RTitle: Trace some of the relationships between film aesthetics and the social / political / economic contexts in which they are located.
Name: Winter Dong YAN
Candidate no: 109057
Module title: Issues in Film Studies: European Film Cultures
Tutor: Emilia Chi-Jung Cheng
Date: 11th Dec 2012
Words count: 1749
Everett’s statement ‘European cinema is not a monolith, but a series of expressions of different ways of questioning and portraying itself and the world’
(Everett, 5) demonstrates that the whole European cinema can hardly be defined since not only the gap between Central Europe and Western Europe but also the notable national identities create various form of aesthetic elements in cinema movement which reflects political,
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The Battleship Potemkin which was produced at the time Soviet Union was pioneering a new form of social and economic order: socialism, can be an instance to illustrate the through both editing style and storyline. The narrative structure of The Battleship Potemkin appears to be within the traditional style. Being divided into five parts, it is arguably less expressive but as well emerged to be not too intellectual for the illiterate masses as the montage editing appeared to be. Forbes and Street not that since filmmakers wanted to support socialism they represented history in an aggrandized way instead of to present the historical accuracy in order to consolidate and glorify the new political and social system (Forbes and Street, 2000, p.55). Considering the historical truth that the Soviet Union was devastated during the Civil War may lead to a negative influence on the citizens and arouse the challenge towards the new policies and socialist ideology, Eisenstein lays more emphasis on the influence of the spirit of Revolution which may stimulate the state population and build up an inspiring and positive image of the government, by deliberately depicting the myth of a successful 1905 Revolution while the truth could be argued as
In chapter two of The Cultures of American Film, the main focus is the establishment of studios. As demand for films rose in the early 1900’s, production companies needed to expand; this lead to the creation of large scale studios.
During the course of this essay it is my intention to discuss the differences between Classical Hollywood and post-Classical Hollywood. Although these terms refer to theoretical movements of which they are not definitive it is my goal to show that they are applicable in a broad way to a cinema tradition that dominated Hollywood production between 1916 and 1960 and which also pervaded Western Mainstream Cinema (Classical Hollywood or Classic Narrative Cinema) and to the movement and changes that came about following this time period (Post-Classical or New Hollywood). I intend to do this by first analysing and defining aspects of Classical Hollywood and having done that,
In “A Century of Cinema”, Susan Sontag explains how cinema was cherished by those who enjoyed what cinema offered. Cinema was unlike anything else, it was entertainment that had the audience feeling apart of the film. However, as the years went by, the special feeling regarding cinema went away as those who admired cinema wanted to help expand the experience.
Article Three – Author: David Bordwell / Title of Article: The Art Cinema as a Mode of Film
According to (Bates 665), “Cinematic society refers to the 20th century societal formation that recognizes itself via cinematic apparatus,” he points to the chief place that films hold in
Being one of the world’s most popular art forms, it was inevitable that these archetypes would find their way into film as well. In this essay I will argue that the
The “Gods Sequence” also known as “General Kornilov attacks” (Sperbur) is an excellent example of both Eisenstein’s political views and his film form, which lead it to be cut from many U.S. prints because of its anti-religious symbolism. With the title “In the name of God and Country” based on Kornilov’s banners used in his march on Petrograd, Eisenstein uses the conventions of Soviet Montage to comment on both God and Country. Due to lack of film stock, leading
Throughout the beginning of time people have used art to express themselves. With each major, and minor, there is an artist that captures the world as it is around him. There are also artists that create fiction to give the world and escape from reality. The medium of art that will be discussed in this essay will be film. Since the invention of Thomas Jefferson kinecto graph and the Lumiere brothers cinemtograph, films have continued to be the most popular entertainment methods in France and America. Since historical events have somewhat of an impact on the content in film, this essay will take a look at the effects of films years before and after World II. World War II was one of the major historical events to have
In “Battleship Potemkin,” released in 1925, opposition and comparison were used to idealize Russia as well. Any film that was not propaganda was seen to be against Soviet Russia. Montage was used to effectively transmit a certain political
To fully comprehend why and how this cinematic motion took place, it is valuable here to establish the wider social climate of France at the time, and the active forces which heavily shaped New Wave cinema. Between the years of 1945 and 1975, France would undergo “thirty glorious years” of economic growth, urbanization, and a considerable baby boom, all of which came to expand and radically alter the parameters of French culture (Haine 33). Beneath the surface affluence however, France was in a state of deep self-evaluation and consciousness. Following WW11, the
to dramatize the people’s massacre through the symbolized slaughter of the bull. The jump-cuts and non-diegetic inserts, the use of graphic patterns of lines and shadows, the contrasts between long shots of the enemy and close-ups of citizens, contrasts between shots from different perspective of the regular people and the Bolsheviks are some other of the non-traditional and signature characteristics of Eisenstein’s films. Presented from citizens point of view editing achieves sympathy and compassion at the audience accepting the Revolution as their own point of view of the historical event. The montage of unique rhythm and graphic elements creates a wholeness of the film structure and defines the specific style of of intellectual editing in Sergei Eisenstein’s works and his propaganda vision.
The costs, methods of distribution, and themes of Hollywood and Nollywood films reflect strongly their target audiences; how the target audience affects the production of a film and how the production of a movie is designed to capture a specific
The romantic idea of the auteur is described by film theoretician, André Bazin, observing the film form as an idealistic phenomenon. Through the personal factor in artistic creation as a standard reference, Bazin primarily refers to an essential literary and romantic conception of the artist as central. He considers the relationship between film aesthetics and reality more important than the director itself and places cinema above paintings. He described paintings as a similar ethical creation to film stating a director ‘can be valued according to its measurements and the celebrity of the signature, the objective quality of the work itself was formerly held in much higher esteem.’ (Bazin, 1967: 250). Bazin contemplates the historical and social aspects that indeed hinder a director’s retribution to their own personalised film, thus en-companying their own ideological judgement upon the world ‘more so in cinema where the sociological and historical cross-currents are countless.’ (Bazin, 1967: 256)
However his films are softer and more lyrical as Eisenstein, heroes are individualized and becomes an important element of narrative. Right from the start Pudovkin went his innovator's way and element of montage used to express continuity, not as Eisenstein for remittance conflict.
The BBFC has commissioned me to undertake research as part of a project to ascertain to what degree films can be regarded as powerful within contemporary society. In this assignment, I will comprehensively explain the relationship between audiences and films with well explained examples. I refer to the different sectors relating to the topic that include the following: