Before Sunrise and Before Sunset

To start, the film seems like your basic run-on-the mill coming of age tale with a group of teenagers growing up to desire more after they graduate high school. However, there are various more themes discreetly displayed throughout the runtime of the film. For example, one central sociological overtone of this film is Marxism. With this overtone, it becomes possible to view this light-hearted and comedic movie in a

To begin, Zora Neale Hurston uses sunset motifs to foreshadow events that are negative. In chapter four of the novel, the motif is used to symbolize the marriage of Joe Starks and Janie Crawford. “So they were married there before sundown, just like Joe had said. With new clothes of silk and wool” (Hurston 33). Janie thinks she has found love within the marriage and it creates a build up to the climax. “They sat on the boarding house porch and saw the sun plunge into the same crack in the earth from which the night emerged” (Hurston 33). The relationship between Joe and Janie becomes abusive and untrustworthy. After Joe’s death, a weight of pain and sorrow is lifted from her shoulders and is free.

This is one of the main theories I will be applying to the two films I will be analysing, ‘IF….’ And ‘A Clockwork Orange’.

He describes the dresses and the cheep fabrics of “nylon” and fake colours “lemons mauves and olives” and from the way he uses foods can be interpreted to have a significant symbolic meaning in the sense that these organic foods become out of date in time, which could be suggesting he has a bitter opinion on marriage that it will soon become dull over time and never last. In the penultimate stanza he writes how “none thought of the others they would never meet or how their lives would all contain this hour” he really expresses Larkin’s view on marriage and commitment, as he appears to feel that marriage limits chances and options it also raises the question as to whether he feared marriage and the change it could have on his life and freedom. This would suggest that as opposed to hating marriage Larkin merely feared it. The line “ sun destroys the interest of what’s happening in the shade” metaphorically could be interpreted to show how fabulous display of a wedding can “destroy” or distract what happened out of view from the public like the stress, disputes and reality of faults in the relationship. The imagery of the sun also creates a bright beautiful link with weddings that people see on the surface juxtaposed with the reality of dullness as the years go on.

As Lennie's captors advance on him "Already the sun had left the valley to go climbing up the slopes of the Gabilan Mountains, and the hill tops were rosy in the sun". The fact that the hill tops are rosy after he has dies suggests that he is better off dead and will be happier in heaven. And the sun leaves the valley suggests that everything is over, the climax, the story, the bubble dream, the darkness, everything, good or bad, is over. A new day , a totally "new" day but not another "old" day, is smiling to the world. So though the story is about shattering dream, in the end it shows a light of hope, which contributes more charm to this book.

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.

Lady Brett Ashley in The Sun Also Rises has always been regarded as one of Ernest Hemingway’s most hated characters. Both critics and readers have seen her simply as a bitch, and do not view her as a likeable or relatable character in any way. Her alcoholism, her use and abuse of men, and her seeming indifference to Jake Barnes’s love are just a few reasons why Hemingway’s readers have not been able to stand Brett, and do not give her a fair chance. It is clear that Jake is biased in his narration, but no one wants to question his opinions and judgments of Brett; in fact, since the book was

In Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises, we are taken back to the 1920’s, accompanied by the “Lost Generation.” During this time, prohibition was occurring in America. Hemingway uses alcohol as an obstacle that causes distresses between the main character, Jake and his life. Along with alcohol, promiscuity is prevalent throughout the novel. The heroine of the novel, Brett, displays the theme of promiscuity throughout the novel. She uses her sheer beauty and charming personality to lure men into her lonely life. The themes of alcohol and promiscuity intertwine with the Lost Generation in this classic love saga.

In its opening credits, Spike Lee’s Clockers features photos of dead young black men sliding across the frame. These images of lifelessness are paired with a somber ballad with lyrics pondering a place of solace and understanding, a place inaccessible to the black male despite compliance or revolt. The viewer is confronted by this slideshow of bloodied black bodies for nearly three minutes. There are cuts to crowds at crimes scenes. People stand, talking or looking on in silence, seemingly desensitized to the spectacle of a dead youth, separated only by the yellow tape which commands them not to cross. The front cover of a newspaper appears on the screen, “TOY GUN, REAL TRAGEDY”-- a young boy killed in a case of misunderstanding. This evidence of a robbed childhood establishes the reality of the community depicted in the film. A community stricken by poverty the fear of imminent violence, it is home to main character Strike, and many other young men who are yet still boys. Clockers stands with other independent films in their allegiance to what critic Manthia Diawara terms “New Black Realism” (594). These films aim to translate authentic interpretations of black life, many

We see alleyways, overflowing soup kitchen, and brothel neighborhood, and everywhere hordes unemployed men whose frustration gives the film an urgent energy. Amidst this contextual background, Bicycle Thieves therefore, makes a rare, true entry in the Neorealism form in which only a handful of films qualify, even though, it does not portray or refence the times of its making within the film, it rather shows class division, and ineffective employment system.

The theme of hope or more specifically the fact that hope allows us to free ourselves of our restraints and thrive even in unfortunate or trying circumstances is perhaps the most prevalent in the movie. The film takes every opportunity to reiterate this theme and it does so through a variety of film techniques. One such technique is the use of lighting to create an atmosphere that embodies hope in a sense. This technique is key to several significant scenes such as the roof top scene where Andy and his comrades sit amongst themselves drinking the beer Andy earned. Behind them is a backdrop of natural light that casts a soft hue over the prisoners, giving them the appearance of free men. Another example where light is a key aspect to a scene is toward the ending of the film where Andy breaks free of the prison that confines him. As Andy stands under a downpour of rain there is flashes of lighting depicted behind

By analyzing the historical contexts of these specific movements, we take a deeper look at society's social, religious, economic, and political conditions that existed during a certain time and place. These relevant factors profuse mass influence into a filmmakers decisions while in the production process of a film. Additionally, these components have the role of establishing distinct trends in the film industry. Each movement has its own purpose for creating each film in regards to a stylistic standpoint.

Throughout this class, various discussions and blogs have been used to analyze the different elements of films such as theme, cinematic techniques and genre. It is time to bring all of these separate elements together in the analysis of one specific film, according to class text, “analyzing levels of meaning below the surface story can greatly enhance enjoyment as well as understanding of a film” (Goodykoontz & Jacobs, 2014. p. 10.03). There are several different approaches to film analysis including formalist, auteurist, and generic or any combination thereof. Utilizing a genre theory lens, the 1956 film The Searchers will be analyzed addressing contextual information, story/plot, aesthetic choices, social/personal impact and how these areas come together to develop the film.

My example that I will be using is Modern Times by Charlie Chaplin. Modern times is a film developed after the industrial revolution. It serves the purpose of critiquing capitalism and the social world. Modern Times begin with a factory worker who starts developing anxiety through the lack of breaks and repetitive work. When the Worker is on break, his boss is always keeping an eye on him and demands him to go back to work due to the loss of production. Soon after, the factory worker goes on lunch break, but is again distracted by his boss due to the desire to try out a new lunch contraption. At first, the new technology seems to work since the factory Worker was being fed. But, after a few seconds the contraption goes haywire and starts hurting the worker. The factory Worker goes back to work, but suddenly starts to mess up. He goes around ruining all his co-workers’ work and even get himself in prison. However, he ends up saving all the cops from the inmates’ revolution and is released early from jail. He does not want to leave since he is treated properly in jail and will be homeless in the outside world. He tries to get himself in prison again, but meets a beautiful woman Gamin who is also homeless and workless. They run off together and commit burglaries to feed themselves, but is soon discovered by the police. They manage to escape and run off to live in a small house by themselves. The factory Worker and the Gamin decides to have lunch together, but finds out that a

Genre is a reflection of society. Film noir is a genre that has a distinctive relationship with the American society from 1941 - 1958 because it reflects America’s fears and concerns from when they experienced major upheaval after The Great Depression and during World War I. In particular, the unstable atmosphere from the aftermath of World War 1 as Bruce Crowther, author of the book ‘Film Noir: Reflections in a Dark Mirror’, elaborates on how Film Noir films produce “a dark quality that derived as much from the character's depiction as from the cinematographer’s art.” These dark moods are transparent through the key features of the femme fatale, the film techniques and the impact of the Hay’s code on American film and American society.