootopia breaks down barriers because Judy breaks them down. Judy is the first bunny to attend the police academy and join the force. She is seen as incapable and cute. When Chief Bongo assigns her 100 tickets by the end of the day, Judy doesn’t get defeated, she aims to get 200 tickets before lunch. No matter what people think of her she wants to prove them wrong, that she is just as capable as anyone else. Elle, like Judy proves that while people may see you one way you can be whatever you set your mind to. This message was heard throughout the ‘90s and early 2000s were a time when the girl power movement flooded mainstream media, so it’s fitting that Legally Blonde paved the way for the Judys of the
These films may have also got caught up in promoting their message against the prejudice their main character(s) face. This narrow focus on an issue in a specific situation cannot apply to all, however is effective in influencing the audience. Art influences life and life influences art, film is no exception to this rule. With films like Zootopia, we see that the social issue of a time period influences the filmmakers. Life's influence is also seen in the imperfections because as humans it’s sometimes difficult to look outside of our own situation or that of our main character. Art influences life when it starts a conversation about prejudices, the audience is impacted to continue the
Furthermore, the films themselves were more often than not, directed at certain sections of society, for example women, immigrants and the youth. This often aided in attracting such sections of society to the cinema.
Now here's a controversial one - the portrayal of homosexuals and the ravages of AIDS in the movies. How exactly does a machine like Hollywood, not exactly known for its subtlety, cover subjects like these? Does it make a gritty, realistic adult portrayal of the issues at hand? Or does it make a soft-hearted and ultimately dishonest plea for acceptance? Take a guess.
Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club and Pretty in Pink have more in common than Molly Ringwald. Stereotypes, different economic backgrounds, and feminism all have some part in these 80’s teen films. The themes are all the same, rich vs poor, popular or unpopular and changing yourself to fit into the ‘norm’.
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.
One could easily dismiss movies as superficial, unnecessarily violent spectacles, although such a viewpoint is distressingly pessimistic and myopic. In a given year, several films are released which have long-lasting effects on large numbers of individuals. These pictures speak
Now, back to Monty Python, in this sketch the scientists are highly flawed research, and produce ridicules amounts of errors yet the result is the takeover of the penguins. In the animal film industry films are produced to make money, these films rely on enticing the most people. To do that they create their own themes, forms, and images to do this, these have at this time become so engrained in the way that people perceive film which does not have these elements would seem wrong. At the end of the day the primary motive of filmmakers are to make money, yet through their themes they reinforce and recreate the values of society, to me it seems as flawed and ridiculous a system to show society's values as much as the science that lead to penguin domination was highly flawed.
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.
She allows the reader to identify with her by pointing out that she “went to the zoo all the time with [her] family” and that she “loved pandas” (Carr); the reader identifies with her, as the reader is likely to have visited the zoo as a child or likely to have a love for animals. Initially, she was very excited about seeing the animals so closely, but then she realized, even at that age, the “animals were miserable” (Carr). By telling the reader about her memory, Carr persuades the reader into believing that zoos are depressing and that animals do not belong in unnatural environments. Carr also mentions that she no longer goes to the zoo and urges her family and friends to do the same. The author then adds that she has a love for animals and wishes for the zoo animals to be set free. Again, by involving loved ones and reinforcing her love for animals, Carr appeals to the emotions of the reader. The reader is then likely to identify with the author, urge his or her family members and friends to not go to the zoo, and wish to see animals free from captivity. Therefore, Carr persuades the reader into believing that zoos are wicked by using the persuasive method of pathos. Along with Carr appealing to the reader’s emotions, she appeals to the reader’s
Film and literature are two media forms that are so closely related, that we often forget there is a distinction between them. We often just view the movie as an extension of the book because most movies are based on novels or short stories. Because we are accustomed to this sequence of production, first the novel, then the motion picture, we often find ourselves making value judgments about a movie, based upon our feelings on the novel. It is this overlapping of the creative processes that prevents us from seeing movies as distinct and separate art forms from the novels they are based on.
Movies, TV programs have been a major part of our life entertainment, as watching films in the cinema or on the living room couch with friends or families at leisure, while actually, the impact that the movies and TV programs have on this society has already reached further than just entertainment. Some people might conceive that the movies are just made for divertissement, which should not be taken seriously, and that a movie needs stereotyped characters to make it looks interesting, representative, and attractive. However, the fact is a diametrically opposite that the so-called entertainment media is exactly molding people’s mind and attitude towards social issues and towards the
Zootopia (Byron Howard Rich Moore 2016) is an extremely successful film about a bunny named Judy. Within the film there are many direct and obvious themes, but a more implicit theme that I found while watching was, Our preconceived fears about certain groups as a society are directly reflected in Zootopia. I will be using the formal elements: camera angle, camera distance, and sound to argue my point. In the scene I will be analyzing, Judy just finished her press conference and claimed that all predators were savages. She gets off the podium and has an encounter with her friend, Nick, who is a predator. He is mad that Judy made this general statement about predators. Nick scares Judy and acts as though he has
and many more. These films have shaped the behaviors and characters of both the feminine and masculine species in the society.
Feminism is a movement that supports women equality within society. In relation to film, feminism is what pushes the equal representation of females in mainstream films. Laura Mulvey is a feminist theorist that is famous for touching on this particular issue of how men and women are represented in movies. Through her studies, she discovered that many films were portraying men and women very differently from reality. She came up with a theory that best described why there is such as huge misrepresentation of the social status quos of male and female characters. She believed that mainstream film is used to maintain the status quo and prevent the realization of gender equality. This is why films are continuously following the old tradition that males are dominant and females are submissive. This is the ideology that is always present when we watch a movie. This is evident in the films from the past but also currently. It is as if the film industry is still catering to the male viewers of each generation in the same way. Laura Mulvey points out that women are constantly being seen as sexual objects, whether it is the outfits they wear or do not wear or the way they behave, or secondary characters with no symbolic cause. She states that, “in traditional exhibitionist role women are simultaneously looked at and displayed, with their appearance coded for strong visual and erotic impact so that they can be said to connote it-be-looked-at-ness.”(Mulvey pg. 715). Thus, women are nevertheless displayed as nothing more than passive objects for the viewing pleasure of the audience. Mulvey also points out through her research that in every mainstream movie, there is ...
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.
Culture, defined as the art and other manifestations of human intellectual achievement regarded collectively. This can be anything from human’s paintings to their photography. Or, it could be their films. The endless movies that come out year after year, some even simple remakes of ones made years ago. But, even if they are simply remakes, we pay to view almost every last one of them. Movies impact everyone. And doing so impacts, what was defined prior, culture. In society today, the movies bombards teens with images and trends. Movies show popular culture; what the trends are, what people should be wearing, what they should be listening to, how they should act, and what they should look like. Pop culture, in turn, defines what one should