COMM 3002*01 Film Theory

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Coach Carter

Coach carter 2 from Sneakerhead103

Final Assignment

Coach carter from Sneakerhead103

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Westerns

Renia Singleton

December 3, 2012

COMM 3002

Westerns

Before watching the films “The Searchers” and “Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid” I can honestly say that I've never watched a western movie. I always had these stereotypes about western movies. I thought that they were the just pointless films that were in black and white, and cowboys who shoot guns. After watching these films my mind was changed. I actually enjoyed both of these films and can say that I would watch another western film.

George Roy Hill directed Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid in 1969. Paul Newman played Butch Cassidy, who is the leader of the hole in the wall gang. The gang went all over town robbing different business. The first robbery went well, the second robbery attempt didn't run to smooth. Butch and Sundance were on the run from the law. But I don’t want give away the rest of the movie, to find out what happens next you have to watch the rest of the movie.

The Searchers was directed by John Ford in 1956. The Searcher was an excellent film. It won a National Film Registry in 1989 (IMDB,2012). The plot of the story is a civil war veteran who spends several years look for his abducted niece who was captured by Indians. The Searchers was the movie that showed me that not all western films are about shooting guns, but this film actually had a story line that was interesting a kept my attention enough though that was the first western film I've seen. “John Ford's classic 1956 western film The Searchers, starring John Wayne, drew inspiration from the 19th-century kidnappings of Cynthia Ann Parker:, first as a child by Comanche warriors, and over two decades later--as a wife and mother--by misguided whites seeking to rescue her from her captors and adoptive family.” (Publishers Weekly, 2012).

Both “The Searchers” and “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” fit into the western film theory. Both films take place in the late 1900’s, and are in black in white. The films portray the hardships. The settings were both in the wilderness. “The wilderness can take the form of antagonistic forces in direct conflict with civilizing settlers, such as the Apache Indians in John Ford’s The Searchers (1956) and Stagecoach (1939), or the free-range cattleman of George Stevens’s Shane (1948)" (Barsam 96). The films both betrayed some act of violence whether the characters were protecting or causing the violence. Laws were broken in both films. These are obvious reasons why western genre fits both of these films.

It is safe to say that John Ford brought a new light to western films. “He did not invent the genre, of course, and hardly restricted himself to it in the course of a career that began in the silent era and lasted more than 50 years” (Scott, 2006). It’s surprising that this film didn't win many films.

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid also interest me. I was surprised to find out that it was about the lives of Wild West outlaws Robert LeRoy Parker, and partner Harry Longabaugh. “This is one film that lived up to its box office - it was the highest-grossing film of 1969 and one of the most entertaining films of its era” (Hartlaub, 2009).

I am new to western films but I would definitely recommend these films to anyone. Both films opened my eyes that I need to step outside my comfort zone when it comes to films. I usually watch urban films because I feel that I can relate to those films, but I will now start to give of genres a chance. Western films aren’t just about cowboys and shooting each other but there are plot behind these great films.

Citations

"The Searchers: The Making Of An American Legend." Publishers Weekly 259.46 (2012): 50. Literary Reference Center. Web. 4 Dec. 2012.

Peter, Hartlaub. "San Francisco International Film Festival / Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid." San Francisco Chronicle (10/1/2007 to present) 19 Apr. 2009: R19. Newspaper Source Plus. Web. 4 Dec. 2012.

IMDb, . N.p.. Web. 4 Dec 2012.

Scott, A.O. "New York Times Movies." New York Times Movies. (2006): n. page. Web. 4 Dec. 2012. .

Barsam, Richard. Looking At Movies. 3rd ed. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2010. 96. Print.

CHECKLIST FOR PLAGIARISM

1) (x ) I have not handed in this assignment for any other class.

2) (x ) If I reused any information from other papers I have written for other classes, I clearly explain that in the paper.

3) (x ) If I used any passages word for word, I put quotations around those words, or used indentation and citation within the text.

4) ( x) I have not padded the bibliography. I have used all sources cited in the bibliography in the text of the paper.

5) ( x) I have cited in the bibliography only the pages I personally read.

6) (x ) I have used direct quotations only in cases where it could not be stated in another way. I cited the source within the paper and in the bibliography.

7) (x ) I did not so over-use direct quotations that the paper lacks interpretation or originality.

8) (x ) I checked yes on steps 1-7 and therefore have been fully transparent about the research and ideas used in my paper.

Renia Singleton 12/4/12

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Class Presentations

I enjoyed everyone's presentation. Group 3 presentation was the fun. I love doing those logo quizzes. Some of of the logo I never seen before. Overall everyone did an excellent job.

Pan's Labyrinth

Pan’s Labyrinth was written and directed by Guillermo Del Toro in 2006. The film takes place during the final years of the Spanish Civil War. During the film you can see how woman play a major part in this film. Woman in the film were viewed by society as less than males. Women were supposed to cook, clean, give birth, and take care of the children. Men were seen as superior. Men were the one's who brought home the food, and went to war. Woman did as they were told. Woman weren't allowed to ask questions but to just obey men, and be loyal to men.
The Spanish Civil war was caused by two sides trying to take control of Spain, the nationalist and loyalists. The nationalists were aristocrats, military leaders, Roman Catholic, and were also members of the Falange Party. The Falange Party was at the time supported by Nazi Germany. The loyalists were supported by the Soviet Union. They were liberal, socialist, and communists. There were also other causes that led up to the Spanish Civil war. There had been a long period of decline since the Spanish empire. Little progress had been made, and had fallen behind in the industrialization process. The democracy in Spain had brought corrupt government. There was also deep division in Spanish society. They Spanish army were always interfering with the government. The army was concerned with the possibility that the communists would takeover.

Woman in Pan’s Labyrinth were shown as low class women. The film portrayed their purpose was to give birth, cook, clean, and watch the children. Throughout the film you saw the woman were in the in scenes where they were cooking, cleaning, or take care of the children. Ofelia's mother was putting the general in front of her own daughter. She wanted the daughter to respect the man as her father but in reality he was her stepfather. Everything Ofelia's mother did was to satisfy the father of her son. She wanted Ofelia to stop believing in fairy tales because it upset the general. But I began to wonder if this is what woman really did during a drastic time like the Spanish civil war.

As I began to do research I found out that woman played a major impact during the Spanish civil war. “Women helped collectivize the nation's infrastructure and mobilize relief efforts to nearly every facet of Spain's culture. The Mujeres Libres was the most powerful of women's groups that organized during this time, focusing on the equality of men and women. Lucía Sánchez Saornil, secretary general of Spain's version of the Red Cross, joined with Amparo Poch, director of social assistance at the Ministry of Health and Social Assistance established in Barcelona what became known as the Mujeres Libres, an organization that fought for women's rights.” (Chavis, 2012) Women were inspired by the Mujeres Libres began to create organizations that would benefit the nation as a whole. Woman during the Spanish civil war were beginning to be recognized by society as powerful woman.

I have come to the conclusion the Spanish civil war helped society see that woman are strong individuals. Mujeres Libres made a major impact on the view of woman. Although the movie portrayed woman as being housewives, it interesting to find out that they were anything but housewives. We don't really hear about the Spanish civil war but for it to one of the bloodiest war I am now able to say that I have learned into deeper detail about the Spanish civil war. Pan's Labyrinth was an amazing movie. I enjoyed it, even though it had captions. I'm usually not interested into fairy tales but this movie did an excellent job at capturing my attention through out the entire more. I would recommended this move to anyone.

Citations

Ø Chavis, Jason. "Women of the Spanish Civil War." eHow: Discover the expert in you.. ehow:Discover the expert in you.. Web. 22 Oct 2012. http://www.ehow.com/about_4579767_women-spanish-civil-war.html.

IMDb, . N.p.. Web. 23 Oct 2012. .