This essay explores Wes Anderson as an auteur director and how race and class are dealt with in his work. The narrative and unqiue hybrid genre of Rushmore will also be discussed. Wes Anderson is certainly an auteur filmmaker. An auteur is someone who has creative authority over a project and gives it their own unique style or theme. Like Anderson, who directs and writes all of his films, auteurs are often hyphenates. Anderson is constant in his visual approach, to which his second motion picture Rushmore is no exception. It has Anderson’s signature symmetrical and wide angle shots throughout. One of his distinctive slow motion shots emerge when Max comes on stage after the debut of ‘Serpico’ and at the end of the film. Orgeron points out that …show more content…
For example, Max’s Beret in Rushmore and Suzy’s records in Moonrise Kingdom. This could be because of the inpiration he takes from French New Wave films. Thomas (2012, p97-117) suggests “these are designed to evoke the cultural memories of Generation X spectators”. The story of Anderson’s films are often centred around dysfunctional, white, middle or upper class families. Though Rushmore isn’t about a middle class family, it is about a boy from a working class background trying to find a family and fit into the middle/ upper class he is surrounded with. Dean-Ruzicka (2013, p 25-40) understands that “Max lies to make sure it seems as though he comes from the right class to fit in at Rushmore, trying to keep up his position and whiteness.” Instead of admitting his father is a barber, he pretends he is as wealthy and privileged as “the rich boys” (Murray, B., Rushmore, 1998). Many of the recurring themes in Anderson’s films are inspired by the director’s own life. His parents got divorced when he was young (a plot point in The Royal Tenenbaums and The Darjeeling Limited), he misbehaved in school to cope with problems at home (this inspired Moonrise Kingdom, The Royal Tenenbaums and Rushmore), he attended private school (part of Rushmore was actually shot at the school Anderson attended), and at school Anderson became known for his elaberate play productions (like Max in Rushmore). …show more content…
Propp’s plot theory is compatible with the storyline as Max has a ‘lack’ of academic success and love. Then, he goes on a ‘quest’ to win Cross’s heart. He does not encounter a ‘helper’ but he meets Blume, who at the beginning does help Max. Max faces ‘tests’ in the form of Cross’s rejection, his expulsion and Blume and Cross’s affair. There are two evident binary opposites (theorised by Levi-Strauss) in Rushmore. Youth is a apparent theme, and this contrasted against the old. For example, Max vs. Blume or Max vs. Dr. Guggenheim. Another binary opposition is the private school of Rushmore and Grover Cleveland High (the school Max moves to after he is expelled). (WRITE ABOUT RACE AND CLASS). Some of Propp’s character functions directly relate to characters in Rushmore, for instance, Max is the hero, despite him being an unlikable protagonist much of the film is from his perspective. Rosemary Cross is the princess as Max and Blume are in competition for her affections. Dirk Calloway is undoubtedly the helper as he assissts Max consistently. The donor could be Margret as she gives Max the motivation to go back to school and reconcile with Blume and Cross. Dr. Guggenheim, the headmaster of Rushmore, can be seen as the dispatcher because he puts Max on academic probation, which kickstarts the storyline. The villain in Rushmore is less clear, some might say it is Blume as him and Max are in competition
In the film industry, there are directors who merely take someone else’s vision and express it in their own way on film, then there are those who take their own visions and use any means necessary to express their visions on film. The latter of these two types of directors are called auteurs. Not only do auteurs write the scripts from elements that they know and love in life, but they direct, produce, and sometimes act in their films as well. Three prime examples of these auteurs are: Kevin Smith, Spike Lee and Alfred Hitchcock.
...ormation of novel to film, sees Hitchcock’s responsibility as auteur. Suggesting Hitchcock as ‘creator’, attributes to Vertigo’s “perfection” (Wood, p.129) as Wood argues. Stylistic features known classically to Alfred Hitchcock movies is also what defines Hitchcock as a classic auteur, his style generates a cinematic effect which mixes effectively with his use of suspense. In returning to Cook’s discussion, she references Andrew Sarris, who argues that the “history of American cinema could be written in terms of its great directors,” (Cook, p. 411) showing the legitimacy of authorship in popular American cinema. Ultimately Cook goes on to address the changes in authorship from the 1950’s until today, featuring developments in authorship within Cinema. Overall, both Cook and Wood presented a balanced discussion on the legitimacy of Alfred Hitchcock’s auteur status.
There are six main characters in this story: Mark, David, Susan, Jeff, Betsy, and Mr. Griffin. The most influential would be Mark. He is the one who comes up with the plan to kidnap Mr. Griffin. He is not a very good student and has a reputation of being a "bad boy." Next there is David. David is supposed to be one of the better kids in the story. He is a senior who is in the same class as Mark and the other characters. His role in the kidnapping is to get Susan to go along with the plan., and to help with the kidnapping itself. He seems to be a rather good kid in the beginning of the story but he progresses to be one of the bad ones. He has a very stressful home life with his mom and grandma. Then there is Susan. Susan is the good student and kid of the group. She is thought of as unpopular and a geek. She is very bright considering that she is a junior and is taking an English IV class. She is supposed to distract Mr. Griffin by having a meeting with him after school on the day of the event. She then gets pulled into the conflict even further when she wants to go to the police when Mr. Griffin dies. She almost gets
The Birth of a Nation (1915) is one of the most controversial movies ever made in Hollywood, some people even consider it the most controversial movie in the long history of Hollywood. Birth of a Nation focuses on the Stoneman family and their friendship with the Cameron’s which is put into question due to the Civil War, and both families being on different sides. The whole dysfunction between the families is carried out through important political events such as: Lincoln’s assassination, and the birth of the Ku Klux Kan. D.W. Griffith is the director of the movie, and him being born into a confederate family in the South, the movie portrays the South as noble and righteous men, who are fighting against the evil Yankees from the North, who have black union soldiers among them, whom overtake the town of Piedmont, which leads the KKK to take action and according to the movie become the savior of white supremacy. During this essay, I would focus on the themes of racial inequality, racism, and the archetypical portrayal of black people in the movie, which are significant especially during the era when the film was released.
Over the course of approximately one-hundred years there has been a discernible metamorphosis within the realm of African-American cinema. African-Americans have overcome the heavy weight of oppression in forms such as of politics, citizenship and most importantly equal human rights. One of the most evident forms that were withheld from African-Americans came in the structure of the performing arts; specifically film. The common population did not allow blacks to drink from the same water fountain let alone share the same television waves or stage. But over time the strength of the expectant black actors and actresses overwhelmed the majority force to stop blacks from appearing on film. For the longest time the performing arts were the only way for African-Americans to express the deep pain that the white population placed in front of them. Singing, dancing and acting took many African-Americans to a place that no oppressor could reach; considering the exploitation of their character during the 1930's-1960's acting' was an essential technique to African American survival.
Max is an extreme mathematical genius yet suffers from social phobias and mental illnesses, which make daily life complicated and to top it off he is constantly trying to make sense of the work through balancing equations.
The Shining (1980), directed by Stanley Kubrick, tells the story of one family’s demise at the hands of a hotel. This film is often analyzed for its commentary on gender, capitalism, sexual repression, cinematography, and race. This paper will focus on race in The Shining in order to better understand the scene of Dick Hallorann’s murder.
Meneghetti, Michael. “Review: Ellis Cashmore (2009) Martin Scorsese’s America.” Film Philosophy 14.2 (2010). 161-168. Web. 6 Apr. 2014
Being one of the few black students to attend Tisch School of the Arts, the aspiring filmmaker’s first year at New York University was a particularly difficult one. Lee’s experiences, race, and upbringing have all led him to create controversial films to provide audiences with an insight into racial issues. Spike Lee’s first student production, The Answer, was a short ten minute film which told of a young black screenwriter who rewrote D.W. Griffith’s The Birth of a Nation. The film was not well accepted among the faculty at New York University, stating Lee had not yet mastered “film grammar.” Lee went on to believe the faculty took offense to his criticisms towards the respected director’s stereotypical portrayals of black characters (1).
The first social issue portrayed through the film is racial inequality. The audience witnesses the inequality in the film when justice is not properly served to the police officer who executed Oscar Grant. As shown through the film, the ind...
The Analysis of Quentin Tarantino as a Director The director I have chosen to look at is Quentin Tarantino. His films have achieved a cult ang global status and I dont think anyone is going to argue that he is not an auteur. I am more interested in examining his style and seeing how this makes him an auteur and if it has changed when he was receiving a higher budget. Tarantino was born in Noxville Tennessee on 27th march 1963. Tony
Think about your favorite movie. When watching that movie, was there anything about the style of the movie that makes it your favorite? Have you ever thought about why that movie is just so darn good? The answer is because of the the Auteur. An Auteur is the artists behind the movie. They have and individual style and control over all elements of production, which make their movies exclusively unique. If you could put a finger on who the director of a movie is without even seeing the whole film, then the person that made the movie is most likely an auteur director. They have a unique stamp on each of their movies. This essay will be covering Martin Scorsese, you will soon find out that he is one of the best auteur directors in the film industry. This paper will include, but is not limited to two of his movies, Good Fellas, and The Wolf of Wall Street. We will also cover the details on what makes Martin Scorsese's movies unique, such as the common themes, recurring motifs, and filming practices found in their work. Then on
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 White Savior Complex is a damaging subconscious underlay of the Hollywood system, and more broadly all of western society. It is used to further separate the notions of “us” and “other” by creating a firm separation fueled by self-righteousness, and a sense of entitlement. Hollywood attempts to address race relations, but fails because of this trope. Kingsle, from the article “Does My Hero Look White In This?” described that both racism and colonialism are acknowledged, but not without reassuring that not only were white people against the system of racist power dynamics, but also were actively fighting against it in leadership roles (2013). In the remainder of my essay I will be commenting on many modern films and their use on this trope, and why subscribing to this filmmaking strategy is problematic.
In the Following essay I will explore and develop an analysis of how the movie Twelve Years A Slave produces knowledge about the racial discourse. To support my points, I will use “The Poetics and the Politics of Exhibiting Other Cultures” written by Henrietta Lidchi, a Princeton University text “Introduction: Development and the Anthropology of Modernity” and “Can the Subaltern Speak?” by Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak.