Although not entirely uncritical in its portrayal of race, L.A. Confidential further
cements white as the “invisible norm” in film. The film makes a few points about police
racism and white—specifically Anglo—dominance in the LAPD, but the few critical
points the film makes are limited to the institutions portrayed in the film; the primacy of
whiteness throughout the film itself goes unquestioned. Furthermore, its stereotypical
representations of minorities sabotage any chance the film had to offer criticism of white
hegemony in either its historical setting, 1950s Los Angeles, the late ’90s world in which
it was made, or the universe of noir film. In this essay, I will show how L.A. Confidential
builds up whiteness as the ideal through its treatment of the three protagonists, the femme
fatale Lynn, blacks and Latinos, and whites belonging to minority ethnic groups.
When discussing race and ethnicity in L.A. Confidential, it is important to first
discuss the historical context of the film. Made in 1997, the film takes place in 1950s Los
Angeles, a time and place where police racism was extremely prevalent, as evidenced by
the 1951 “Bloody Christmas” incident dramatized in the film. On “Bloody Christmas,”
seven young prisoners, five of whom were Mexican, were savagely beaten by some fifty
(mostly drunk) Los Angeles police officers in response to false rumors of injuries
sustained by other officers at the hands of the youths. (Escobar, 171.) The incident was
indicative of widespread racism within the all-white police force and is just one of a
number of historical incidents that have caused tension between the LAPD and minority
communities. Although it takes place in the time of “Bloody Chri...
... middle of paper ...
...Spot in the Kaleidoscope: Black Images in American Film.”
The Kaleidoscopic Lens: How Hollywood Views Ethnic Groups. Ed. Randall M. Miller.
Jerome S. Ozer, 1980. p. 15-35.
Dyer, Richard. “White.” New York: Routledge, 1997.
Escobar, Edward J. “Bloody Christmas and the Irony of Police Professionalism: The Los
Angeles Police Department, Mexican Americans, and Police Reform in the 1950s.”
Pacific Historical Review, Vol. 72, No. 2, pages 171-199.
Grant, Judith. “Assault under Color of Authority: Police Corruption as Norm in the
LAPD Rampart Scandal and in Popular Film.” New Political Science 25.3 (Sep. 2003):
385. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Arizona State University library, Tempe, AZ.
16 Mar. 2009
.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=1066530>
Film Noir is a genre of distinct and unique characteristics. Mostly prominent in the 40s and 50s, the genre rarely skewed from the skeletal plot to which all Film Noir pictures follow. The most famous of these films is The Big Sleep (1946) directed by Howard Hawks. This film is the go to when it comes to all the genre’s clichés. This formula for film is so well known and deeply understood that it is often a target for satire. This is what the Coen brothers did with 1998’s The Big Lebowski. This film follows to the T what Film Noir stands for.
L.A Confidential (Curtis Hanson, 1997) is a neo-noir film about a shooting at an all night diner and the three Las Angeles policeman who investigate in their own unique ways. It is based on the book by James Ellroy and after a very well adapted screenplay, won nine academy awards. It starred actors with big names like Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce and Danny Devito, which made it a very high earning film.
L.A. Confidential is a movie of cops that are more corrupt than the criminals they arrest. Throughout the movie Bud White is portrayed to have a personal hatred for women abusers despite becoming enraged and hitting Lynn Bracken. At the beginning of the movie, Bud and two other officers are seen sitting in a car, observing a man beating his wife. Officer White gets out of the car, approaches the house, and then pulls the family’s Christmas decorations from the roof. When the man comes outside to see what is making all the noise is about, Bud White immediately begins to beat him. Afterwards, Bud handcuffs the man to a rail.
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...
She tempted many, even Zeus: “she beguiles even his wise heart . . . mates him with mortal women, unknown to Hera” (Hesiod). The goddess of love, “she was a particular favourite with the city’s many prostitutes but also supervised the sexual life of married women” (Blundell, 1998). To curb her promiscuity, Aphrodite was married to Hephaistos (god of the forge), who cared deeply for her, and made he...
Policing is a very difficult job to do because it can be very misunderstood. The power given to them may make people of minority feel like they are up against the wall and are at a disadvantage because of how they look. But it is still 100% unclear whether racial profiling is a racial bias or the police forces institution policy. Yet multiple of Officers, even those of color unfortunately rely upon this to help them in the duties.
One of the biggest issues depicted in the film is the struggle of minority groups and their experience concerning racial prejudice and stereotyping in America. Examples of racism and prejudice are present from the very beginning of the movie when Officer Ryan pulls over black couple, Cameron and Christine for no apparent reason other than the color of their skin. Officer Ryan forces the couple to get out of the car
The noir style is showcased in Sunset Boulevard with its use of visually dark and uncomfortable settings and camera work, as well as its use of the traditional film noir characters. In addition, the overall tone and themes expressed in it tightly correspond to what many film noirs addressed. What made this film unique was its harsh criticism of the film industry itself, which some of Wilder’s peers saw as biting the hand that fed him. There is frequent commentary on the superficial state of Hollywood and its indifference to suffering, which is still a topic avoided by many in the film business today. However, Sunset Blvd. set a precedent for future film noirs, and is an inspiration for those who do not quite believe what they are being shown by Hollywood.
Sunset Boulevard directed by Billy Wilder in 1950 is based on how Norma Desmond, a huge Hollywood star, deals with her fall from fame. The film explores the fantasy world in which Norma is living in and the complex relationship between her and small time writer Joe Gillis, which leads to his death. Sunset Boulevard is seen as lifting the ‘face’ of the Hollywood Studio System to reveal the truth behind the organisation. During the time the film was released in the 1950s and 60s, audiences started to see the demise of Hollywood as cinema going began to decline and the fierce competition of television almost proved too much for the well established system. Throughout this essay I will discuss how Sunset Boulevard represents the Hollywood Studio System, as well as exploring post war literature giving reasons as to why the system began to crumble.
This demonstrates to us that no matter how much your legal or moral laws are violated, what matters is how you as an individual react to the situation, justly or unjustly. This movie is centered around the notion that if you are a person of ethnic background, that alone is reason for others to forsake your rights, although in the long run justice will prevail
In classical Greek literature the subject of love is commonly a prominent theme. However, throughout these varied texts the subject of Love becomes a multi-faceted being. From this common occurrence in literature we can assume that this subject had a large impact on day-to-day life. One text that explores the many faces of love in everyday life is Plato’s Symposium. In this text we hear a number of views on the subject of love and what the true nature of love is. This essay will focus on a speech by Pausanius. Pausanius’s speech concentrates on the goddess Aphrodite. In particular he looks at her two forms, as a promoter of “Celestial Love” as well as “Common Love.” This idea of “Common Love” can be seen in a real life context in the tragedy “Hippolytus” by Euripides. This brings the philosophical views made by Pausanius into a real-life context.
This was especially evident when they were being pulled over by a racist white cop. She felt that he could have done more to defend their rights instead of accepting injustice. There is also a Persian store owner, who feels that he is getting the short end of the stick in American society because his store was robbed multiple times. Then the Hispanic locksmith encounters racial slurs and discrimination, although he just wanted to keep his family safe. The partnered detectives and lovers of different races, one is a Hispanic woman and the other is a black male, who are dealing with his drug addicted mother who feels that he does not care enough about taking care of his family. In this movie, discrimination and prejudice are the cause of all kinds of collisions. We easily prejudge people with stereotypes, and we are concerned with our pre-thoughts of what kind of person he/she should be, we forget to actually get to know them. It is human nature to have some type of prejudices in one way or another; we fear the unknown. There are stereotypes that black people are angry or tend to be violent; white people feel they are the dominant race and discriminate against all; Asians are thought to be poor or ignorant, and people with higher economic statuses are distinguished to the working class
Although Aphrodite was the goddess of love and beauty, she had a magic girdle that she wore that made everyone fall in love with her. She could hardly ever be persuaded to lend it to anyone. Since Aphrodite had the magic girdle and was so beautiful, all of the gods fell in love with her. All of the goddesses were jealous of Aphrodite because all of the gods loved her instead of the other goddesses. Because of this, Zeus arranged a marriage for her with Hephaestus, the lame smith-god.
One of the best summarizes of Greeks’ gods attitude toward human is the claim of Aphrodite in Euripides’ Hippolytus that she will treat well the people who revere her power, but will “trip up” those who are proud towards her, and this pri...
This connects to the issue of community policing and the representation of minorities in the police workforce. Community policing is trying to be increased for the people to feel more safe and secure. This leads to having more minority police officers because as stated in the presentations today Chicago is made up of 68% minorities, but 51% in the police force are whites. Minorities feel scared when approached by a white police officer and this is an issue people are trying to diminish. This is shown in the film when Escobar family is traveling and they get stopped because they assume Escobar is with them since they are related. The police officers ask right away where they are headed, and the tension is felt between the police officers and Escobar’s family. This tension can be reduced by increasing the amount of police officers that look like you, which can make you feel more comfortable dealing with