The Film American Graffiti ( Dir. Lucas

Traffic. Dir. Steven Soderbergh. Perf. Michael Douglas, Benicio Del Toro, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Dennis Quaid.

The film Sunset Boulevard (1950), directed by Billy Wilder, Norma Desmond exemplified a Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) by being demanding, intense and unstable. These behaviors that are consistent with the elements of abnormality include suffering, social discomfort, dangerousness, and irrationality and unpredictability. The first element that is consistent with Norma Desmond’s character is suffering. Desmond being one of the greatest movie stars in history suffers as she experiences the fall from stardom. She also suffers from identity disturbance as she reaches an unstable self-image notion. In one scene when Desmond recognizes for a moment about her age, she claims, “Look at me. Look at my hands, look at my face, look under my

This movie took place after graffiti had been so staunchly looked down upon. Craig Castleman supports this in his article “The Politics of Graffiti”, when he goes through

“That our feet may swiftly carry out thy command so we shall flow the river forth to thee, and teeming with souls shall it ever be”. Forbidden to be repeated by anyone who is not a McManus, Connor and Murphy allow the family prayer to roll off their tongues, and journey into the ears of the monstrous souls they are about to exterminate. Their religious belief nourishes the idea that they can make the streets of Boston good. The Boondock Saints is a movie about religion, family, and vigilante justice.

Notably, the film Goodfellas is a classic film that is recognized as one of the greatest films of all time in regards to the crime genre. Indeed, the film Goodfellas is about American citizens who partake in criminal activity in order to make money. Furthermore, another film was made, shortly after Goodfellas achieved great success in the box office. Additionally, another film titled “The Real Goodfella” is the uncensored documentary explaining the reality behind Goodfellas, and gives a practical insight of the real dangers that could not be shown in Goodfellas. Also there are two articles that explain the explicit truth behind the criminal activity that mobsters justify as work. These sources show that mobsters have a hard time. Mobsters classify as above working class because they constantly have to steal, murder, and deal drugs just to stay alive and have money.

In society, social problems are often brought to the public’s attention through popular culture and media. The compelling film, Fruitvale Station, directed by Ryan Coogler is a nod to many social problems found in the United States of America today. The film portrays social problems like poverty among minorities, racial profiling and especially police brutality through the last 24 hours of Oscar Julius Grant III’s life. The star-studded film not only pays homage to Grant but also to the ideas of poverty and police brutality. The film all but shouts at the audience that the minorities, especially African Americans, suffer from many economic and social disadvantages that needs attention. At the 2013 Sundance Movie Festival by means of great

The ethnographic methods used by Finkelstein are similar to those employed by Marcelo Diversi, the author of Street Kids in Nikes: In Search of Humanization through the Culture of Consumption. Diversi’s ethnography focuses on street youths in Brazil and the impact that American pop culture has on them (Diversi, 2006). Even though, both Finkelstein’s and Diversi’s ethnographies focus on two separate issues, the means of their research contain glaring similarities. Both Diversi and Finkelstein utilize participant observation and they interview the street youths. Moreover they both choose to not live amongst the street youths;

In the film Juice, there were four black teenage boys named Que, Raheem, Steals, and Bishop. They lived in Harlem, New York, were poverty has been an issue the past few decades. In Harlem there was a lot of crime, gang activity, drug abuse, shooting, and homicides among the black community. Each of the young men were living in a single parent household in a worn down neighborhood where they faced conflict with other local gang members from different racial backgrounds. Que was a local disc jockey trying to become known in the music industry. He and his friends would frequently skip school and go to a local hang-out spot where criminal activity took place. All four young men were involved in some form of petty/property crime around Harlem. They so much as skipped class to steal music albums from a small record store in their neighborhood. Bishop is one of Que’s best friends; they were so close people knew them as brothers around the hood. Out of all the four men, Bishop was the only one with two parents in the household. Even with both parents, Bishop was mostly involved in crime. He did not have a very strong bond with his father which took a toll on his relationship with other people. Bishop used his time at the hang-out spot to sell drugs; he made sure to carry a weapon and was always fighting with other gang members, he had a hard time fitting into society. In the movie Bishop stated, “I’m tired of running from police, I’m tired running from Chris (which

Boys were depicted as free and happy. However, according to the news, they are shown as menace to the society. Both, the author and the director, used great elements of craft and content to support their

Dazed and Confused is a film that follows a plethora of characters on the last day of school before summer vacation. Although lacking in tangible plot, it makes a bold attempt to encompass and present the zeitgeist of the 1970s. In my opinion it is as if Dazed and Confused was produced in hopes of making those viewers who lived through the 1970s feel a sense of nostalgia. The film’s trajectory, harnessing of zeitgeist, and soundtrack are all very similar to George Lucas’s American Graffiti—a film that also successfully rooted in nostalgia. Dazed and Confused was released in 1993 and, like American Graffiti, was able to look over its shoulder to determine what music stood the test of time. The film attempts to epitomize what it meant for

American Graffiti and Dazed and Confused are both nostalgic, coming of age films that comically portray the characters interpersonal struggle and transition from their teenage, high-school years into adulthood. Both films are period pieces that take the audience back in time, to a time when life seemed much simpler than it is today. These types of films are almost always hits because of their relatability to the audience. The soundtracks featured in each of these films plays a significant role in the storylines.

Boyhood, a coming of age film, covers the life of Manson for twelve years, up to the beginning of college. While the film doesn’t have any defining moments, it shows the progression of a person over time. The change from boyhood to manhood can be seen in multiple lens throughout the film. The environment plays a key role when it comes to Manson’s development. Interactions inside and outside the home, help develop his personality and overall character. With these lenses we can view the trajectory of youth and see how outside factors will affect it.

In some cases, inanimate objects can represent a person more than actual words. This was true in both the cars of American Graffiti, and also one’s hair in Hair. This directly ties in with the title significance of Hair, as the youth’s long hair was symbolic of nonconformity and rebellion against society. As for the setting in relation to the time period, both Hair and American Graffiti are culturally significant, yet drastically different. American Graffiti took place during the summer of 1962, where the Cold war was in full heat, the teen culture was in its infancy stages, and the Vietnam War was just about ready to begin.

Colonia was a 2015 film directed by Florian Gallenberger. It was about a young woman in the early 1970s who found herself caught up in an unfamiliar world. Inspired by true events, this movie followed Lena, played by the actress Emma Watson, on her treacherous journey inside a sealed off, glassy-eyed colony called Colonia Dignidad lead by a self-ordained pastor named Paul Schaefer to find her abducted boyfriend Daniel. Once she discovered his location, however, it became evident that it would not be so easy escape from the colony. Director Gallenberger intended to expose Paul Schaefer as a brutal tyrant who controlled and subjected an entire community inhumane living conditions, abused his authority over women, and manipulated the police to

The movie that I have chosen is a classic film from 1988 called Heathers. Heathers is an American cult black comedy film written by Daniel Waters and directed by Michael Lehmann. The film portrays four teenage girls—three of whom are named Heather—in a clique and a teen named Veronica Sawyer who desperately wants to fit in, as well as a crazy and unstable boy named J.D that plans to ruin it all. The focus of this essay will be on three characters. Analyzing their internal and external battles, as well as their social interactions with loved ones and other members of their fictional society.