The Movie Dead Man and its Departure from the Western Genre
Put simply, genres are not created by directors so much as they are by audiences. Once it is apparent that something has been received well by theatre-goers, a formula is developed and henceforth followed to achieve the same success. Considering the Western genre, as presented by Robert Warshow, one may note whisky-swilling gunslingers, prostitutes alongside their madams, and arguments over poker tables in smoke filled saloons resulting in someone being thrown through the glass window. The hero of the Western, personified so well by Gary Cooper, John Wayne, and Clint Eastwood, draws his six-shooter fast and is lethally accurate. Unfortunately, these audience-drawing regularities which, while entertaining, undermine the historical representation of how America’s West was truly settled.
The most jarring difference from the Western genre in Dead Man is that the hero, William Blake, does not saunter into town with a pistol on his hip, let alone know how to shoot one. He is an accountant from Cleveland, a rational man headed for an irrational world. Machine, the town which was his destination, is a menacing mill town which comments on the harsh realities of industrialization. Blake’s train ride to the West is in vain, having been refused the job promised to him in a letter because he was tardy in response. There is an absence of order in town, in large part because John Dickinson, owner of the Metal Works plant the towns economy depends on, is insane, possibly parodying the ineptitude of capitalistic hierarchy.
Jim Jarmusch’s choice of William Blake as the name of his main character was not by accident. The jovial Indian Nobody is convinced that Blake is the English poet by the same name, and for good reason. Not because Depp’s Blake resembles the actual poet, but because William Blake’s poetic themes can be recognized throughout the story. Also, Jarmusch’s use of fade to black to separate the scenes transforms each scene into a new poem that can be read and viewed as a new development in the film.
Critics consider Jarmusch’s departure from the Western genre as a breath of fresh air. Dennis Schwartz claims
“Jarmusch didn't falsely romanticize the Western settler and idolize him for how good he was with a gun as most films foolishly do; but, he debunked that whole Western John Ford type of patronizing liberal myth that the cowboy was doing all that violence to advance civilization, that if the Indian can be civilized he can and should live with the white man.
Beginning the mid 1920s, Hollywood’s ostensibly all-powerful film studios controlled the American film industry, creating a period of film history now recognized as “Classical Hollywood”. Distinguished by a practical, workmanlike, “invisible” method of filmmaking- whose purpose was to demand as little attention to the camera as possible, Classical Hollywood cinema supported undeviating storylines (with the occasional flashback being an exception), an observance of a the three act structure, frontality, and visibly identified goals for the “hero” to work toward and well-defined conflict/story resolution, most commonly illustrated with the employment of the “happy ending”. Studios understood precisely what an audience desired, and accommodated their wants and needs, resulting in films that were generally all the same, starring similar (sometimes the same) actors, crafted in a similar manner. It became the principal style throughout the western world against which all other styles were judged. While there have been some deviations and experiments with the format in the past 50 plus ye...
The development of the Western genre originally had its beginnings in biographies of frontiersmen and novels written about the western frontier in the late 1800’s based on myth and Manifest Destiny. When the film industry decided to turn its lenses onto the cowboy in 1903 with The Great Train Robbery there was a plethora of literature on the subject both in non-fiction and fiction. The Western also found roots in the ‘Wild West’ stage productions and rodeos of the time. Within the early areas of American literature and stage productions the legend and fear of the west being a savage untamed wilderness was set in the minds of the American people. The productions and rodeos added action and frivolity to the Western film genre.
The story Persepolis uses the medium of graphic novel and the perspective of a child to convey her message. The events of Persepolis are very dark and in some
Over the years, the idea of the western frontier of American history has been unjustly and falsely romanticized by the movie, novel, and television industries. People now believe the west to have been populated by gun-slinging cowboys wearing ten gallon hats who rode off on capricious, idealistic adventures. Not only is this perception of the west far from the truth, but no mention of the atrocities of Indian massacre, avarice, and ill-advised, often deceptive, government programs is even present in the average citizen’s understanding of the frontier. This misunderstanding of the west is epitomized by the statement, “Frederick Jackson Turner’s frontier thesis was as real as the myth of the west. The development of the west was, in fact, A Century of Dishonor.” The frontier thesis, which Turner proposed in 1893 at the World’s Columbian Exposition, viewed the frontier as the sole preserver of the American psyche of democracy and republicanism by compelling Americans to conquer and to settle new areas. This thesis gives a somewhat quixotic explanation of expansion, as opposed to Helen Hunt Jackson’s book, A Century of Dishonor, which truly portrays the settlement of the west as a pattern of cruelty and conceit. Thus, the frontier thesis, offered first in The Significance of the Frontier in American History, is, in fact, false, like the myth of the west. Many historians, however, have attempted to debunk the mythology of the west. Specifically, these historians have refuted the common beliefs that cattle ranging was accepted as legal by the government, that the said business was profitable, that cattle herders were completely independent from any outside influence, and that anyone could become a cattle herder.
... hand in hand with Persepolis’ use of visual rhetoric to advertisements. The way Satrapi and advertisement companies convey their messages varies, they still contain similarities such as the underlining themes of oppression and desire to attract their audiences.
HIV/AIDS is a major risk factor affecting a large portion of the LGBT community, especially gay men. CDC.gov (2013) found that gay and bisexual men of all races continue to be at high risk for developing HIV. According to Krehely (2009) the drug and substance abuse risk factor, as well as mental health issues in the LGBT community often occur and are related to high rates of stress due to the lack of family acceptance of the LGBT lifestyle, systematic discrimination, and the lack of cultural competency in the health care environment. Sexu...
When writing any sort of narrative, be it novel or poem, fiction or non-fiction, scholarly or frivolous, an author must take into account the most effective manner in which to effectively convey the message to their audience. Choosing the wrong form, or method of speaking to the reader, could lead to a drastic misunderstanding of the meaning within an author’s content, or what precisely the author wants to say (Baldick 69). Even though there are quite a bit fewer words in a graphic novel than in the average novel, an author can convey just as much content and meaning through their images as they could through 60,000 words. In order to do that though, their usage of form must be thoughtfully considered and controlled. Marjane Satrapi, author of the graphic memoir The Complete Persepolis, took great pains in the creation of her panels in order to reinforce and emphasize her narrative, much like a novelist utilizes punctuation and paragraph breaks. Through her portrayal of darkness and lightness, Satrapi demonstrates that literary content influences, and is primary to, the form.
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the effect of an oppressive regime on the child Marjane Satrapi as depicted the graphic novel Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi.
Due to the serious tensions looming in the air, many people would think it is strictly forbidden to laugh a little or have fun in Iran. The constant political instability makes it seem like the citizens live like robots under extreme oppression. However, in Marjane Satrapi’s biography, Persepolis, she gives an inside look at her experiences growing up in Iran and adds comic relief throughout the novel. As the main character, Marjane, evolves from an innocent girl into a mature woman, Satrapi adds bits of comic relief to highlight her typical personality while living in the midst of an oppressive society.
In family therapy sessions, therapists encounter unique dilemmas when only one partner enters into therapy because only one viewpoint of the problem is provided (American Psychological Association, 2002). This is what presents itself for us today. A husband has asked for help in protecting himself and his children from his wife’s outbursts. His family consists of his wife of 11 years, Angelina; his son, John, age nine; and his delicate daughter, Jackie, age seven. Since this client is reserved and uncomfortable within the therapy session as demonstrated by his folded arms and leaning back in his chair away from the therapist, the therapist will begin by using client-centered, therapy-based questions (Rogers, 1946). Post-modern family therapy will incorporate various styles of therapy depending on what a therapist determines is most helpful at any one point during the therapy process (Nichols, 2008). Combining client-centered and experiential therapies would be a logical pairing in this situation (Elliott & Freire, 2007). We will examine the initial interview.
In the article “The Thematic Paradigm” exerted from his book, A Certain Tendency of the Hollywood Cinema, Robert Ray provides a description of the two types of heroes depicted in American film: the outlaw hero and the official hero. Although the outlaw hero is more risky and lonely, he cherishes liberty and sovereignty. The official hero on the other hand, generally poses the role of an average ordinary person, claiming an image of a “civilized person.” While the outlaw hero creates an image of a rough-cut person likely to commit a crime, the official hero has a legend perception. In this essay, I will reflect on Ray’s work, along with demonstrating where I observe ideologies and themes.
While the western frontier was still new and untamed, the western hero often took on the role of a vigilante. The vigilante’s role in the frontier was that of extralegal verve which was used to restrain criminal threats to the civil peace and opulence of a local community. Vigilantism was typical to the settler-state societies of the western frontier where the structures and powers of government were at first very feeble and weak. The typical cowboy hero had a willingness to use this extralegal verve. The Virginian demonstrated this throughout with his interactions with Trampas, most notably in the interactions leading up to the shoot out and during the shoot-out itself. “Others struggled with Trampas, and his bullet smashed the ceiling before they could drag the pistol from him… Yet the Virginian stood quiet by the...
Since the late 1890’s films have been constantly changing the history of pop culture and the way people view war, politics, and the world as a whole. As the timeline of the history of film progressed, there were many different phases: gothic noir, slapstick comedy, tragedy vs. love, romance, and many more. Towards the more recent times, the central ideas of films started drifting to the greatness of the directors. Directors such as Stanley Kubrick, Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, and many more were noted as outstanding directors of action and cinematography. In this paper I will speak about Wes Anderson, Martin Scorsese, and the ever so infamous Baz Luhrmann. These directors have changed the way filmmaking has been and will be looked at from this point on.
Throughout the course of this paper, I have discussed Hofstede’s five cultural dimensions where I broke down these dimensions. Additionally, I have stated how India tends to appreciate the hierarchical relationship structure, is a collectivist country and leans towards being a more masculine society. Additionally, India tends to possess a medium to low preference towards uncertainty avoidance and leans towards being a future oriented society. Having lived in the United States for almost a decade I think I have become more “Americanized”. India is a great country and I’ll always visit it in the future, but from the way things are going I am going to permanently settle down in New York where I would like to start my career and family.
Schatz, Thomas. Hollywood Genres: Formulas, Filmmaking, and the Studio System. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1981.