Finnley Maier
Eng. 225
Film analysis paper
Moonrise Kingdom
Title: Gender boxes wrapped in 60’s tartan, khaki, and nostalgic whimsy.
“I love you but you have no idea what you are talking about!” These are words spoken by Sam Shakusky to Suzy Bishop. Sam, a 12yr old former khaki scout, played by Jared Gilman and Suzy, a 12yr old, semi-depressed girl, played by Kara Hayward are young lovers on a journey of freedom and romance in the director, Wes Anderson’s whimsical landscape of 60’s nostalgia. Suzy is a young rebellious girl that yearns to break free of her parent’s Walt Bishop, played by Bill Murray, and Margot Bishop, played by Frances McDermott, home and troubled marriage. Sam is an orphan, who leaves the Khaki Scouts to elope on a
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Though Moonrise does more subtly than most movies, it still is a present factor that reinforces gender binaries. The first example of this is the cinematography choices. From the start of the film, Suzy, is always in the center of the scene, there is a combination of wide shots and close ups of her face. The shots of Suzy highlight her body and beauty not what she is doing. In contrast, when Sam is filmed, his actions are highlighted over his appearance. Male gaze is also present in the film by how the male characters in the story put women in their gaze while they spectate. When Sam and Suzy look at each other, Sam’s eyes move up and down Suzy’s features whereas she looks at him in the eyes. When Sam and Suzy first meet during the play, Suzy is the actress on stage while Sam is the spectator and watches her, then after they talk in the dressing room and she goes back on stage the camera starts at a wide angle as if they were in the audience but then zooms in to focus on her face to show that she is the object of the gaze. Male gaze is typically thought of as having sexual motives and connotations however in this case though Suzy’s value is being placed on her looks, the age of the characters is more innocent and not necessarily strictly sexual. There are parts in the film where the male gaze is shifted and Suzy’s view is shown however. Suzy takes control of the gaze when she uses her binoculars. The binoculars represent the male gaze, and therefore is why Suzy takes such pleasure in looking through them because she has control. She even tells Sam that her superpower is using the binoculars to see things differently. Suzy’s use of the binoculars can even be seen as an innocent form of voyeurism. She is able to spy on her mother and the
Beyond the Lights, is a romantic drama film Directed by Gina Prince-Blythewood. The film premiered in September 2014 at an international film festival held in Toronto, and this followed by its release on November 14th, 2014 in the United States. The film is one of the strangest music industry romance based films, alternating between the entertainment business, wisdom and heartfelt flourishes. Yet, Gina Prince-Blythewood manages to show all the elements of her play into an irrefutably entertaining package.
Besides an initial voiceover narration introducing Ray Kinsella (Kevin Cosner), his beloved wife Annie (Amy Madigan), and their young daughter Karin, this is the first scene in Field of Dreams, released in 1989 and directed by Phil Alden. The voice-over establishes the expectation of the film as being a sensible story about a loving couple trying to run a family farm in Iowa, and the subsequent scene (pictured above) quickly deconstructs that expectation. While working in his field one night, Ray hears a voice whispering “If you build it, he will come.” From then on, there are no more misconceptions about Field of Dreams being anything but an unapologetic fantasy in which an Iowa farmer mows down his fields to build a baseball diamond where
The film, Out in the Night documents a 2006 case in which a group of young African American lesbians were accused of gang assault and attempted murder. The film portrays how unconscious bias, institutional discrimination and racism contributed to the convictions of seven African American lesbian women. Three of the women pleaded guilty to avoid going to trial, but four did not. Renata Hill, Patreese Johnson, Venice Brown, and Terrain Dandridge maintained their innocence and each were charged with several years in prison. I cried through out the documentary because it dawned on me that it’s not safe for women, especially gay women of color. The four-minute incident occurred in Greenwich Village where Dwayne Buckle sexually and physically harassed
Wes Anderson's Moonrise kingdom takes the audience to a different world where an awkward boy meets girl theme is in play. As an auteur theorist, Anderson's filmography style is quite distinct as his movies portray bright color palettes, familial issues, symmetry/centering and a love for art. The Moonrise Kingdom seems to rigidly follow a dramatic structure, also known as the three-act structure. Anderson initially introduces us through a 1947 recording by Benjamin Britten's, which suggests in the film that instruments unite in a result of forming an orchestra. Ironically yet clear, Moonrise Kingdom's two main characters, Sam and Suzy, are essentially the instruments that will eventually unite
The setting is decades into the future and the world has reached a post-apocalyptic state. Australia has become a wasteland ruled by tyrants and war bosses. Gas is the pinnacle of all resources and is fought over constantly. Max Rockatansky, former police officer, has become a loner in the wasteland and searches for a reason to live after what he has gone through. Throughout the 4 movies of the Mad Max franchise, we observe Max transitioning through several kinds of pain and obstacles. In the first movie, police officer Max takes care of the motorcycle gang who murdered his family and a plethora of others. Road Warrior was a different movie entirely with a more wasteland feeling and showing what Mad Max truly is with fast action scenes. Mad
Statement of intent: This formal report was written with the intent of discussing the mise-en-scene element of film which is used in two of Wes Anderson’s most popular films. Both films The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) and Moonrise Kingdom (2012) showcase the limited colour palette and costume aspects of mise-en-scene.
When we typically think of racial tropes in popular culture, we often don’t look towards animated G-rated movies. The film The Princess and the Frog released by Walt Disney Animated Classics in 2009 created by John Musker, Ron Clements and Rob Edwards is a perfect contemporary example of a film that shows images of pre-constructed racial tropes. Though Disney has produced multiple films based on past fairy tales, The Princess and the Frog was the first animated Disney princess film that featured an African American woman in a leading role. Often times regarded as a turning point in Disney’s movie production career, the film’s representation of African Americans proves to be regressive of racist politics surrounding the 21st century. The design
“There once was a time in this business when I had the eyes of the whole world! But that wasn't good enough for them, oh no! They had to have the ears of the whole world too. So they opened their big mouths and out came talk. Talk! TALK!” (Sunset Boulevard). The film Sunset Boulevard directed by Billy Wilder focuses on a struggling screen writer who is hired to rewrite a silent film star’s script leading to a dysfunctional and fatal relationship. Sunset Boulevard is heavily influenced by the history of cinema starting from the 1930s to 1950 when the film was released.
Moonlight is a motion picture with a tender, heartbreaking story of a young man's struggle to find himself, told across three chapters in his life as he experiences ecstasy, pain, and the beauty of falling in love, while grappling with his own sexuality and dealing with his more difficult past. Moonlight describes a touching way of those moments, people and unknown forces that shape our lives and make us the way we are. A major theme of Moonlight is the black male identity and its interactions with sexual identity. The motion picture combines acceptance and love with pain and narrow-mindedness. In it’s simplicity the movie is a chronicle of the childhood, adolescence and burgeoning adulthood of a young black man growing up in a rough neighborhood of Miami.
This Hispanic film titled "Under The Same Moon” makes a connection about the difficulties the Latino community must undergo without losing their values and traditions in order to provide for their families that were left behind. In addition, this film reproduces some of the complications my ancestors went through when they made the most difficult decision to migrate to the United State in a quest for a better life. It is not easy to decide to abandon your home country, customs and, most importantly, your family in a pursuit of a more stable daily pay rate. All this work hard to provide for the loved ones who stay behind waiting for their return. Despite the challenging, they faced they decide to cross the border until they reached the destination
The cycle of the moon is linked to the tides of the ocean, no stronger is the influence of the moon than at the end of its cycle when fullest. Like the ocean, the moon has impressive sway over many aspects of our life. Rarely does the moon get credited with the odd occurrences in life, however in the highly entertaining comedy, Moonstruck, the characters are strongly aware of the presence of the moon and how it makes them feel. This move portrays beautifully two intense themes; infidelity and the comically big attitudes within Italian communities. I will break down these themes and show how well they compliment each other in this three time oscar winning movie.
For decades Disney has been the source of happy endings, fairytales, and family friendly stories for children of all ages. These stories range from realistic and familiar, to the eye-catching magical fairytale. The key to each of these stories are the happy endings brought about by each of the characters unique personalities and dreams. Disney’s films are attempted to provide children with the basic understanding of wrong versus right, but instead influences our society’s beliefs and awareness. Although Disney’s efforts to provide the basic morals to our children are misleading and affect our society strongly, they also contain the use of racism in a form which shows the major differences between characters. The once admired and well-known characters are seemed to be recognized by their species, ethnicity and even their social class. Disney films have taken out of context and have persuaded their viewers understanding of racial stereotyping, which is thoroughly explained in Henry Giroux and Grace Pollock’s novel, The Mouse that Roared. They bring awareness to the underlying racial stereotyping in Disney films, which deeply affect our societies understanding today. Giroux and Pollock bring into perception these admired and regularly watched films through precise examples and racist rendering of the specific characters species and ethnicities which strongly influence our society and lead children to intake these negative influences.
“The Mission” is based on a true story that occurred around the borderlands of Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil in the years 1750’s according to the film and history. The Treaty of Madrid of 1750 with the Spanish and Portuguese caused both havoc and death for the people of the Guarini and the members of the Jesuits. The Jesuits, members of the church, tried to bring Christianity and civilization to the natives while keeping at peace with Spain and Portugal. The Jesuits were the teachers for the natives; Teaching them not only the Christian religion but also civilization. Father Gabriel, a Jesuit, is first introduced in the film when he is showing his respects to a former Jesuit priest killed by the natives. He walks through the South American
In the silent film Broken Blossoms, the lighting, setting, and color change drastically. D.W. Griffith manipulates the mise-en-scene, altering the lighting, setting, and color change drastically not only connecting scenes but also to creating clear separations. The film breaks Cheng Huan’s first encounter with Lucy Burrows into three different colored segments: yellow, blue, and purple. These tints paired with other elements of mise-en-scene convey a seemingly dichotomous message regarding the nature of kindness and of their relationship.
It is impossible to talk about a Wes Anderson movie without acknowledging its stunning color palettes and quirky storytelling style. In one of his most exemplary works, Moonrise Kingdom, Anderson uses a warm color scheme that blends bright and desaturated colors that ranges from golden yellow, vermillion red, creamy beige, light brown, to even a hint of teal. His color scheme, which is reflected throughout the film’s props, sets, costumes, title design, and camera filters, effectively evokes nostalgia, establishes the summer-like, dreamy mood of the film, and creates a distinct contrast between the different moral values of his characters. However, in the chaotic stormy escape scene and in the costume of Social Services, the visual design deviates greatly from the film’s primarily warm color palette and instead, immerse their visual elements in a deep, dark blue color to show the contrasts in the mood of the story as well as the attitudes of the characters. Overall, Anderson’s visual