Central Station The film Central Station (1998) is about second chances, and starting over. Dora, a retired schoolteacher, writes letters for illiterate strangers in a bus station, Central do Brasil, in Rio. When one of her clients, a mother, is killed in an accident outside, Dora takes it upon herself to watch after the little boy, Josué. She decides to take him to see his father, who leaves very far away, by way of bus, truck and strangers. The journey becomes a quest for their own identities: one boy's search for his father; and one woman's search for her heart. The story takes place in a very poor area of Brazil, with graffiti on all the walls, and crime happening all over. One man gets chased down and shot for shoplifting. I believe that Central Station is an accurate depiction of Brazil at the time, with its political troubles and economic chaos. The movie is also an example of a Third Cinema film. The term "third cinema" is referred to as a film that gives an accurate representation of third world countries and people. It has also been defined as a type of political film grounded in the experiences of the Third World. The term was used in a manifesto towards a third cinema, written by Latin American filmmakers Fernando Solanas and Octavio Gettino. Aside from Central Station, another example of a Third Cinema is the film Romero (1989) in which an archbishop is portrayed as a prophet who speaks on behalf of the voiceless oppressed. Another term associated with this film is ideology. Ideology is usually defined as a "body of ideas reflecting the social needs and aspirations of an individual, group, class, or culture." Ideology is split up into three types: neutral, implicit, and explicit. In a neutral film, the emphasis is on action, pleasure, and entertainment values for their own sake. Issues of right and wrong are treated superficially, with little or no analysis. In an implicit film the protagonists and antagonists represent conflicting value systems, but those are not dwelled on. We must infer what the characters stand for as their tale unfolds. Nobody spells out "the moral of the story." Finally, in explicit films, movies are aimed to teach or persuade as much as to entertain. Patriotic films, many documentaries, political films and movies with a sociological emphasis fall under this category. One example would be Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004).
Meet John Doe. Dir. Frank Capra Perfs. Richard Connell, Robert Presnell Sr. DVD Triad Productions, 1941
Movies distort reality by creating an ideal conflictual ambience, from which all the subtle human emotions and the characters arise. Humans might appear as consensus beings, seeking conformation and avoiding alienation by “society”. However, referring back to Aristotle’s saying, “human beings are by nature political animals” (1999), humans continually strive for power and control inasmuch as they strive for pure oxygen to breathe. Movies unleash these “socially unacceptable” political animals, exposing the hidden moral corruption embedded within most humans. Movies accomplish such a task by distorting reality, by reshaping the truth into a collection of video shots, taken from different angles, creating different meanings to content; the true meaning. The three genres of literature – narratives, poetry and drama – establish the key to revealing the distortion, thus providing humans with the ultimate method of deciphering our reality through the eyes of a glass lens. In the movie Do the Right Thing, these genres come together to paint a “picture” of us.
Gina Marchetti, in her essay "Action-Adventure as Ideology," argues that action- adventure films implicitly convey complex cultural messages regarding American values and the "white American status quo." She continues to say that all action-adventure movies have the same basic structure, including plot, theme, characterization, and iconography. As ideology, this film genre tacitly expresses social norms, values, and morals of its time. Marchetti's essay, written in 1989, applies to films such as Raiders of the Lost Ark and Rambo: First Blood II. However, action-adventure films today seem to be straying farther away from her generalizations about structure, reflecting new and different cultural norms in America. This changing ideology is depicted best in Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers (1994), which defies nearly every concept Marchetti proposes about action-adventure films; and it sets the stage for a whole new viewpoint of action in the '90's.
Filmmakers are one of the social interpreters reflecting and commenting about society and the times. Motion pictures can highlight social issues from economic and environmental justice, racial lines and discrimination, violence against women, worker rights, homelessness, and poverty to all forms of human rights abuses. Good films can raise awareness and be a start to addressing local and global issues. They can educate about cultures, and give a broader political, religious, or social context. For example the movie “Blood Diamond”, starring Leonardo Dicaprio, depicts a country torn apart by the struggle between government loyalists and rebel forces on the control of the diamond mining market. After the movie was released
When one hears the word “union” the thought of coming together springs to mind and that is exactly what Union Station did. It was one of the many depots that connected the city of Dayton, Ohio with the rest of the country before highway systems even existed. During the time of its existence it was part of a movement that helped shape a nation to become one of the top powers of the world. Union Station was visited by many and helped change the face of a city.
...ctual roles, or adding in exciting events that revise the storyline. These changes are beneficial to producers because they engage a large audience and generate massive profits. In contrast, they do not always have a positive effect on viewers. Although they are entertaining which is an important aspect of theatre culture, they also are often misguiding. Many spectators take movies at face value, without considering that they may not exactly qualify as primary source material. Even when an historical event is fabricated to teach or enhance a moral message, it still doesn’t compensate for bending the truth. Moviegoer’s may have a positive experience and gain some skewed historical perspective, perhaps better than what they knew before the movie, but they loose out on the truth and therefore, a genuine understanding of the historical event, and its significance.
By simply review, I will say, "City of God" ("Cidade de Deus") is the story of a boy who lives in a "favela" what is the word of slum in english on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro. The "favela" is like a shantytown witch called "Cidade de Deus" in the film. And from the beginning to the end, throughout this stylish movie both the boy and the favela grow.
Stolen Children is a Gianni Amelio’s magnum opus and a tragic salute to neorealism. The film follows a carabinieri, Antonio, who was assigned to escort two southern orphans in northern Italy to a Catholic orphanage, but when that proved to be unsuccessful, he took it in his hands to escort the children back to southern Italy. Gianni, much like De Sica, explores the issue of failed institutions that are fundamental to a contemporary society or an individual in need of help. When these central institutions, such as the church or law, begin to deteriorate, so does the community that relies on them. He also makes a point of criticizing post-modern institutions, such as the role of media in current society and its socio-cultural impact. This criticism begins the fundamental conversation, postmodern society should concern itself with to improve one’s present civilization.
The New Latin American Cinema emerged mostly out of the countries of Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico during a time period when there was a large amount of hot button issues, and radical revolutions in Latin America and all over the world. The 1960’s brought about a considerable volume of change and questioning within the film industry and as a result, it gave birth to playing with conventional American formulaic films. These changes allowed for Latin American filmmakers to represent their people in a much more realistic fashion, instead of compromising culture for the sake of ticket sales. These films were intended to provoke discussion within the people by representing real and raw imagery on the screen. New Latin American Cinema is the
Robert B. Ray categorizes Casablanca as "the most typical" American film. Ray uses Casablanca as a tutor text for what he calls the formal paradigm of Classical Hollywood as well as the thematic paradigm that addresses the conflict between isolationism and communitarian participation. The film is typical in its appropriation of an official hero Laszlo, who stands for the civilizing values of home and community, and an outlaw hero Rick, who stands for individu...
In recent times, such stereotyped categorizations of films are becoming inapplicable. ‘Blockbusters’ with celebrity-studded casts may have plots in which characters explore the depths of the human psyche, or avant-garde film techniques. Titles like ‘American Beauty’ (1999), ‘Fight Club’ (1999) and ‘Kill Bill 2’ (2004) come readily into mind. Hollywood perhaps could be gradually losing its stigma as a money-hungry machine churning out predictable, unintelligent flicks for mass consumption. While whether this image of Hollywood is justified remains open to debate, earlier films in the 60’s and 70’s like ‘Bonnie and Clyde’ (1967) and ‘Taxi Driver’ (1976) already revealed signs of depth and avant-garde film techniques. These films were successful as not only did they appeal to the mass audience, but they managed to communicate alternate messages to select groups who understood subtleties within them.
Many movies are created without the notion of conveying any sort of message. The movie “Fight Club” relates the problems faced by the main character to philosophy but more specifically, to Idealism. It is both frightening and intriguing to know that ones mind can control ones perceptions of reality and whether or not what they are seeing is real. In summary, idealism offers the idea that ones mind determines what is real based on their perceptions of the physical world. With perceptions being completely different from one individual to the next, determining what is real may be indefinable.
Films provide indelible images of some of the twentieth century’s great events. For example, the holocaust, filmed images from liberation camps, the devastation of the atomic bomb are all specific examples of indelible images. The Truman Show provided information on how women and minorities were portrayed in the film. There was no racism or individuals who were treated differently. All women were treated the same and in a fair matter. Fictional films can be used as historical evidence in a way ...
There are many ideas in this world that you can turn into separate categories. Examples are types of teachers, types of books, and more. In this essay the reader will be able to learn the differences between three types of movies. These types of movies include, romance, horror, and comedy. Now, there are many upon many romance movies but how do we distinguish them from one another? Is it the sex scenes, the lovey dovey affections we see between the characters? We cannot know for sure. Horror movies are downright the best (just kidding, people prefer other types rather than horror), yet again, how do we distinguish these movies from others? Blood and gore? Or simply a mental beat up that the audience gets? Finally, it’s the same way with comedy
Pop culture outlets such as film and song can be used to push political agendas onto consumers. Most often we see music artist put in their two cents on global current events. For instance, Michael Jackson produced the song "Heal the World" during the Gulf War. In short, Jackson’s song is about making the world a better place and loving your neighbors, but this must start by loving yourself. This song made individuals appreciate what they had and altered their mindset. Another impactful way to present a message with the intention of impacting the way you perceive yourself is through film. In Yenerall study, he mentions how Walt Disney Productions was approached by the government to produce an animated propaganda short film that was anti-nazi. This film was entitled Education for Death. This was a very impactful title because of its implicit meaning, it made you anticipate what the film is about before watching it. The film more or less perceives the Nazi’s as brainwashed infidels, who have no morals what so ever and are raised to do horrible things. People saw this film and it influenced them in their political standing during this war. This film was created to bring nations together and fight a common enemy. Walt Disney was not only involved in making WWII short films but, also films that would encourage Americans to join the US Army and Navy (Yenerall pg. 98 - 2). Other well know anti-nazi / anti-fascist movies include: Casablanca, Julia and Pan’s Labyrinth. Film is a productive way of getting your political ideas to a wide range of people. All of these films, no matter what the message is, has a significant impact on how people perceive