In Luchino Visconti’s film, Death in Venice (1971), Gustav von Aschenbach, an older man, becomes infatuated with a young Polish boy named Tadzio during a trip to Venice . This same sex attraction ties into several major themes in the film, particularly notions of voyeurism, illness, infatuation and disguise. Death in Venice received negative attention at the time of its release due to its homosexual connotations. Historically, homosexuality has been at times considered to be linked with mental illness. Similarly, present and past treatment of pedophilia has been highly medicalized. It becomes apparent the ways in which homosexuality and pedophilia are linked within the film, both in their taboo nature and the way in which the two have been perceived as illness, another evident theme within the film which arises. Using Thomas Waugh’s “The Third Body”, this essay attempts to
In the film, Venice is rampant with illness and Aschenbach falls very ill and eventually dies at the culmination of the film. Although currently homosexuality is not viewed as as a form of mental illness or linked to psychopathology, historically it was viewed as highly medicalized. One could draw the connection between Aschenbach’s illness to this dated view of homosexuality. Furthermore, his illness eventually leads to a disguise of himself. According to Thomas Waugh, a disguise is a basic term of homosexual’s survival as an invisible, stigmatized minority (Waugh 434). The costume of a gay subject acts in different ways. In Death in Venice, it is Aschenbach’s bodily condition that he disguises. Age is of course, what led Aschenbach to his present problems and, inevitably combined with his illness, to his death. In one of the flashback scenes of the film, Aschenbach’s friend tells him “There is nothing as impure as the impurity of old age” (Visconti) Tadzio is delicate and pure and Aschenbach longs for this idealized perfect vision of
Aldous Huxley’s, “Brave New World,” explores the roles of people in society, morals concerning sexual activity, and other controversies in our reality. One of the principal characters in the novel is ‘John the Savage.’ John is a unique character in the story because unlike the other characters in the book, his emotions and morals were similar to those of the majority of our society. He felt emotions in a way others did not, and his morals can be regarded as ethically right (for example, he did not consider sex to be meaningless; in fact, he considered it an intimate act. Unfortunately, by the end of the story, John develops into a corrupt and barbaric man- the novel even finishes with the image of John whipping both himself and others, eliminating our prior perception of John’s character. This paper will analyse the themes and importance of the final moments of “Brave New World,” and explore how a person’s sexual experience is heavily experienced by their environment.
In her essay “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema”, Laura Mulvey discusses the subject of how female characters, through various methods, are subjected to erotic objectification, by both the characters on screen as well as the spectators within the auditorium. While Mulvey makes an excellent point in acknowledging female’s exposure in cinema, she fails to realize that male characters are just as likely to be subjected to the same kind of objectification, depending on what type of audience the motion picture is directed at. Mulveys claim depends on a generalization of a homogenous audience and characters that only consists of heterosexual men. When transferring Mulveys claim onto homosexual male characters starring in a production that is in first-hand directed towards a gay audience, the erotic objectification of male characters share several similarities with those Mulvey describe women to be exposed to in her essay. Consequently, erotic objectification is governed by different circumstances, in which the audience plays a large role.
Anticipation, suspense, tension, excitement - these words come to mind when we think of the genre, Thriller. According to The Script Lab, thriller’s aim is “to keep the audience alert and on the edge of their seats” (Buffam, 2015). In these movies the main character, or the protagonist, is faced with a problem - whether it being a mystery, an escape or a mission. Just like every other genre in the film industry, Thrillers also contain a few sub-genres - but the main focus of every Thriller film out there it will always underline the menace that the hero faces.
...ts in the film hoped the suicide rate of gay and lesbian teens would decrease as a result of gays issues being included in school curriculum. I think the filmmakers could have played this up and used it to their advantage.
...l end up being gay if their twin is gay as well. The facts presented are very helpful to the film’s overall intent.
In the recent past there been an increase in the number of zombie films, videogames and books. In fact IMDb reports that a whopping 68 films have so far been released in 2015 alone(IMDb). This has elicited a big debate on the significance of zombies in the modern culture. This is important because while so many people are finding the living dead interesting, the forms of entertainment that we as a society choose are relevant. Different perspectives have been put argued on this issue. This paper is going to use the movie film Anger of the Dead by Francesco Picone to consider concerns and issues in the contemporary culture brought about by zombie films. Generational disillusionment, global capitalism and hopelessness are the three aspects of
In Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema, Mulvey states that, “Traditionally, the woman displayed has functioned on two levels: as erotic object for the characters within the screen story, and as erotic object for the spectator within the auditorium, with a shifting tension between the looks on either side of the screen.” (Mulvey 40). A woman’s role in the narrative is bound to her sexuality or the way she
Death in Venice by Thomas Mann, is a story that deals with mortality on many different levels. There is the obvious physical death by cholera, and the cyclical death in nature: in the beginning it is spring and in the end, autumn. We see a kind of death of the ego in Gustav Aschenbach's dreams. Venice itself is a personification of death, and death is seen as the leitmotif in musical terms. It is also reflected in the idea of the traveler coming to the end of a long fatiguing journey.
Upon an initial examination of William Shakespeare’s play, The Merchant of Venice, a reader is provided with superficial details regarding the moral dilemmas embedded in the text. Further analysis allows a reader to recognize the multi-faceted issues each character faces as an individual in response to his or her surroundings and/or situations. Nevertheless, the subtle yet vital motif of music is ingrained in the play in order to offer a unique approach to understanding the plot and its relationship with the characters. Whether the appearance of music be an actual song or an allusion to music in a mythological or social context, the world of Venice and Belmont that Shakespeare was writing about was teeming with music. The acceptance or denunciation
The Merchant of Venice is a play that deals with an assortment of issues that range from politics to racial views of the Jewish people. An embodiment of these two issues can be best attributed to the character of Shylock. In a 2004 production of The Merchant of Venice, by Michael Radford, we see the character of Shylock is portrayed in a different light than that of Shakespeare's 1594 villainous Jew. Both productions pose a series of questions in comparison. An understanding of the era that these plays were written in and the audience’s perception of the production attribute greatly to a true analysis. Another aspect of these productions asks who Shylock was to Shakespeare and who he has developed into for Al Pacino and Michael Radford.
Love is a very passionate and powerful emotion that can unite and conquer several generations of hate. William Shakespeare’s play, ‘Romeo and Juliet’ is set the 14th century in Verona, Italy. It is centred on the important conflict between two families, the Capulets and the Montagues. The play focuses moreso on the romantic relationship between the heirs of the feuding families, Romeo of the Montague house and Juliet of the Capulet House, and flow on effects of the conflict on both families. The conflict can be shown at three different key stages in the play, at the beginning, near the middle and at end. The two lovers, one from each family, commit suicide after becoming entangled in this conflict. It is only after the deaths of their kin do
The play is so well written and the unknown author is given a unique name to its main lead Everyman to symbolize the simple human being. In this play the death is personified in a way which grabs the attention of the audiences and it attracts them to think it’s real instead of being fiction and the superb writing of the unknown author. The author talks about God’s (Jesus) death and g...
In this essay I intend to explore the ways that William Shakespeare has presented the relationships between the main characters within his play “The Tempest”. I shall investigate Ferdinand and Miranda’s relationship, the father/daughter bond between Miranda and Prospero and Caliban’s lust after Miranda.
The novella Death in Venice by Thomas Mann describes the journey of an older German writer, Gustav Aschenbach, who comes to Venice on vacation and falls deliriously in love with a young boy. This love, and the obsession it culminates in lead to the demise of the writer. Mann’s story seems to be about an ill-fated love but in truth it tells a tale of a man who goes from total control of his life and his being to an irrational creature who is controlled by wild emotions that he will eventually succumb to. Such a story line perfectly illustrates the differences between the two Greek gods of art and how people can fall under the influence of each. Both Apollo and Dyonisis are gods of creativity and art in the Greek world yet they have such different
Shakespeare highlights three of Portia’s suitors, the Prince of Morocco, the Prince of Arragon and Bassanio. He does this to heighten dramatic tension, as these three men are the most important candidates to win Portia’s hand in marriage. They reveal the contents of the three caskets and their different characters as exposed as being proud, vain and humble. They also emphasise the racial prejudices of Venice a place where many races clash. Their attitudes towards the caskets and their choices indicate what their character is like. This essay will compare and contrast the three suitors and will explore how Shakespeare influences the audience’s attitudes towards the three men.