Transferring a stage production to screen can be a challenge if a director cares enough about it. The Stage to Screen genre of film has been a flickering flame just barely managing to stay aglow as one musical after another either sinks or swims its way to the top. Chicago soared in 2002, expertly utilizing parallel montages and focused detail shots to scoot the story along while keeping a flirty musical mood that included the audience. Les Miserables in 2013 face planted awkwardly as too many closeups of caterwauling actors and dive shots that cut out the sets ruined the whole experience and concept of it actually being a musical. There appears to be no set guide to helping these grand philharmonic stories to screen; either they do well or …show more content…
A young Emmy Rossum played the lead female role of Christine Dae, Minnie Driver played Charlotte, the supporting female lead. A pre-horror star Patrick Wilson played the Count DeChagney, and Scottish actor Gerard Butler portrayed the Phantom of the Opera. The latter is listed last mainly because he is the subject of which this paper orbits around. The film was heavily anticipated by fans of new and old, meaning that when it tanked after release, the damage to the Phantom’s reputation was nye irreparable. Nothing could have saved the story that Schumacher had obviously not even given a single to. Any and all efforts were flung into a haphazardly shot film with poor pacing and reliance that veered too heavily upon the scenery and costume to steal hearts rather than The Phantom's dark and alluring mystery. The actors were terrible and the singing was dismal. Bad review after bad review bombarded what was once an enjoyably chilling story; not a single detail was over looked. In the mess of screaming however, one opinion stuck out above all the rest: Gerard Butler was biggest insult to Phantom of the Opera ever seen. Not only was his deformity underwhelming and stale, but his portrayal of Eric has been described as “Singing like Meat Loaf stuffed with too much garlic. He's too glaringly "overpowering" in the Broadway manner to invite us into the Phantom's exquisite torment.” (Full of Hot Aria, Gleiberman, Owen) Truly, Butler had ruined the character for
The movie Glory can be described as a classic “underdog story.” It is a true story about a group of African American soldiers known as the 54th Massachusetts Regiment who faced constant prejudice and resentment by white soldiers and officers throughout the Union. However, under the leadership of Colonel Robert Shaw, they were able to prove themselves as a formidable fighting force at the battle of Fort Wagner. Although the 54th Regiment suffered heavy casualties they showed the Union that African American soldiers could be just as effective as white soldiers. While the movie Glory did paint an accurate picture of the Civil War, the 54th Regiment, and the Battle of Fort Wagner, it did have its fair share of stereotypes.
The Breakfast Club is a 1985 American movie written and directed by John Hughes. The movie focuses on five different teenagers, each of which fits a typical stereotype. Each teen is introduced individually, displaying the traits of their respective stereotypes. The audience is first introduced to Claire, the preppy, popular girl, referred to as “The Prom Queen” in the script. Next, the audience is introduced to Brian, the nerd, or geek, of the group. Following Brian, the audience is introduced to Andrew, the popular athlete, referred to as “The Jock” in the script. In the shortest introductions, the audience is given a small glimpse of John Bender, although at this time the stereotype he fits is not known, a short observation of the physical attributes and clothing style will reveal to the audience that John Bender fills the role of the rebel or delinquent. The final member of the group is introduced in a short fashion as well. Allison, steps out of a car, dressed in dark clothing, with dark hair and makeup, is the outcast, or introvert of the group. Each stereotype represented by the teens is predicated on the general idea of high school cliques and the categories they generally fall into.
Stereotype; a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing. In the realistic fiction novel, The Outsiders, by S.E. Hinton, and in the short story, “Geeks Bearing Gifts”, written by Ron Koertge, stereotypes are defied by ordinary people. In The Outsiders, Johnny Cade and Darry Curtis face many struggles throughout their lives. Their town in separated into two: the rich and dangerous Socs, and the quiet, tough Greasers. For them, living dangerously is a reality. As a result of their lifestyle, Johnny has become fearful and Darry is considered the toughest man in the gang. In “Geeks Bearing Gifts” aspiring journalist, Renee, interviews her fellow classmates who are classified as “outcasts.” After meeting several students, she realizes her assumptions were incorrect about them. After reading both of these stories, the reader learns that our thoughts about others often revolve around stereotypes and assumptions, but most of these ideas that we have about other people are proven wrong.
Jumping into a burning building is one of the things that the boys from the “Greaser Gang” would do for each other. When the main character, Ponyboy, jumps into a burning church to save children from the flames, his two gang members and family, Johnny and Dally, jump in after him to help get the children out and ensure that he can get out. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton shows two main themes. These themes show many examples of stereotyping could lead to misjudgment of people and to be loyal to the people around you, especially the ones close to you.
John Hughes masterfully captures the shades of adolescent stereotypes and interactions, the culture clash between adolescents and adults, and the role that parents play in modeling the high school experience of each adolescent. The Breakfast Club follows five different teenagers throughout the course of a day as they are forced to endure detention on a Saturday. Each character symbolizes a classic adolescent prototype: the athlete, the basket case, the brain, the criminal, and the princess. At first, the adolescents separate themselves and make judgments and assumptions about each other based on the stereotype they each characterize. As the film develops, the characters start to move past these stereotypes to recognize they have
The scenes and props complimented the attire of the performers, blending together create a magnificent display. The scenery was realistic enough to afford the viewer an escape into depths of the show. The setting was beautiful and the structures almost lifelike, excepting the absence of a front screen door. It seems that almost all plays and television shows I have viewed neglect this detail. The stage lighting played a key role in the show by setting the mood of the performance during soulful, pensive songs. In contrast, the lighting proved to be a detriment by overbearing the performance of the artists, in that one’s attention was drawn to the glare of extreme quantities of makeup rather than the actions of the characters. This was most notable during the final portions of the production.
To start, stereotypes are deceptive because people place others into cliques based on their appearances. People assume everyone in a clique are the same, even though their true personality may differ from that clique. The first example from The Outsiders in which somebody doesn’t fit in with the stereotype they are given is Ponyboy. Ponyboy doesn’t quite fit in with his clique, the greasers. After Ponyboy is jumped, Darry has a fight with Pony. Darry yells at Ponyboy to think on the streets and to stay alert. Darry is concerned about Ponyboy’s safety: ‘“You must think at school with all those good grades you bring home, and you’ve always got your nose in a book, but do you ever use your head for common sense?”’ (13). Meaning, Ponyboy isn’t like the greaser stereotype. Compared to all the other greasers, Pony is book smart and not street smart. The greasers are smart where it really matters like on the streets. They carry blades to defend themselves, travel as gangs, and know how to get themselves out of a dangerous situation, if they get stuck in one. Ponyboy, however, is book smart. He succeeds at an outstanding level at school and in his academics. Once he is on the street his intelligence doesn’t follow him. He doesn’t use his common sense and he can’t find his way out of dangerous situations. As a result of this Pony gets jumped by the Socs which
We have all seen them in TV shows, movies, and music videos from the day. Greasers were heavily stereotyped gang members in the 40s and 50s that were known for their greased hair, switchblades, and leather jackets. How many of those are inaccurate, for greasers are not the only group that have been wrongfully stereotyped. One fictional greaser that has been stereotyped is Ponyboy, the fourteen year old narrator and main character of the popular novel The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. Ponyboy is wrongfully stereotyped to be dumb, rough, and a criminal as are the rest of the greasers.
In the movie, The Breakfast Club, five students with completely different lifestyles and cliques spend a day in detention together. Each student has a stereotype; there is a rebel, girly girl, nerd, outcast, and typical jock. These students are able to share each of their individual stories with each other, allowing them to reveal that they are more than their stereotypes. As these students get to know each other, they wonder what will happen after the day in detention is over. In reality, these five students are not likely to become friends, they were only forced to interact through detention. Remaining friends after detention would mean that these students break the social norms. While four out of the five students agree to wanting to be
The American Dream, the most sought-after idea and accomplishment in America. The dream of a white picket fence, the big house, some kids and a happy family; however, the American Dream is different for every person in America. In all actuality, there is no set definition of the American Dream, it varies from person to person as they dream of what they want their life to look like as they begin adulthood. The American Dream is a fantasy of happiness and accomplishment, but what a lot of parents do not realize, is that when they dream about the accomplishments they hope for their family, they create unattainable expectations and a pressure-filled life for their children. This was the case for The Breakfast Club, each of their lives were different,
“We all use stereotypes, all the time, without knowing it. We have met of equality and the enemy is us.” - Annie Murphy Paul. Dallas (From The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton) represents the stereotype of a greaser, and the way people know him as a greaser. Stereotypes change only those who agree with them. His stereotype has been formed by his years in the New York gangs. Not many people truly enjoy his presence, but due to his fear and reputation, they still let him hang out. He’s become a poster boy for the greasers.
Most people have been taught since a very young age to never judge a book by its cover. However, in the movie The Breakfast Club, judging seems to be occurring a lot. The Breakfast Club is about a group of teenagers who have received detention on a Saturday afternoon. While in detention, the students learn a lot about each other that they otherwise didn’t know before. After watching this movie an individual learns that they cannot judge a book by its cover- in other words, no one can judge another character based solely on an appearance.
Stereotypes run rampant in the literary world today. It is much easier to write a stereotypical character because of the reader expects them to act or respond a certain way and does not require an explanation of their motivation. But much like Chimamanda Adichie warns, “Show a people as only one thing over and over again, and that is what they become” (Adichie 00:09:25-00:09:37). But this issue is often addressed in reference to the protagonist. The hero is always white; the hero is always attractive. The hero never disserves to suffer. Single stories do not just refer to the physical characteristics of the character, though in can and often does. The heroes all tend to look the same so we associate goodness with that specific physical description, but motivations can be just as misleading. All the heroes do good things because they lived the same experiences, so these experiences make someone good. Also society remains so focused on the single story surrounding the protagonist, it often forgets the other main component of a story, the antagonist. But by dissecting the possible motivations for the villains, as my adaption does, I hope to explore the different avenues to villainy and in turn disrupt their single story.
The 80’s cult classic film, The Breakfast Club, was written and directed by John Hughes. This teen drama comedy film stars Emilio Estevez, Anthony Michael Hall, Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald and Ally Sheedy, who all plays teenagers in high school. All five of these characters are all from different cliques who are forced to spend the whole day together in detention because they violated the school rules in some shape or form. Known as the Princess, Athlete, Criminal, Brain and Basket Case, they eventually come to terms that they all have something in common with one another. This is a film all teens can related to because of the teen stereotypes and how they are trying to interact with one another.
When I was only a little girl, I had been told that true beauty came from within. Yet as I grew up, I noticed that looks mattered. From their attractiveness, race, age, or gender, anyone’s image was always up for scrutiny. Under those circumstances, I grew up thinking that if people were to judge me based on my appearance, that I should judge them the same way. Though, as I became older, I at some point learned that how a person looked wasn’t always in their range of control. A person simply isn’t born with the choice of picking what they look like, nor are they born with the choice of having a genetic disorder or disease. In that case, I believe that nobody should be defined purely based on what they look like.