Bad Girl Film Analysis

The 1946 film The Killers is a renowned film noir based off of Ernest Hemingway’s short story of the same title, focusing on the detailed backstory and investigation for the motive of the murder of Pete Lund/Ole Anderson, commonly known and referred to as “The Swede.” A film noir is a term made originally to describe American mystery and thriller movies produced in the time period from 1944-1954, primarily marked by moods of menace, pessimism, and fatalism. Although the film does not focus on the war itself at all, it still puts forth interesting new ways in how gender relations can be stereotypical as well as divergent proceeding the Second World War.

Bulman explains, “I analyze these films as data, as cultural artifacts, to see what patterns and trends they reveal…I intend to gain access to certain aspects of American society through the myths that Americans tell to them in the movies (12).”Therefore, this shows how the division of social groups and economic inequality plays a role in our perception of American society. Bulman introduces his topics of different social school by separating each and dismembering them WORK ON INTR

Looking at the socially or culturally history of the United States, many historians use Hollywood films as a primary source. I also used many films such as Easy Rider (1969) or Dance, Girl, Dance (1941) to support my historical thesis paper and to make the topic more vivid by using the images of the film. Even though, some people think that films are accurate and authentic in its depiction, it is important to mention that films are still fictional. Directors and actors are responsible to make us believe their story, but this story does not have to be necessarily true. In that way, fictional films cannot be used as historical evidence in terms of how things looked like during that specific

Harold and Maude, a movie directed by Hal Ashby and released in the 1970’s, did not receive much attention and popularity when first released. Since the movie depicted obsession with suicide through a 20-year-old character Harold, the movie received backlash because during the 1970’s there were high rates of suicides among teenagers and college students. However, over time college students found the movie very entertaining, therefore bringing the movie into the lights and making it a cult hit. In Blue Velvet, a neo-noir mystery film directed by David Lynch and released in 1986, received a variety of critical responses from a wide range of audience, but this movie’s unique style earned Lynch his second nomination for Best Director. The idea of innocent getting caught in a web of evil is portrayed through the character Jeffrey Beaumont, who first encounter’s a severed ear in a grassy abandoned field. In this paper I will compare and contrast these two movies that include key actors Bud Cort, played as Harold, and Kyle MacLachlan, played as Jeffrey and include a few key points that have made these movies enjoyable to watch.

Both Laura Mulvey and bell hooks describe the idea of the “gaze” in film. In both of the theories presented by Mulvey and hooks, the “gaze” is the way in which viewers are subjected to a particular perspective because of their social standing. In Mulvey’s case, she argues that the “gaze” in which the audience is forced into is that of the “male gaze” while hooks argues a more nuanced “gaze” including the “oppositional gaze”. While some of Mulvey’s argument is accurate, hooks argues that it leaves out important other factors, in particular, race. Both arguments have many similarities and differences, and can be seen exemplified in many films, such as Spike Lee’s She’s Gotta Have It.

The film industry has created the conventional gender roles of society into their movies; A majority of films have supported some of the male and female stereotypes. In the history of the film industry, the role of men is primarilythat of the stereotypical working class man or hero, while the roles of women are primarily portrayed as being somewhat inferior to men. In the 1930s through the 1970s, men held the leading roles in films while women played smaller roles. Men were typically employed, successful gentlemen, while the woman’s only job was a housewife. The film industry was mostly dominated by men. In terms of jobs, women were given mostly family roles and rarely were shown outside of their homes, while men had

The rise of Blaxploitation films such as Coffy revived the social problem films of the 1940s, but instead introduced new representations of race and gender as well as the drug crisis of the 1970s. Despite the progressiveness of Blaxploitation films in relation to previous films such as Birth of a Nation–where black characters were exploited through flat, racial stereotypes for the enjoyment of white audiences–they also thrived on the exploitation of evolved black stereotypes of the 1970s; Bogle’s “black buck,”1 characterized by violence and insatiable sexual desire evolved into the 1970s “pimp daddy,” thriving through hustling women, selling drugs, and sending hits when necessary. The representation of black women in films followed a

1955 marked the year in which Nicholas Ray's film Rebel Without a Cause was released as the latest Hollywood success. With its revolutionary acting and modern style, Rebel Without a Cause proved to be an ideal example of progressive, contemporary cinema. Amidst these factors is the intricate screenplay regarding a rebellious adolescent and his troubled relationships with his family and new found friends. Unfortunately, this was a film that was produced in the mid-1950s, a time when the self-censorship board in the U.S. did not permit certain political and societal issues to be addressed in films. As a result, various controversial matters could only be suggested or implied, opposed to directly dealt with. One such issue that Rebel

Growing up in the 90s, watching movies were essential components of life. Specifically, comedies were the heart of interest until teenage years. The notion of wanting to watch a film that resonated with self and culture seemed right. Classic lines such as "I hate you Jody", "Bye, Felecia", or "Eat the cake Anna Mae" were jocular moments that had deeper meanings after years of pondering on how African American women are showcased in Hollywood films. After analyzing the depth of the roles in which African American women in classical Hollywood are depicted, there are three basic roles in which they are giving: the help, the hoodlum, and/ or the

The 1950’s were a time of change, the entertainment industry started to target steadily teenagers with their movies and messages. During the 1950’s many teenagers became rebellious and disobedient, and sought out something fresh and modern, opposing what their parents’ enjoyed, the very traditional heros like Cary Grant and Humphrey Bogart. With the entrance of James Dean, Marlon Brando and the anti-hero archetype to the big screen, many teenagers could relate with the stories of defiant protagonists and rebellious actions. Moreover in the article titled“What’s the Big Deal? Rebel Without a Cause (1955)-Part 1”, by Eric D.Snieder, it states that “Teens had worries, too — they just didn’t have much in the way of movies, TV, or music to help

The film industry has created the conventional gender roles of society into their movies. A majority of films have supported some of the male and female stereotypes. In the history of the film industry, the role of men is primarily that of the stereotypical working class man or hero, while the roles of women are primarily portrayed as being somewhat inferior to men. In the 1930s through the 1970s, men held the leading roles in films while women played smaller roles. In terms of jobs, women were given mostly family roles and rarely were shown outside of their homes, while men had successful careers and did many activities outside of home. “Women were shown doing housework and men were the beneficiaries of their work” (“Women’s roles in the

Women were now being portrayed as powerful, unpredictable, and possessing a mysterious sexual power, which they used to elude male control. The 1960’s also brought with it his tensions that resulted the escalating war in Vietnam, the assassination of John F. Kennedy, black ghettos going up in flames, the women’s liberation movement, the youth anti-war rebellion and free love theme, and the Civil Rights movement. It was safe to say that the American public had violence on its mind and the movie industry capitalized on the public’s apprehensions.

In this essay, I have chose to talk about the movies, American Beauty and Thirteen from group #1. The two topics discussed in this essay from group #2 are identity and difference along with sexuality. The cinematic elements from group #3 that will be discussed are cinematography and costume use. In many ways, both these films portray similar content in terms of characters fighting battles with themselves and society in order to fit in. In American Beauty, Lester Burnham tries to free himself from his boring life and depression. On the other hand, Thirteen shows the struggles of Tracy Freeland, who tries to fit in at school. This results in her to go on a self-inflicting rampage with her supposedly

In essence, this paper will outline two significant themes related to crime and the effect of media explored in the film. Most notably, the nature of crime and criminality is explored thoroughly. Specifically, the effect limited opportunities and racial stereotyping can have on promoting an individual down a path of crime. Particular attention will be given to a scene in which a youthful fox wishes to join a prey-dominant Boy Scout troop, only to be rejected and humiliated because he is a predator. Furthermore, the concept of a moral panic caused by media news reporting is displayed excellently in a montage scene in which prey are scared of predators as the media reports that aggression and criminality is in their nature. Finally, I will critique how these issues are communicated in a neo-noir

The presentation of women on screen is another highlighted issue in many of the gathered sources. Because men were ultimately in control of what went on the screen much of what the audience perceived were women from the male imagination or fantasy. Bernard Beck elaborates in his article Where the Boys Are: The Contender and other Movies about Women in a Man’s World that, “…women have been used to dress up a male story or motivate a male character” (Beck 15). Women were often insignificant and trivial characters. Although, Kathe Davis disagrees to a point. In her article, Davis offers a dissonant opinion to the fore-mentioned insignificance of the female character. She instead describes many female characters as “predators,” and analyzes the roles of lead women in three prominent films of the nineteenth century. In each film, she finds parallels and similarities of cases of “female emasculation” and instances where “women are turned into objects of male desire” (Davis 47-48). Davis does not perceive female characters as being insignificant, just stripped of their power and misrepresented. She discusses how females of power are often portrayed as crazy