What do you do when no one wants to change something that you see as a problem? In Legally Blonde 2: Red, White, and Blonde, Elle Woods decides to change the problem of animal testing when no one else will. Elle takes the initiative after looking for the mother of her chihuahua, Bruiser, so she could invite her to Elle’s wedding. She finds out that Bruiser's mom is trapped at the V.E.R.S.A.C.E. company as a test animal. Instead of planning her wedding, which is what she was currently involved in, Elle goes to Washington D.C. and presents a bill to end animal testing as she stands up for what she knows is right. This movie which presents an important issue in a light-hearted movie is a great example of a melodramatic film. Legally Blonde 2 follows the structure of victim, villain, and hero of melodramas. In this case Bruiser’s mom, along with all other test animals, the V.E.R.S.A.C.E company, along with the adversity that Elle receives in congress, especially Rep. Victoria Rudd who goes behind Elle’s back to counter her bill, and of course Elle woods is the hero. This movie shows how one person can make a difference in democracy. The idea that “society governs itself for itself” (De Tocqueville, 51) is called popular sovereignty and was created by Alexis De Tocqueville. In his book, Democracy in America, De Tocqueville describes how America had the perfect democracy in the mid 19th century, when he wrote this book. He explains how true democracy uses popular sovereignty to create an ideal political system free of tyranny. Over time this government system has changed in practice, as can be seen by the lackluster workers in congress that are spotlighted in Legally Blonde 2. However in cinema justice still prevails in US democracy. L...
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...ially young females. One teenage-girl’s reaction was just that. Carrie Dean, of Wisconsin walked out of the movie theatre and gave Legally Blonde 2 her own personal spin for a way for her to get involved herself. Carrie wanted to emulate Elle in her hometown by saving the animals in her town from euthanization at SPCA shelters. Along with Small Dogs Paradise, an interest group who also was looking to stop harmful treatment of dogs. Carrie ended up getting an internship in their office and is in the process of writing her own bill. Who knows how far Carrie will get but if a ‘chick-flick’ can have this kind of impact on the youth, then there needs to be more of them. If more people, especially young people, follow Carrie’s example and get involved in what is going on with our government, then maybe we could one day reach a version of De Tocqueville’s ideal democracy.
The documentary, “Miss Representation,” is a film about how women are perceived in the media. It is written, directed, and produced by Jennifer Siebel Newsom. She is an actress and a film maker who advocates for women. In the beginning of the documentary, Newsom discusses her struggles as a young woman surrounded by the pressures of looking a certain way. This film is targeting mainly women of all age that has experienced her struggles. Jennifer Siebel Newsom effectively convinces the audience of “Miss Representation” that the media has molded women in a negative way through statistics, celebrities’ and younger generation’s testimonies, and clips from the media.
The authors both making sweeping statements about the political nature of the United States, but Ames addresses a more concentrated demographic of American society than Hedges. The latter points the finger at the venal egotism of celebrity culture for entrancing the public into complacency, and at America’s political leaders for orchestrating the fact, but he also places substantial blame on the people at-large for allowing themselves to be captivated by the entertainment industry. Ames discusses an issue in which the Millennial generation stands as the focal point, but she speaks directly to the teachers of these adolescents due to their position of influence. Although today’s youth are proven to possess a spark of political energy through their own volition—displayed through their generation-wide interest in dystopian literature—an environment of learning and in-depth analysis provides the best opportunity for the novels’ underlying calls-to-action to strike a chord with their young
Lani Guinier, in her essay titled “Tyranny of the Majority” (1944), justifies her political ideas and explains that as a result of these ideas, she has explored decisionmaking rules that prevent The Majority from “exercise[ing] power unfairly or tyrannically.” She supports her justification by incorporating childlike anecdotal stories, quoting loved American patriots, and creating conceptual analogies. Guinier’s purpose is to convince her opponents, as well as Americans with moderate political orientations, that her views and ideas aren’t too radical, in order to convince them that in order to make America a “true democracy,” they must consider her methods and strategies for desegregating The Majority. She adopts a patriotic, idealistic tone
Teenagers play an important role in society since they are old enough to have their own opinions but aren’t regarded by adults to have opinions worth sharing. Song highlights many important ideas like teenagers have a lot to do with worldwide issues such as gun control and LGBT rights. “Like adults, teens deserve to speak and to have the opportunity to be heard, and we deserve the respect that any other adult would expect. We shouldn’t be counted out just for our age when many of us are mature beyond our years. We shouldn’t be belittled or disregarded for having the audacity to believe we can make a difference.(“Why More Adults Need to Value Teenage Voices by Isabel Song)” Song believes that not all teenagers should be stereotyped as lazy, selfish, and arrogant because their voices should be counted in society. If adults keep on neglecting on teenagers, they won’t see the amazing things that teenagers are doing right now for the
For my purposes, the term “valley girl” is useful in reference to a limited spectrum of popular teen girls in film and television, who, despite originating in name from the location of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles, [1] are not strictly limited or restricted to being natives of this particular site. Often alarmingly oblivious to many basic concepts of social etiquette, the valley girl is the ultra-feminine, two-dimensional character identified by an abundance of material possessions and surface features that are highly prized by herself and her peers. Some of the basic, essential signifiers of the valley girl can be extracted from examination of valley girls over time who have manipulated the following:
make a person think that not all laws are good for the group in society and
Both St. Francis and St. Albert offer a strong understanding of what charity mean. Likewise so do Charles Dickens and Victor Hugo. In Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities and Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables, love presents itself as the underlying leitmotif. Through the life-changing exchange between Bienvenu and Valjean, to Syndey Carton willingly giving his life in place of Darnay, all the way to Lucy Manette and Valjean saving lives of others through their selflessness, Hugo and Dickens deliver the true meaning of love.
In Miss Representation movie, Jennifer Siebel Newsom determined how the society and media affected to women these days. There are many countries which judge women that they are not important in society such as Vietnam, China, and even the United States. The media play an important role in society because it helps us to receive the news every day and entertains. But, the ways media portrayed are completely making the negative effects for women. People usually use the media to illustrate that women are weak and they should not be in the same level with men. Also, women couldn’t get into the high position in government because nobody would listen to them. Jennifer Siebel Newsom made this move because she was fearful that her unborn daughter will grow up in the
Looking at the 2011 American film, Miss Representation, written, and directed, by Jennifer Siebel Newsom. The film explores the behaviors in which mainstream media has given and remains to give a widespread of under-representations of women, whose negative images on screen, keep women in a position of weakness, being a constant target of labeling, but worst of all, victims of violent acts.
Director Robert Luketic brings the story of Elle Woods to the big screen in the 2001 romantic comedy, Legally Blonde. The score was produced by Rolfe Kent. Beginning with the theme song, “Perfect Day” by Hoku sets an upbeat mood in the college party scene. A trip through the campus brings together sounds of bicycle bell rings, football players whistling, and sighs of happiness. A New Future is Born begins with a soft melody as Elle prepares for her thrilling night her heels clink down the stairs.. The soft melody continues to play in the background creating a whimsical setting as Elle and Warner romantically kiss and head off to dinner.
"What you see at fight club is a generation of men raised by women . . .. I'm a thirty-year-old boy, and I'm wondering if another woman is really the answer I need." These words are from Chuck Palahniuk's novel Fight Club. Tyler Durden is the alter ego, and only known name of the fictional narrator of the novel. Tyler suffers from Dissociative Personality Disorder, Antisocial Personality Disorder, Primary Insomnia, and probably a host of other disorders that I am not qualified to properly diagnose.
On the big screen, women have often been treated as second-class citizens and portrayed as helpless creatures, waiting to be rescued by their Prince Charming. This gender gap came to a halt when The Hunger Games (Dir. Gary Ross) was released in theaters. The brave Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) - stood up for someone else – even when it meant risking her own life. The Hunger Games was not only one of the top grossing movies of the year, but it was also one of the very few movies where a woman was able to display her stability and willingness to fight. The Hunger Games, Divergent, and Gravity are some of the recent movies that show a woman’s much greater potential in life centering around: courage, nature, and recognition.
Some examples that attract teens or examples that transformed the movie for a teen audience: modern setting, music, basketball, attractive and good actors/actresses, sex, guns, drugs, violence and drama, or something as interesting. The setting takes place at an elite private American high school that is mainly for the upper class families to go to. Even though the movie made it into a high school setting, it seems more like a college campus because the dorms that students lived in were huge like it was their personal bedroom. There were parties, students were able to drink alcohol and students were able to drive. A typical high school setting sets the tone of the movie to be more casual but because it’s in a high school setting, dramas and issues between the students are more prone to happen and for certain cases, it could be very relatable to teens. The movie contains many different styles of music, ranging from rap to opera. Music enables teens to develop their own identities but in this case, music allows the sound effect of the movie to match with certain scenes and actions. It also intensify the suspense that the audience might feel. Basketball is a sport that is very important to the American culture and it brings everyone together, connecting the similarities from kids to grandparents. The producer chooses basketball to be a part of the movie because basketball is a favorite sport for
You don't want to live miserably, so it cannot hurt to try and change it. For instance, there is an abundance of controversy surrounding abortions, but it can save someone's life; you should stand up for what you believe any any risk.
One of the most efficient ways to help combat the messages that movies are sending is by helping adolescent girls to understand them through media literacy. Media literacy can be incorporated in the classroom by teachers or through parents discussing the implications with their children. Young girls need to begin discussing what messages the characters are displaying with peers, in the classroom, with siblings, and with parents to explore what they mean. An open dialogue helps adolescent girls find empowerment instead of feeling the need to conform without question (De Abreu). By participating in discussions, children can learn to actively understand messages about gender roles, and learn to criticize or simply explore what they mean (De Abreu). Besides that, Disney Media Corporation should also come up with more movies that reflects more on reality rather than a fairytale so that young girls can learn, and have basic knowledge about the real world. As for education, teachers and administrators should run a workshop inviting women that have performed successfully in science and engineering to give a talk to students to motivate them, and to prove that women can also major in science and engineering. Surveys afterward show a significant increase in the female students ' desire to take those types of classes (Pohl et