The Reasons Behind the Popularity of Action Films
In this essay I am going to explore the conventions of action films
and their popularity. People love action films, and when they go to
see one there are conventions you would expect to see in the film All
plots of action films are based on the same outline, Hero and villain
meet, there's a disruption of order, and mission, then everything is
sorted out when the villain dies and everything returns to normal.
There are Stock characters that you expect to see in this genre of
film, the hero, the villain and two attractive ladies. The main action
is around a male hero, however, modern films have featured female
heroines for example Angelina Jolie in 'Tomb Raider'. If the hero is
male he is always good looking, intelligent, brave, chauvinistic, and
manages to escape from life threatening situations, however the hero
will always have a weakness, and if the hero is male the weakness is
normally women. If it is a female heroine then she will be really
attractive, big breasted, and quite feminine. The evil villain is
normally ugly, and greedy. The hero and villain have gunfights and
chases (featuring a variety of vehicles). One of the females is a
seductress, who works for the villain, she has to be attractive. The
other female plays the heroes love interest; she also needs to be
attractive.
Action films contain lots of physical stunts, chase scenes, rescues,
fights, humour, destructive disaster (Explosions, floods, fires,
natural hazards), escapes, and non-stop action. People expect the
stunts when they come to see an action film, because the stunts and
fights are what make the film so popular. Action films are normally
set in either popular cities or glamorous islands.
I watched a film to see if it fitted the expectations of what id
expect from a typical action film, the film I watched was twister.
Twister doesn't fit the expectations of an action film entirely, it is
different to what I would expect from an action film, however it does
A female in film noir is typically portrayed in one of two ways; she’s either a dependable, trustworthy, devoted, and loving woman, or she’s a manipulative, predatory, double crossing, and unloving temptress. Noir labels the cold hearted and ruthless woman archetype as a Femme Fatale. A femme fatale is walking trouble, and she’s aware of it. This woman is gorgeous, refined, eloquent, and commands the attention of any room she’s in. When the femme fatale desires something, she pursues it. If there’s an obstacle in her way, she overcomes it. If she can’t handle it herself, all she needs to do it bat her eyelashes and the nearest man is all too willing to take care of it for her. In essence, the most dangerous thing about the femme fatale is her
Due to the impressionable essence of the audience, the film’s message has a responsibility as it will leave an impact on the viewership. The film Stagecoach (1939) was a Western film which essentially spoke to generations of men seeking a model of manhood grounded in bravery, moral violence, and independence; whereas with the women characters, they represented civilization and domestication” (Dr Nance week 3). The reception of the audience was positive; the film thrived in society as it came out at a time where the Great Depression saw a time of family breakdown and disillusionment of the American Dream (Dr Nance week 3). Essentially, the dark aspects and the gendered representations resonated with the audience as it was relevant to their own lives. The impact of this film, however, can come from the desensitization to violence in society. Another example can be from the film King Kong and the representation of the ‘damsel in distress’ trope of a woman needing to be saved. Although it generated an overall popular response, the detrimental effects comes from the domestic imbalance and influence it had on
From the discussion above, it can be established there is a correlation between traditional and current films. For instance, the roles of the main characters in the film are developed throughout the film, just as in the films today. Additionally, the use of animation complements the humorous part of a film. From the love story of Miles and Marylin, it can be deduced that true love overcomes love-for-money. Finally, the protagonist achieves a happy ending whilst the antagonist suffers for his inhumane actions.
Violence is often something people complain about to others. When there is an argument it may come to violence. Movies are causing people to become violent because when heroes in movies use violence to beat up the villains, this shows children violence is okay. The article claims that filmmakers should be blamed by putting violence in their movies. Therefore it is up to the parents to watch over their kids. But in a counter argument it claims that violence in music is okay and that the parents should know their kid’s tolerance to violent scenes.
Before the Second World War began Hollywood’s purpose lied within entertainment for the American people. After the war started, the main focus shifted to wartime propaganda. Film was used to display the war in a way that did not show its true colors—including the censorship of soldier causalities and other negative connotations that are a simple fact of war. There was even a time in which some actors became better known to America than politians. Through films, Hollywood began to make a statement of their anti-Nazi beliefs. They began to make motion pictures for American recruitment into the Army as well as many that supported the war effort, and intended to make other Americans more aware of the war’s effect on the United States, and how people can get involved. Many European countries banned these Hollywood films, as they began to affect not only America but many other countries that were involved in the war as well.
Movies are a new edition in today’s culture. They are a new form of art medium that has arrived in the late 1900s and were a new way to express ideas and viewpoints of the time. A good example of this is the movie The Manchurian Candidate. The movie had a simple plot a man is kidnapped after the Korean war and is hypnotized to work for the communists and take down the U.S. This movie showed the American public’s fear of communism at the time. If a movie like this can easily portray the fears of the American people at the time then it can easily portray stereotypes of gender. There have been thousands of movies where the male protagonist is a rough tough dude but there is one movie that has that stereotype is broken. That movie is none other than Napoleon Dynamite.
Movies. Music. Books. Three forms of entertainment and three things that help to bring people from all walks of life together. The beauty in the art of film, music, and books is something that is recognized across the world. I believe entertainment composes our world. Entertainment serves as a distraction to people and the realities of everyday life. Entertainment is universal which is one of the reasons that it composes our world. I have been lucky enough to be able to see these three elements bring people of all different cultures and backgrounds together.
portrayed as the “femme fatale” and also “mother,” the “seductress” and at the same time
It is no doubt that Martin Scorsese has heavily influenced the emulating of American film making from European influences. He is a prime example of a ‘New Hollywood Cinema’ director, not only from his ethnicity and background, but from his sheer interest in this form
The Golden age of Hollywood marked a time in American films history in which films were produced and distributed at rate never seen before or since. During this period, the film market in America was basically entirely run by 8 major companies. This period would also be known as the American studio years. Within these 8 companies there were two categories of power that each major studio system fell into. The big 5 consisted of studios that functioned as vertical integrated which meant that they produce film, distribute films, and they own theater chains. The 5 studios in this category were Paramount, MGM, 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros, and RKO. Then we have the big little 3, which was composed of Columbia, Universal, and United Artist. They were called the big little 3 because these companies either distributed or made films but they did not on movie theaters, so they had a lot less power. The studio era was not only largely controlled big studio companies, but also by various amounts of expectations and assumptions about hoe movies should be made, what kinds of stars should be on different kinds of films, and a need to acknowledge the ordinary conventions of society
Sport Industry and Film industry are both highly developed in America. As a result of that, putting sport elements into movies is a good way to maximum the effect of entertainment. As an international students, though sometimes there is language barrier, it is still a great honor to have opportunities to watch considerable good sport films this semester. While I enjoyed the wonderful exciting stories, the American value system, especially the value of success, always impressed me deeply. In China, people are always talking about and eulogizing American Dream, which is defined as a belief that, in the United States, truly anyone can make it. That is to say, American Dream is that everyone can achieve the success. However, what is the value of success in American value system? It is hard to give a highly condensed answer, yet it is always around in almost every American sport films.
Women have made progress in the film industry in terms of the type of role they play in action films, although they are still portrayed as sex objects. The beginning of “a new type of female character” (Hirschman, 1993, pg. 41-47) in the world of action films began in 1976 with Sigourney Weaver, who played the leading role in the blockbuster film ‘Aliens’ as Lt. Ellen Ripley. She was the captain of her own spaceship, plus she was the one who gave out all the orders. Until then, men had always been the ones giving the orders; to see a woman in that type of role was outlandish. This was an astonishing change for the American industry of film. Sometime later, in 1984, Linda Hamilton starred in ‘The Terminator’, a film where she was not the leading character, but a strong female character as Sarah Connor. She had a combination of masculine and feminine qualities as “an androgynous superwoman, resourceful, competent and courageous, while at the same time caring, sensitive and intuitive” (Hirschman, 1993, pg. 41-47). These changes made in action films for female’s roles stirred up a lot of excitement in the “Western society” (Starlet, 2007). The demand for strong female characters in action films grew to a new high when Angelina Jolie starred in ‘Tomb Raider’ in 2001 and then in the sequel, ‘Tomb Raider II: The Cradle of Life’ in 2003 as Lara Croft. Her strong female character was not only masculine, but was also portrayed as a sex object. Most often, strong women in these types of films tend to fight without even gaining a mark. At the end of each fight, her hair and makeup would always be perfect. The female characters in these action films, whether their role was as the lead character or a supporting character, had similar aspects. I...
Imagine, a man just got shot in the chest and his blood is pouring out like water from a faucet. The killer pulls out a knife to finish his work and violently stabs his victim to death. Why would anyone want to see this? The fact is, many people do want to see violent movies, and this has been proven with their high ratings at the box office. Whether people use these violent movies to release their daily frustrations, to see the danger involved in watching them, or the special effects, people want to watch violent movies.
...ality because everyone should have equal to do what they want. Popular culture spread the idea of nautaral which changed the position of female in the univeral. Women' knowlegdes and abilities seem to have rise a lot compare with 1990s. Woman would be a successful businessman, worker, fireman and so on. As mass media become the most important part of communication in the earth, the most infusive part to affect human's attitudes is the domestic or romantic drama. It spread the different concepts to the families, neighbors, friends etc by the interaction between them. Movie heroes are not spread one single-minded nowadays, the gender and sexuality of people or hero should all be equal.
The representation of violence exacted upon women in cinema is inextricable from being projected upon all women. To provide a scene that objectifies the female is to reduce the feminine form to its non-dual state, e.g., a sexual object providing a vessel for male gratification (hubris and sexual) rather then being defined by its duality of sentient and physical forms. Those who construct scenes of violence against women are bound to a moral responsibility to subjectify the woman’s perspective, thus reestablishing the female as a victim rather then an object and rendering the act of violence intelligible (deplorable, open to interpretation).