To me “respecting the medium” is not something that can be answered in any one way, especially when it comes to film. Film is something that I have a heart for and want to be a part of. In order to do this for the glory of God like I am called to do as a Christian I need to be able to respect it as a medium. Understanding this is no easy task. It is something that I have thought even before taking this class. While I might not have labeled it as “respecting the medium,” I often pondered how can I produce great films that reach possibly millions of people? How can I create something that the world can enjoy but also influence them in a way that is positive? What is it in film that I can use to reach out to people? Film is a medium that is hard to tackle because it is visual. Learning throughout this semester about what others have done, both past and present, has given me insight on how I might achieve my goals in film. Film is very powerful in today’s culture and I need to be able to integrate my faith into to make a difference. Film …show more content…
There are a vast number of secular films whose main themes revolve around redemption. Because of this, Christians should not be afraid use this as a way to gain popularity within the film industry. By creating films that are not explicitly Christian we can prove to the culture that we not only understand them, but are also interested in them. Creating a film that is a part of pop culture can be an excellent way of getting the Christian message into the culture. One great example of this is The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by Walden Media. This film, based off of the popular children’s book series by C.S. Lewis, became vastly popular and part of the culture. The film made over $700,000 worldwide and has led to two sequels thus far. The film, while not explicitly Christian, has many Christian themes and elements. Dr. Christians
Films are necessary in our time period because the human eye can articulate the message intended through sight allowing visual imagination to occur. In the book, world 2 by Max Brooks, he creates a character by the name Roy Elliot who was a former movie director. Roy Elliot manages to make a movie titled “Victory at Avalon: The Battle of the Five Colleges” and some how it goes viral. Similarly, Frank Capra’s film, “Why we Fight” expresses a sense of understanding the meaning of wars. Films do not inevitably portray truth because they display what the film director views as important and beneficial for people to know.
In his essay, “It’s Just a Movie: A Teaching Essay for Introductory Media Classes”, Greg M. Smith argues that analyzing a film does not ruin, but enhances a movie-viewing experience; he supports his argument with supporting evidence. He addresses the careful planning required for movies. Messages are not meant to be telegrams. Audiences read into movies to understand basic plotlines. Viewers should examine works rather than society’s explanations. Each piece contributes to Smith’s argument, movies are worth scrutinizing.
To what extent was the Catholic Church the leading establishment to alter production policies in Hollywood during the great depression
In conclusion, I found a quote from Michael Medved that I thoroughly agreed with, he says, “This same habitual blindness to spiritual, substantive dimensions of every significant challenge continues to handicap Hollywood”. I believe what he wants to get across here is that the Hollywood industry always misses the mark when it comes to spirituality and this is his whole meaning throughout the book. Whether I agree with his wording or not, I am a Christian, and I should be concerned with the way the media is influencing the mind of the world around me. I am called to be the light in this world, and I do believe that is the one area Medved and I agree; in some way, we both believe that the world is under attack and it is our job to show the light to this darkened world.
City of God is an action-packed, drama-filled, Brazilian crime film that follows the lives of several young men whose lives all take a drastic turn as the city they once knew falls to drugs, crime, violence and corruption. In my essay I will focus on three young men in particular who all seemed to be consumed by the chaos that surrounds them. Through a series of hard hitting edits, sharp camera cuts, intense imagery and vivid storytelling, the film comes to life to portray the reality of life in the slums of Rio de Janeiro, and also helps to develop each characters persona.
Film Analysis of All That Heaven Allows Chosen sequence: Golden Rain Tree/Cary's bedroom scene. Before the emergence of 'auteur theory' the director Douglas Sirk was a renowned exponent of classical Hollywood narrative, particularly in the genre of romantic melodrama, of which his film All That Heaven Allows is a classic example. However, he is now regarded as a master of mise-en-scene, one of the few tools left to a director working within the constraints of the Hollywood studio/institutional system who is now thought to have been highly critical of American mainstream culture and society in this prosperous era. 1, 2 The 'Golden Rain Tree' sequence occurs early on in the film after the opening panoramic, establishing shot - showing the scene of the action, a small middle-class New England town in autumn. The main protagonists are soon introduced of which the prime causal agent is an unsettled woman, Cary Scott (Jane Wyman), in keeping with romantic melodrama.
It is evident that Western Cultural values are diffused worldwide through the movie industry. The films are controlled by western funding and reflect Western perspectives vividly. Between the lines in the scripts, filmgoers are urged to link the Western culture and “whiteness” with positive-hence legitimate-values and accept whites dominant position. Film is a powerful medium, thus movies were created with emotional designs on the individual audience in order to control his or her mind hence Hollywood serve as the functional means for establishing the concept of white supremacy. Hollywood movies are therefore the main instruments for establishing the whit supremacy mind-set that automatically triggers the message that whites are far superior than any other race. Ideological hegemony theorizes the way in which relationships of domination and exploitation are embedded in the dominant ideas of society. To the extent that dominant ideas are internalized, they induce consent to these relationships on the part of the dominated and exploited. Blood Diamond and In the Heat of the Night are two distinct movies where the movie makers present us with two different ideological concepts, Both films portrayed the white and non white consciousness. Blood Diamond they attacked their own race as In the Heat of the Night the whites attacked the non whites . Blood Diamond showed this in a more violent way then In the Heat of the Night did. The conscious of both films were power and authority. The blacks in each of these films are seen as secondary characters which is usually a way of promoting the supremacy of whites . The movie Blood Diamond discusses the complexity of conflicts with bringing western group intt Sierra Leone. This concept also trie...
It is a common mis-conception that films are merely entertainment, and serve no other purpose than to provide for the viewer a two-hour escape from reality. This is a serious under-estimation of the power, purpose, and potential of film, because film, upon reflection, revea...
Hollywood, the name alone sparks the interest of the public and invokes dreams of being famous in even the most humble soul. It temps us, influences us and whether we would like to admit it or not plays a role in our way of thinking. It plays a key role in Pop Culture and through movies, TV, radio and the ever expanding wave of magazines, Pop Culture and its influence seems to flow over the world like a great wave of information. One of the strongest areas that seem to be affected by this undeniable influence is the way in which we perceive other people, particularly people of other faiths. One faith that has acquired a particularly wicked reputation with the help of the negative propaganda provided by the many influences within American and European Pop Culture is Paganism.
The Last Temptation of Christ by Martin Scorsese shows the life of Jesus Christ and his struggle such as fear, reluctance, depression, doubt, and fear. However, the movie departs from the accepted Biblical depiction of the life of Jesus Christ. In other words, the movie is remotely derived from the Gospel of John, Luke, Mark, and Mathew. The movie starts with the renunciation that it is not based on the above gospels. Instead the movie is derived from the book, The Last Temptation of Christ by Nikos Kazantzakis. The book focuses on the dual nature of Christ or his humanity (Greydanus).
Film and literature are two media forms that are so closely related, that we often forget there is a distinction between them. We often just view the movie as an extension of the book because most movies are based on novels or short stories. Because we are accustomed to this sequence of production, first the novel, then the motion picture, we often find ourselves making value judgments about a movie, based upon our feelings on the novel. It is this overlapping of the creative processes that prevents us from seeing movies as distinct and separate art forms from the novels they are based on.
Portrayals of Biblical figures is nothing new, but this seemingly new trend of cinematically filling in Biblical gaps of history - as it were - most certainly is. In particular, Noah, Exodus: Gods and Kings, and Risen have each taken it upon itself to add flair to well documented scripture - as a means to reenact some of the most famous moments in the Bible.
Irish-born French author Samuel Beckett was well known for his use of literary devices such as black comedy in his various literary works. Written during late 1948 and early 1949 and premiered as a play in 1953 as En attendant Godot, Beckett coupled these devices with minimalism and absurdity in order to create the tragicomedy known to English speakers as Waiting for Godot. True to its title, Waiting for Godot is the tale of a pair of best friends known as Vladimir (Didi) and Estragon (Gogo) who are waiting for the character the audience comes to know as Godot to appear. Throughout Beckett’s play Waiting for Godot, Samuel Beckett alludes to the monotheistic religion of Christianity through symbols, dialogue, and characters to reveal the heavy invisible influence of God in the daily life of man.
Many stories in the Bible are incredible, but one of the most incredible and important would be the story of Joseph. Being viewed by many Christian and non-Christian families, have inspired many and taught many valuable lessons along the way. One would be the fact that it teaches moral values that will most likely be carried with the viewer for the rest of their life. Faith, patience, and trust have been presented in this movie, which are some of the morals that are being taught. What makes this movie a Christian film, is not just its incredible values presented, but also the fact that it is an incredible Christian movie that is enjoyed by all who watch it.
When considering morality, worthy to note first is that similar to Christian ethics, morality also embodies a specifically Christian distinction. Studying a master theologian such as St. Thomas Aquinas and gathering modern perspectives from James Keenan, S. J. and David Cloutier serve to build a foundation of the high goal of Christian morality. Morality is a primary goal of the faith community, because it is the vehicle for reaching human fulfillment and happiness. Therefore, great value can be placed on foundations of Christian morality such as the breakdown of law from Aquinas, the cultivation of virtues, the role of conscience in achieving morality, and the subject of sin described by Keenan.