When Battle Royale first made its debut to the world, there were already concerns from the government and parents about its effects on teenagers. Despite the Motion Picture Code Committee restricting admission to anyone under sixteen, teenagers still camped out for two days to see the opening screening (G. Sparks and C. Sparks 269). The film was controversial for its extreme violence, but the reactions of the adults to try and control their children tellingly echoed the conflict within the film itself, something its director had purposefully highlighted. Kinji Fukasaku used props throughout his film to represent the challenging relationships between the older and younger generations of Japan. Based in real life encounters and the failings of the Japanese school system, Fukasaku brought the conflicts between the government, parents, teachers, and students to the screen in a darkly humorous bloodbath.
Authority Figures versus Children
To better understand Fukasaku’s approach to his film, it will help to examine his own childhood. As a young teenager, Fukasaku grew up in a country plagued by the horrors of World War II:
His class was drafted into the war effort, and they found themselves working in a munitions factory. [...] The classmates were caught in a barrage of artillery fire. [...] The survivors of the attack used the corpses of their friends as cover and, after the violence has passed, Fukasaku and his surviving friends were given the task of disposing of the body parts
In the story “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell and the poem “Porphyria’s Lover” by Robert Browning, the authors use characterization and imagery to convey that the desire for power can drive man to psychotic actions.
Koushun Takami’s exhilarating novel, “Battle Royale”, is placed in takes place in an alternate world, in a continent called the Republic of Greater Asia. The Dictator every year will force a class of students to fight their friends to the death. At the beginning of the story, the protagonist Shuya, and his peers think they are being taken on a field trip, but are really gassed and then taken to an island off the coast of present day Japan. Upon waking up they are all greeted by a man by the name of Sakamochi. He then explains to them all that they will all be taking part in this years game. In the confusion Shuyas best friend, upon being outraged at the treatment of his foster mother, is shot and killed in front of all his peers. Another
I will be investigating how youth is represented in the films A clockwork orange (1972) and If…. (1968) and how the films affected the views of the time and how the films influenced youths.
What is human nature? The Bible says in Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” We are all fallen, sinful and depraved, all of us are. Humans are evil. Genesis 1-3 shows us that God made us whole and good, but we have ruined his perfect plan. The greatest of men were all sinners. Moses, the leader of Israel was a murder (Exodus 2:11-15), David slept with Bathsheba and then killed her husband (2 Samuel 11-12), Paul murdered christians (Acts 9), and the list goes on and on.
Japan is home to millions of individuals. All of them with different beliefs, religions, and traditions. Japan has a long and influential visual arts history. More specifically, the Japanese film industry has had a large influence on the cinematic world stage. Due to Japans tragic and destructive history, several different categories of society were affected. Their economic industry and visual arts industry are just some examples. Japans history has had consequences on both its social and political sectors. These reactions/repercussions can be seen in Japans film industry. In my paper, I will be looking at the political and social issues involved in the movies Spirited Away and Roshamon. The repercussions of World War 2 are important in understanding both of these Japanese films. The women portrayed in these films are both respected and docile. Moreover, the genres of these films have had a lasting effect on society.
Resourcefulness is being able to overcome difficulties quickly and in a clever way. Resourcefulness can also be using one’s surroundings for his/her benefit with prior knowledge and experience. In Richard Connell’s short story “The Most Dangerous Game” the main character Rainsford shows these skills of resourcefulness as he tries to survive the hunt. Rainsford is an experienced big game hunter that is trapped on a tropical jungle covered island with another big game hunter, General Zaroff. Zaroff has gained so much experience in hunting, due to this he has lost interest in hunting animals and now enjoys the hunt of humans. Rainsford is put in the position to be torched or participate in a game of hunting. When Rainsford is challenged to this game of hunting he is forced to try and survive. Rainsford is able to survive the hunt because he uses his resources and prior knowledge to weaken Zaroff helping him win the hunt.
This film highlights the flaws of humanity in a western world. The films ability to touch on topics of classism, prostitution, and alcoholism makes the content mature and unlike typical western films. This revolutionary and innovative western created a foundation for many future films. The sophistication of the content, and lack of adherence to the production code makes this film an “adult”
Is it possible for one to flourish and break through norms in a repressed, corrupt society? Ralph Ellison’s Battle Royal presents an eighteen year old African American narrator who is invited to a superior all-white event to deliver his valedictorian speech. The narrator is determined to be accepted by the whites, however it seems that there is always a price. Before he is allowed to speak, he is forced into a blind fist-fight with nine other African American boys from his school; this is the moment of betrayal and loss of innocence. Throughout the story, his grandfather’s last words echo in that back of his mind about resorting to manipulation because the lack of power. Ellison conveys the ideas of obliviousness in youth and the failure to
One of the darker actions examined in this unit takes place in "The Most Dangerous Game" by Richard Connell. In this short story, General Zaroff begins hunting a man lost on his island named Rainsford. Bored of the usual game, General Zaroff decides he wants something more exciting and chooses to prey on humans. This ill-judged decision has a domino effect on the plot, ultimately ending in the demise of Zaroff. Nonetheless, an alternate ending besides death could have very well been a possibility. Perhaps, instead of hunting humans, Zaroff decides to open a hunting camp to share his passion for the sport with others. Obviously, his boredom is caused by the island's isolation from society. So, Zaroff could have built homes and started a community or decide to leave the island altogether. Then, the course of this story would have taken a completely different path. Maybe, Zaroff finds a wife, they have children and live happily ever after. If only he was able to overcome his dark side instead of letting it consume him.
In the short story by Richard Connell, The Most Dangerous Game, Sanger Rainsford finds himself in a sticky situation when he meets General Zaroff. General Zaroff is a very talented hunter and had become tired of hunting the same old animals as always, they bored him as he explained in the story, he had now moved on to the best prey he could find, a prey that could fight and think for themselves, and that prey was humans. Rainsford is taken aback by this confession and is alarmed, he asks Zaroff to let him go, but Zaroff has other plans. In order for Rainsford to get off the island alive he must survive three full days on the island while being hunted by General Zaroff. Rainsford agrees, knowing that if declines this choice his life would have a much more unpleasant future. And so the the hunt began, but Rainsford had some tricks up his sleeve.
There are survivors all around us, and they all could have faced grave challenges to be standing where they are today. Rainsford, in the "Most Dangerous Game" by Richard Connell, faced intense challenges in a "fight to the death" conflict against one of his most successful supporters, General Zaroff. Lee, from "My escape from North Korea" by Hyeonseo Lee, faced tough challenges while trying to escape the depths of a country that treated her horrendously. Aron Ralston, from "Trapped", a story explaining that Aron himself was hiking alone when the unthinkable happened: Two large, heavy boulders fell on his arm and he had to endure over a hundred painful hours of being trapped in between the two rocks until he did a self-amputation on the arm
(1) Content: Determine what information the source can give you. Is it relevant to your subject? Will it help you complete your study?
Black people as a whole come in so many different shapes, sizes and mindsets. There are black people that believe that they need to conform to that of white people to excel in life and there are those black people that do not care for white people and are carefree. The main characters in “Battle Royal” and “Big Boy Leaves Home” represent this diversity of black people. The narrator in “Battle Royale” represents a different type of blackness than that of Big Boy and his friends in “Big Boy Leaves Home.” He represents the intelligent and busy black person like that of people of the north. He is a very timid and naive individual who believes that the only way he is going to be successful is to be able to conform to the ways of the white people. Big Boy and his friends are the opposite of the narrator, they also represent another type of blackness. They were carefree and simple individuals who did what they wanted. They represented the simple way of the southern people. These characters represent the diverse forms of blackness in African Americans.
In the game of Yu-Gi-Oh, there is a lot of give and take when it comes to cards. When determining whether a card is good or not, I often look at just the good parts of the effect and not the drawbacks. For example, there is a card called Card of Demise. This card allows you to draw until you have 3 cards in your hand, but you cannot do damage to your opponent for the rest of the turn, you send your entire hand to the Graveyard during the End Phase, and you cannot Special Summon during the turn you activate this card. While there are some clear negatives to the card, I overlook those and really only look at the fact that you can draw up to 3 cards, which is unprecedented in Yu-Gi-Oh. While the creators of the card, Konami, try to make Card
The cinematography of this film features numerous close-ups of its adolescent protagonists as well as point-of-view shots acquired predominantly from their perspective, thus making the viewers position themselves firmly on the boys’ side of