Analysis Storytelling has been an essential part of the human spirit for as long as history can see. From the very beginning, there are paintings on the walls of the caves of early man; stories, telling of brave hunts and harsh winters. From there, stories have evolved; retold across generation after generation, moving from paintings to spoken word to books, and finally, and recently, to film. There is just something about a good story that is essentially captivating to us as people, and we keep searching for more. In today’s scene of storytellers, the major studios of hollywood, it is a certainty that some old stories will be retold. Films like Interstellar need to draw in viewers again and again in order to make things work, and pathos …show more content…
Viewers need to be able to feel the same emotions they feel to the characters on screen, and in order for those emotions to be possible, a connection must be made. For a film like Interstellar, a major summer blockbuster, the target audience is not specific. In order to achieve success, every viewer from every background must appreciate and feel like a part of the scene. This is accomplished by creating protagonists, Cooper and Murph, who are simple, honest, hard-working American farmers, who have the ability to become heroes. Seeing Cooper as just a worker, struggling with family issues that everyone faces, allows the audience to feel closer to the setting of the film; they feel as if they could be sitting in the farmhouse with him. As the main character is a realistic representation of an average American worker, the audience connects more deeply and sympathizes with him immediately. Right from the beginning, Interstellar seems familiar, establishing goodwill, and setting up viewers for more of the pathos they are going to be seeing …show more content…
As he is preparing for his fateful launch, a complicated emotional continuum is laid out. On the one hand, Cooper feels a strong sense of guilt for abandoning his family, especially Murph, or earth. Losing a parent or family member is an especially real and painful situation for many of us, so, due to the goodwill established earlier, those in the movie theaters feel that same pain in their hearts. Scenes of screaming fights and tears being shed, set to a tragic, melancholy score, only deepen that feeling of pain and anger. One of the final views shown as Cooper takes off into the unknown abyss of space, is that of Murph, a daughter losing her father, gazing teary-eyed into the night sky. Even with the grand scale of her father’s mission, out to save humanity, the audience is still left with an aching twinge of guilt, much like Cooper
Neill, Alex. “Empathy and (Film) Fiction.” Philosophy of film and motion pictures : an anthology. Ed. Noel Carrol and Jinhee Choi. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing, 2006. 247-259. Print.
The Storytelling Animal is an expository non-fiction book by Jonathan Gottschall analyzing the history of stories and human’s attraction to them. It was published in 2012 and thus contains many up-to-date references and comparisons. I believe Gottschall’s main objective in writing this book is to bring us all to the conclusion that he has reached in his research. Throughout the entirety of his book, Gottschall effectively pulls us back to main ideas he wants us to understand and accept, that we are innately storytelling animals, that are addicted to stories ourselves, have always been and will always be, by using topics that build upon one another, using relatable examples, and supporting arguments with research and studies.
The Mission: Impossible theme has been around since 1966, it was used for the TV show Mission Impossible. Since then it has been covered by numerous artists, and remade by Larry Mullen, Jr and Adam Clayton from the famous rock band U2 to use in the soundtrack to the Mission: Impossible movies. It’s one of the most recognizable soundtracks pieces in movie history. The Mission: Impossible theme was originally composed by Lalo Schifrin, he has written over 100 pieces for other soundtracks, he is 83 years old. When it was first released it peaked No. 41 on the Billboard Hot 100, and when the remade version came out it peaked No. 7.
Seeing something through a different perspective, even as something as frivolous about an alien spaceship crashing to Earth and the way the aliens and humans have to adapt, grow, and learn to live together in a buddy-cop movie setting, can change a person’s view on the subject. While it was intended to be a comedy with a deeper meaning perhaps the viewers went away laughing, but also realizing the depth in the
Science fiction writing began in the early 1800’s as a reaction to the growth of science and technology. The genre is characterized by its intellectual excitement, high adventure, and its making of the fantastic possible. Due to the nature of science fiction, film has become an essential part of its popularity. Science fiction films have been popular since the earliest silent clips because of the outlandish visuals and creative fictional story lines that capture an audience’s attention. Under the guise of this popular platform, writers relay political, social and philosophical messages to their audience.
The motives and reliability of the storyteller are automatically in question.” Looking at narrative in cinema the aim of this essay will be to examine and define the treatment of the past and present in different narrative art forms. I will be comparing the film “Edward Scissorhands” (1990) directed by Tim Burton, the advertisement for the Metz schnapps-based alcoholic drink by Bacardi, “The Judderman" (2000) and the videogame “The Darkness” (2007) developed by Starbreeze Studios and published by 2K. The events have already 'happened' so to speak. Someone is telling the story about the past but it is playing out in front of the audience in the present. One of the earliest examples of the story within a story concept in cinema dates from 1952 with the American musical comedy film Singin’ in the Rain directed by Gene Kelly.
What does it mean to say, I am the same person since my birth? This is an interesting topic that is brought up in the movie Memento. In this paper I will examine the story line of the movie, and examine whether psychological or physical continuity theory can be used to argue that Leonard remained the same person throughout the movie.
I think movies should illuminate new stories" (Francis Ford Coppola). Not a lot of people appreciate classic movies anymore. It's all about making money instead. Hollywood is not always as successful as they were the first time, be that as it may, they still try to make as much profit as they did with the first films. Another good example is Finding Nemo
Films have a successful universal story that represents different kinds of people in American society. You may feel you are only average, and not much of an interesting person to even share a story about your life but, “We live the same stories, whether they involve the search for fulfillment, going after an ideal, achieving a dream, or hunting for a precious treasure” (Seger 334) we all live, and share a similar life experience. These hero stories we can relate to break down into different categories because everyone is different, however we all have a story that defines us. Myths which are stories that involve people living more than a life of a common folk, but live a more intense life with a destiny that determines the fate of their world.
The word “uncanny” has no singular, correct definition to it. It could mean a multitude of things and can be achieved through various techniques outlined by Sigmund Freud. In volume XVII of The Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud, Freud gives many definitions of the word “uncanny” and writes the various mechanisms to achieve an uncanny effect. One such mechanism occurs when the imaginary becomes reality. This technique is showcased in the movie Inception made in 2010 and directed by Christopher Nolan. By blurring the lines between imagination and reality, Nolan is able to pique the viewer’s interests, which causes them to become more invested into the movie.
A set of practices concerning the narrative structure compose the classical Hollywood Paradigm. These conventions create a plot centering around a character who undergoes a journey in an attempt to achieve some type of goal (). By giving the central character more time on screen, the film helps the audience to not only understand the character’s motivation but also empathize with his/her emotional state. Additionally, some antagonistic force creates conflict with the main character, preventing immediate success(). Finally, after confronting the antagonist, the main character achieves his or her goal along with growing emotionally(). This proven structure creates a linear and relatively easily followed series of events encompassing the leading character and a goal.
Storytelling throughout the existence of mankind has evolved to take many forms. At first storytelling was a series of black smothered lines and shapes on the limestone walls of a cave that told of a hunt. It then became intricately carved reliefs on the walls of a temple that boasted the divine power of a pharaoh. In more modern times, animation has taken the place of those ancient mediums and it has captivated the audience’s attention ever than before, through the advent of moving, lifelike pictures. Unfortunately, not all animations are well in depth and tell a unique story. So many have been produced for the sake of money, that the story itself has been watered down just like the soda from a machine. So many animators think they can get
“The Mission” is based on a true story that occurred around the borderlands of Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil in the years 1750’s according to the film and history. The Treaty of Madrid of 1750 with the Spanish and Portuguese caused both havoc and death for the people of the Guarini and the members of the Jesuits. The Jesuits, members of the church, tried to bring Christianity and civilization to the natives while keeping at peace with Spain and Portugal. The Jesuits were the teachers for the natives; Teaching them not only the Christian religion but also civilization. Father Gabriel, a Jesuit, is first introduced in the film when he is showing his respects to a former Jesuit priest killed by the natives. He walks through the South American
“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.
The storytelling technique made use by Cameron in the film Titanic is special because history and fiction is inculcated within the plot. For example, Cameron made use of the history of RMS Titanic as the main plot of the film. But he was aware of the fact that mere history of a cruise ship will not satisfy the global viewers. So, he decided to inculcate fiction and romance to the main plot. Parisi (1998), states that “Cameron’s gift was to create a unique moviegoing experience, one audiences couldn’t get from any other film” (202). One can easily identify that inculcation of fiction and romance is helpful...