A film director in Louisiana wants to publish a documentary “that criticizes a candidate’s lack of integrity.” (writing prompt) The candidate responded to the documentary by stating that the material published would be scandalous and defamatory. The candidate decided to approach a Louisiana judge in the hopes of obtaining a restraining order against the publishing and completion of the documentary. “The judge reviewed the plans for the documentary and the film that had been recorded and determined its content was offensive and scandalous, although true and not defamatory.” (writing prompt) The judge decided to file the restraining order, which prevents the “sale, viewing, or distribution of the documentary.” (writing prompt) The dispute over this case is whether or not the director’s First-Amendment rights to release and complete the documentary have been infringed upon. Upon the basis that prior restraint is presumptively invalid by the government; the restraining order against the film director is unfounded and infringes upon the director’s rights protected under the First Amendment. The most applicable law to apply in this situation is equity law. Unlike other laws, judges, not legislatures make equity laws in order to provide fairness to citizens. Additionally, “equity law is based on the presumption that fairness is not always achieved through the rigid applications of strict rules.” (Trager, Russomanno, Ross, & Reynolds, 2014, p. 26) The First Amendment states:
The 1967 film by Mike Nicoles “The Graduate” is about Benjamin Braddock, a recent college graduate, who is at a crossroads in his life. He is caught between adolescence and adulthood searching for the meaning of his upper middle class suburban world of his parents. He then began a sexual relationship with the wife of his father’s business partner, Mrs. Robinson. Uncomfortable with his sexuality, Benjamin and Mrs. Robinson continue an affair during which she asked him to stay away from her daughter, Elaine. Things became complicated when Benjamin was pushed to go out with Elaine and he falls in love with her. Mrs. Robinson sabotaged the relationship and eventually the affair between Mrs. Robinson and
The vision Christopher Nolan had for The Prestige (2006) was to add to the outbreak of street magician film, whilst playing a large dramatic subplot equal in grandeur to the magical performances within the film. In the final sequence of the film, I will analyse how the cinematography and sound resolves the plot so that it summarises the themes present in the film, whilst also invoking a response from the audience. Nolan predominantly uses close up shots, non-diegetic sound (music) and dialogue collaboratively to convey the dramatic, personal subplot of the characters and their relationships, whilst appealing to the audience bringing forth an emotional response from the audience. The heavy, slow, dramatic atmosphere of the ending sequence uses various techniques to summarise and uncover the underlying mysteries of the events throughout the film and consolidate themes introduced during the exposition.
What were Edwin S. Porter's significant contributions to the development of early narrative film? In what sense did Porter build upon the innovations of contemporaneous filmmakers, and for what purposes?
Trainspotting presents an ostensible image of fractured society. The 1996 film opens, famously, with a series of postulated choicesvariables, essentially, in the delineation of identity and opposition. Significant here is the tone in which these options are deliveredit might be considered the rhetorical voice of society, a playful exposition of the pressure placed on individuals to make the "correct" choices, to conform to expectation.
unequal, and this is clearly unconstitutional, as is shown in the Equal Protection Clause of
The Waiting Room is a 2012 documentary film and social media project directed by Peter Nicks that follows the life and times of patients, doctors, and staff at Highland Hospital , a safety-net hospital in Oakland, California. The project includes a blog which features stories and conversations from the waiting room as well as behind-the-scenes information about the project. Frequent video updates from the project are posted on the blog. These videos examine what life is like in an American public hospital caring for a community of largely uninsured patients. Many hospitals and health systems provide charity care for uninsured individuals when they require acute care, but the most forward thinking ones are also concerned with caring for this
Rarely has a film impacted an audience and held the test of time as the film Gone with the Wind. I have always been curious if director, Victor Fleming and producer, David O. Selznick and screenplay writer, Sidney Howard knew what they were creating a masterpiece and how this film would have such an enormous impact on audiences for years to come. Interestingly enough there were some who thought the film should not be made, as Irving Thalberg said to Louis B. Meyer in 1936, “Forget it Louis, no Civil War picture ever made a nickel” (Ten Films that Shook the World).
The use of technology has catalyzed society into an era that is increasingly interconnected yet impersonal at the same time. Despite technology’s endless list of assets, many fail to acknowledge its shortcomings when mentioning what is lost as a result of using it. Although in “Great to Watch” by Maggie Nelson, she is not afraid to share her skepticism of technology, as well as the role it plays in desensitizing individuals on a day-to-day basis. The internet is an invaluable resource to many because it is a public domain for sharing ideas, opinions, and knowledge that any and everyone can have access to. In a sense, it does not restrict what someone may see or do, and this can either be a good thing or a bad thing. The booming use of new media
In 2011, American filmmaker, Marisa Miller Wolfson, made a 76-minute documentary titled, ‘Vegucated.’ Wolfson, a practicing vegan, cites her research on foods and especially animal-based foods as her rationale for opting to go vegan. Notably, upon going vegan, she became healthier, lost weight, and even felt happier because she was no longer contributing to the inhuman treatment of animals. In her quest to become a vegan, Wolfson made the film after moving to New York City. Her concurrent idea in the film is the effects of animal diets versus the effects of vegan diets. Evidently, through its participants, the film illustrates that avoidance of animal products results to weight loss and
Every year, millions of students across America attend a college or university hoping to further their education and prepare for the futures. The purpose of higher education is to create prepared minds and to help the students reach their full potential. However, the documentary Declining by Degrees, produced by the Public Broadcasting System (PBS) in 2005, questions and challenges the post-secondary education system. The documentary exposes the problems of modern day post-secondary institutes that are hindering the process of education for students. Despite the secrecy of it all, higher education is jeopardizing student’s learning because of issues within the education system surrounding research driven professors and grade inflation.
In society, both past and present, individuals with mental illnesses are judged and stigmatized for their inabilities and differences. The Australian filmmaker, Michael Buckley explores this aspect of society through his short biographical film Witness implicating the life of John Harrowell and his sufferings due to being institutionalized at such a young age. The text runs for brief period of time, but within that short period of time, a variety of filmic techniques are utilised to create a more emotional impact on the viewers. Through the utilisation of three prominent filmic techniques; symbolism, characterisation and themes, Buckley is able to effectively portray the tragic life of John
Since the beginning of the Industrial Age, Americans have idealized the journey towards economic success. One thing people do not realize, however, is that that journey is not the same for every individual. For Charles Foster Kane (Orson Welles), the main character of Citizen Kane, directed by Orson Welles, the path towards riches and a fulfilled life is being well liked. He serves to please others. He strives for that attention. This view cost him his happiness in the end. In this man’s rise and fall through prosperity, Welles shows the futility of striving solely for likeability.
The film Witness(underline witness), Directed by Peter Weir was famous in 1984. This film is about two cultures clashing with each other the Amish and The Western Society and a story line of a murder crime. “A big city cop who knows too much...His only evidence: A small boy who’s seen too much”. The main character of this film is Harrison Ford as John Book. Today I will be talking about two of the themes Peter Weir uses in the film ‘Witness’. They are the clash of two worlds and power.
The Minority Report is a film that tries to stop crimes before they happen, with the enlistment of 3 teen pre-cogs. These pre-cogs predict future murders and the authorities swoop in and arrest the would-be murders, before they have the chance of committing the crime. Even thing goes great until Anderton, a cop played by Tom Cruise, is suspected. Written by Philip K. Dick and then turned to film by Steven Spielberg in 2002, the short story to film became a success. Though there are many differences between the book and the movie, one would think Steven Spielberg would not be able to grab audience’s attention, but with his skills, Spielberg went above and beyond all measures. Many times, novels to films end up being either a great hit
Released in 1988 by director Giuseppe Tomatore, “Cinema Paradiso” follows the life of a young boy in Italy who dreams of being a filmmaker. The road the boy, who eventually becomes a famous Italian film director named Salvatore Di Vita, takes to reach his goal is difficult and includes many sacrifices and trade-offs. Today, the film is widely regarded as one of the most popular foreign films ever to be released in the United States. Given that foreign films are fairly common in America, it is fair to consider why “Cinema Paradiso” received such critical acclaim, as well as relative mainstream popularity. “Cinema Paradiso” received critical and popular praise because the film includes several timeless themes