American Graffiti (1973)
This classic move focuses on a single night in the early Sixties, the hopeful future of the main characters is followed by the events which occur. Steve (Ron Howard), and Curt (Richard Dreyfuss) will be leaving for college the very next day, the build up of years of hard work. Finally they'll be able to leave their small hometown and "spread their wings", experiencing life in ways they never have. Curt is unattached to anyone, but Steve will be leaving behind his longtime girlfriend Laurie (Cindy Williams), who happens to be Curt's sister. Also remaining at home are Terry (Charles Martin Smith), a fumbling nerd, and John (Paul Le Mat), an older kid with "the fastest
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This emotional turbulence takes a heavy toll on Laurie; she made all of the moves in their relationship and loves Steve dearly but is caught in the trap of what she wants (to stay with Steve) and what she should do (let him go). Steve's so confident of flying away that he gives his car to Terry, the stereo-typical dork, the opportunity to cruise with the best of them.
John's car is a true hot-rod, fast, sleek and good at attracting the attention of the cops. Feeling somewhat lonely he's on the look out for any female company. He didn't expect to get left with a 13-year-old girl, Carol (Mackenzie Phillips). Embarrassing him just by being in the car, where everyone can see them, and chattering at high speed, John holds little back about how he feels. He constantly reminds her of where she stands. He has bigger things to attend to, being aware of an opponent, Falfa (Harrison Ford). Falfa is searching for him, but, John is reluctant to continually defend his position as the best. He's seen the wrecks of those who've failed and doesn't wish to end up that way. Meanwhile, Terry gets lucky with an older girl, Debbie (Candy Clark), Steve and Laurie oscillate between breaking up and staying together and Curt finds himself involved in a little trouble.
With tons of different plots going on at once, the over all attraction of American Graffiti is it's awesome
John says in the movie he’s always reminded of the crash everyday because of his leg and he doesn't think it's ever gonna go away. His drugs abuse takes over his life causing him to be evicted and become homeless. John family takes him in during his crisis but he begins to steal from them to the point where he steals his mother’s Cadillac from the garage. John ends up living under a bridge because he loses the support of his family. The family last straw is when John joins The Judge Mathis show seeking legal action against Shannon Whisnant for custody over who owns the leg. During the show he’s so high off coke and
American Gangster tells a story about how the emerge of drug traffic and trade was in the streets of Harlem, New York. Denzel Washington plays real life gangster- Frank Lucas back in the 70s that was originally from North Carolina.
Peter Moskos‘, Cop in The Hood, is the story of a sociologist going native by going through the Baltimore police academy, becoming a cop and working for over a year. The book follows Moskos chronological journey, from the academy to the street and the last part of the book is dedicated to a pretty thorough analysis of the War on Drugs.
The sheen of a freshly waxed paint job, the purrs of a well-oiled engine, how the wind feels in your face as you roll the window down for some fresh air. They make everything about the car seem perfect and polished, ready to own the road.
LGBT stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender. Most recently the community added on “QI” to represent those who identify as queer and intersex individuals.
David Flincher's movie, Fight Club, shows how consumerism has caused the emasculation of the modern male and reveals a tale of liberation from a corporate controlled society. Society's most common model of typical man is filthy, violent, unintelligent, immature, sexist, sex hungry, and fundamentally a caveman. In essence Tyler Durden, is the symbolic model for a man. He is strong enough to withstand from society's influences and his beliefs to remain in tact. Jack, the narrator, on the other hand is the opposite. He is a weak, squeamish, skinny man who has not been able to withstand society's influence; therefore, he is the Ikea fetish. Unlike Tyler, Jack is weak minded. Both Jack and Tyler are polar opposite models of
John Lennon of the famous rock band, The Beatles, once said, “If everyone demanded peace instead of another television set, then there’d be peace”. This quote essentially defines the 1960s and the counterculture movement in America. After WWII people had much more free time than they did during the war, and many people decided that they wanted to settle down and start a family. This caused a large boom in child birth. The children born during this boom are known as “baby-boomers”. “Due to the baby boom between 1945 and 1955, over half the population was under 30 years old” (The American Experience 1). During this time in American history, the children of the “baby boomer” generation started rebelling against the war in Vietnam and the
Central Park was the first landscaped public park in the United States. Advocates of creating the park – primarily wealthy merchants and landowners – admired the public grounds of London and Paris and urged that New York needed a comparable facility to establish its international reputation. A public park, they argued, would offer their own families an attractive setting for carriage rides and provide working-class New Yorkers with a healthy alternative to the saloon. After three years of debate over the park site and cost, in 1853 the state legislature authorized the City of New York to use the power of eminent domain to acquire more than 700 acres of land in the center of Manhattan.
“The first rule about fight club is that you don’t talk about fight club” (Palahniuk 87). The story of Fight Club was very nail biting; you never knew what was going to happen next. There were so many things that led up to a complete plot twist. It was amazing how closely directed and written Chuck Palahniuk and David Fincher’s versions were. However, the role in both that stood out to me the most was the role of Marla. Marla was the biggest influence in discovering the narrator (or Jack’s) identity.
For the first time in American history, a large population of people of all ages, classes, and races came together to challenge the traditional institutions, traditional values in society, and "the establishment" in general. Youth, women, ethnic minorities, environmentalists, migrant workers and others caused the emergence of the counter culture. This cultural movement from 1960 to 1973 was caused by many factors. This era was one that was filled with many important events that shaped the way that Americans viewed life. Those who were unhappy with what was going on around them and took part in this social phenomenon reflected and demonstrated their attitudes, values, and ideals in many ways. Various things from
Los Angeles was the first product off the assembly line of American urban planning. Turned on in the late 19th century, the city-making machine was fueled by an immense immigration of people who sought to create a new type of city out of the previously quaint pueblo. They also strove to craft the first major city developed primarily by Americans and outside of European archetypes. As a result, Los Angles is not only incredibly diverse, but also nearly impossible to define. Since it is a product of the American machine, understanding the community of Los Angeles becomes vital to understanding the United States. But to fully comprehend the present Los Angeles, one must look at the process that created it. Specifically, Los Angeles was
Chuck Palahniuk’s Fight Club is a seductive novel which chronicles an unnamed narrator’s ability to cope with an emasculated, self-centered, materialistic society by creating an alter ego. Throughout the text, the theme of the emasculated modern man is presented both in the life of the narrator, and in the lives of the male characters he surrounds himself with. Through notions of absent fathers, consumerism and an innocuous/aimless existence, Palahniuk presents how men in modern society have lost their masculine identity and the extreme actions they go to in order to obtain it again.
Religious imagery is something that can be found in artwork all through the centuries. An anonymous world-renowned graffiti artist who goes by ‘Banksy’ places traditional paintings in public places altered to send an iconoclastic message about society and government. In this image he depicts a traditional figure of Jesus dying on the cross, but in his hands can be found shopping bags full of presents and candy. Jesus, an iconic figure in religious history, has been turned into a puppet to fit the mold of our consumer driven society. The rhetor presents an iconoclastic view that the integral commemoration of Jesus’ death and the religious aspects
Art: the ultimate form of self expression. But, what constitutes an art? And, who decides? These very questions plague society as it tries to decide and define the official status of graffiti--art or vandalism? Because it has found its way into art galleries and because of the community of artists who challenge and inspire each other, graffiti should be considered art and as a way to express oneself.
For the following analysis, I will be discussing the movie Fight Club’s two main characters. They are “Jack” played by Edward Norton, and Tyler Durden played by Brad Pitt. However the twist to the movie turns out that Jack and Tyler are the same person and Tyler is Jack’s real name. Tyler the character is everything that Jack the character is not. The story narration is provided by the protagonist of “Fight Club,” “Jack.” The ambivalent protagonist, who only refers to himself as “Jack.” An ambivalent protagonist, usually the main character, is someone the audience likes, but who possesses character flaws.