Batman: Mask of the Phantasm
This paper will break down the elements of the critical process using the three critical methods that were discussed in class. Also included in the paper will be the notes that were taken from the conversation I overheard at Hardees, about the movie “Batman: Mask of the Phantasm” between Seiter, Thompson, and Meehan. This critique will discuss the several components to each of the three critical methods including cultural codes in the movie, gender roles, and advertisement placement with in the movie.
Neo-Formalist
The syuzhet begins with the opening credits of the film showing Gotham city with a red backdrop as opera music plays in the background. Then the picture fades to black and then Batman appears on top of a building in front of the Shady Lady casino. A fight ensues, and later Batman is seen at the scene of the confrontation where he finds a piece of glass with some form of rare chemical on it, perhaps this is a form of compositional motivation-setting up something to come later in the film. This is also the first time in the film where Batman is accused of being a criminal (vigilante). The second time Batman is accused of being a criminal (vigilante) is in the very next scene when Councilman Reeves protests against Batman’s usefulness against the criminals of the city. In the very next scene Reeves yet again describes Batman as a criminal (vigilante), but this time in the media. Thompson would agree that these patterns are a hermeneutic chain of events that pessimists (or an ideological critic) would ask about (why doesn’t batman get into trouble from the police, or the courts?).
The fabula starts when Bruce Wayne starts to reminisce about the first day that he met Andrea. Wayne and Andrea met at the graveyard where both of their parents were buried, they started minor chitchat and Wayne falls for her. They go on a few dates and encounter a mugging in progress Bruce makes his decision to give up on his promise of protecting the city from evil, because he cannot be a crime fighter if he has someone waiting for him to come home. This starts another pattern in which the characters must choose between their love for each other and the promise they swore they would uphold in the event of their parents demise. Bruce and Andrea both make this decision at the end of the movie and neither of them picked love, both or them would rather be alone and uphold their morals and truths to themselves.
Braudy, Leo and Marshall Cohen, eds. Film Theory and Criticism: Introductory Readings, Fifth Edition. New York: Oxford UP, 1999.
The purpose of this paper is to provide the reader with an insight into the Super Hero Series Batman. This crime fighter originally appeared in Detective Comics issue #27 in 1939. It later became a comic book series, a TV series and a movie series. The character Batman is second only to Superman as a Super Hero. Amazingly Batman has no super powers, but he does have a lot of neat crime fighting gadgets. In this paper, we will explore the creation of Batman, his supporting cast of characters both good and bad and the gadgets he used.
“Some men aren’t looking for anything logical, like money. They can’t be bought, bullied, reasoned or negotiated with. Some men just wanna watch the world burn...”
Bruce Wayne, Batman’s secret identity, is an American billionaire, playboy, philanthropist, and owner of Wayne Enterprises. Batman is one of the most well-known and well-liked superheroes of all time probably because of all of the comics, TV shows, movies and video games with him in it. Many are interested in Batman mainly because he is human, has no super powers and no special abilities just like a normal person but continues in many super human things using his gadgets, a body suit and a brilliant mind. Not only are these some of the differences between him and some other super heroes but he wants to see justice served and to defeat his enemies because he focuses on what is right and what is wrong. Batman has starred in about fourteen films both as a starring character and as an ensemble character beginning in 1943 and the latest in 2012 with two more coming in 2016 and 2017. Having earned a total of U.S. $1,900,844,295, the Batman series is the fifth-highest-grossing film series in North America. The first full-length movie of batman made in 1989 shows that to overcome great diversity one must step out of the bounds of what is socially and morally acceptable though the characterization of Batman, the contrast between
November 1998, written for FILM 220: Aspects of Criticism. This is a 24-week course for second-year students, examining methods of critical analysis, interpretation and evaluation. The final assignment was simply to write a 1000-word critical essay on a film seen in class during the final six-weeks of the course. Students were expected to draw on concepts they had studied over the length of the course.
American commercial cinema currently fuels many aspects of society. In the twenty-first century it has become available, active force in the perception of gender relations in the United States. In the earlier part of this century filmmakers, as well as the public, did not necessarily view the female“media image” as an infrastructure of sex inequality. Today, contemporary audiences and critics have become preoccupied with the role the cinema plays in shaping social values, institutions, and attitudes. American cinema has become narrowly focused on images of violent women, female sexuality, the portrayal of the “weaker sex” and subversively portraying women negatively in film. “Double Indemnity can be read in two ways. It is either a misogynist film about a terrifying, destroying woman, or it is a film that liberates the female character from the restrictive and oppressed melodramatic situation that render her helpless” (Kolker 124). There are arguably two extreme portrayals of the character of Phyllis Dietrichson in Double Indemnity; neither one is an accurate or fare portrayal.
The Dark Knight Returns Part Two, is an animated film released on January 29, 2013 which is adapted from the 1986 comic book by the same name written by Frank Miller. The story follows a retired Batman who has decided to come out of retirement because he knows that his days are numbered and that it is time to look for a good death. The vigilante’s comeback sparks the comeback of the Joker and gets the attention of the United States government. This all leads to a legendary fight between Batman and Superman, in which one is fighting for a purpose and the other is blindly following authority, and it all ends with Batman dying but not really. The Dark Knight Returns is a romance story that is set on an epic scale, involves a figure of great cosmic importance, and has the Dark Knight go on a
In the earliest 1940 's superhero films started to become popular on the big screens. One of these popular films is known as Batman, which came out first as a comic book called "The Killing Joke". Batman is considered to be a superhero possessing great talents and for being a true example of hope towards Gotham city. Although these superheroes are one of the main characters in movies, they also have enemies to confront with which are also known as super villains. In this case, the Joker known for his criminal mastermind plays an important role as a villain. Having a huge impact through films, film viewers have had the chance to appreciate different versions of the Batman 's movies. The Joker, being one of the most classical villains in DC Universe is portrayed in different aspects. Analyzing Tim Burton 's Batman (1989) and Christopher Nolan 's The Dark Knight (2008), viewers can assimilate but also differentiate the Joker in couple ways.
This was indeed what Batman wanted, by establishing himself in the minds of every would be and active criminal the Batman has created a psychological fear that reaches far beyond the extent of any superpower. Through Batman’s actions the emergence of other heroes began to show as many saw hope in the justice that was being brought to Gotham. These heroes help justice prevail despite the always constant evil that resides in the city; weather police commissioner Gordon or political activist Harvey Dent it’s safe to assume that Batman resonates with the everyday person and relies on the justice they pursue to feed his own
The Dark Knight Rises (2012) is a superhero epic of a scope hard to explain in a few short paragraphs. It is the third film in Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy. This film takes place over the course several months, primarily in the fictional Gotham City, an American city which had until recently been rife with crime and corruption which had made great progress in these areas due to the events in the previous films. The protagonist is Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale), the eponymous Dark Knight, who has retired his Batman alter ego after taking the fall for the crimes of Harvey Dent at the close of The Dark Knight.
Iago, the villain in Shakespeare’s Othello, is a round character of great depth and many dimensions. Iago works towards an aim that is constantly changing and becomes progressively more tragic. Yet, at times, "honest" Iago does actually seem honest. This essay will explore the complex character of "honest Iago.
In this assignment my goals is to compare and contrast two images that represent popular American icons a unique way. The two images that were gathered to compare and contrast are of Superman and Batman. Throughout my analysis we can determine that the Superman and Batman characters, have three major features that are as follows; posture, costumes and the background of the photos.
Without a doubt, one of the main themes that runs throughout William Shakespeare’s tragic play, Othello, is that of honesty. In the play, the most interesting character is Iago, who is commonly called and known as "Honest Iago." However, this could not be farther from the truth. Through some carefully thought-out words and actions, Iago is able to manipulate others to do things in a way that benefits and moves him closer to his own goals. He is smart and an expert at judging the characters of others. Because of this, Iago pushes everyone to their tragic end.
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is a story about a little girl who comes into contact with unpredictable, illogical, basically mad world of Wonderland by following the White Rabbit into a huge rabbit – hole. Everything she experiences there challenges her perception and questions common sense. This extraordinary world is inhabited with peculiar, mystical and anthropomorphic creatures that constantly assault Alice which makes her to question her fundamental beliefs and suffer an identity crisis. Nevertheless, as she woke up from “such a curious dream” she could not help but think “as well she might, what a wonderful dream it had been ”.
Alice’s quest in Wonderland is not well though-out, in fact her encounters are disordered. Having her encounters be unpredictable places Lewis Carroll fairy-tale under Gothic horror. Without a doubt, Alice’s experiences can be illustrated as a nightmare. More importantly, the usage of satire and symbolism by Lewis Carroll gives Alice in Wonderland a meaningful note. All the different characters used in Wonderland essentially come together to form a secret lesson, this secret lesson being teaching children the turmoil of having to grow up. Lewis Carroll utilizes the rabbit hole, growing and shrinking, identifying oneself to characters, and Alice herself as symbols. Like in the “real world,” the only known laws in Wonderland are of chaos.