Abstract
The paper provides an brief overview of the movie and gives an evaluation of social message behind the film, which deals with the struggle of a mentally retarded man to get custody of his daughter.

From the Paper
"Sam (Sean Penn), is a physically adult man, however he has the mental capacity of a 7 year old. He works as a busboy at Starbucks, and it seems that his life ambition is to be able to have the responsibility of making a mug of caf?-mocha. As a twist of fate, Sam ends up a father of a beautiful girl called Lucy (Dakota Fanning). The mother runs off, never to be seen again and therefore Sam is left to bring Lucy up by himself, Annie, the next door neighbour (Dianne Wiest) and Sam's mentally disabled friends."

Tags:mental, retarded, film

Abstract
This paper reviews the movie "8 Mile", a fictionalized version of the Detroit rapper, Eminem's life, where the white hip-hop singer overcomes the black skeptics with his undeniable skills. The paper discusses how the movie tells about growing up, how people relate to their peers and finding ways out of seemingly hopeless situations. The paper shows that the movie is not so much about Eminem's rise to fame, but rather revolves around the quest for respect.

From the Paper
"David Elliot (2002) compares Eminem to a young James Dean. Elliot speaks well of Eminem's role by saying, "he has a laser stare and a smart, gravely centered presence, even if it's a stretch when he piles furiously into black guys double his size. Like Dean's, Eminem's rage and brooding is offset by tenderness." His honesty in dealing with people who make fun of him and criticize his efforts depicts how a person can overcome obstacles and ridicule by working hard and persevering. The movie held my interests as I enjoyed seeing how he battled controversy while engaging in loud verbal battles with various characters who continued to compare him to Vanilla Ice."

Tags:Waldron-Mantgani, Kim, Basinger

Abstract
This essay traces the ideas that influenced Charlie Chaplin and modern times. It uses the theoretical ideas of reification to explain state control and mechanization of the populace in a dystopian modernism. The main focus is on the movie "Modern Times".

From the Paper
"Reification is "the act (or the result of the act) of transforming human properties, relations and actions into properties, relations and actions of man-produced things which have become independent of men and govern his life". In other words when man, the subject, loses what defines him as man to his own creation, and begins to act as his own creation does. This is the fear of the modern. What happens when man comes closer to being a machine? Be it social, industrial or technological. What happens when man becomes indistinguishable from the machine? In Charlie Chaplin's film "Modern Times" we see a society that is becoming not only more mechanized in its mode of production but also on a social scale. The film illustrates a society heading towards state control, where the subject loses their identity to the machine. When Chaplin and the Gamin head off down the road at the end of the film, we realize that this road will not lead them or us to a better place but "we know now with certainty that we are on the road that does not lead to anywhere" . The road that the pair plan to travel on metaphorically leads us to the idea that is representative of Singapore and the literature of a modern state controlled society, the unavoidable by-product of reification. I will examine Modern Times and the short story "Beginning" by Ah Leong, in the light of Michel De Certeau's work on the navigation and incarceration created by the railway . I will use De Certeau's work as a symbol of our modern times and an identifier of the plight of the subject in Modern Times."

Tags:film, human, imagination, post, reification

Abstract
Composed for a magazine publication, this paper on the movie "American Beauty" asserts that unhappiness, loneliness, anger and depression are common characteristics of a contemporary society in suburban America by using specific instances of scenes and characters from the film itself.

From the Paper
"However, Lester is not the only unhappy character in the film, and we come to realise that the Burnham family as a unit is a complete representation of society's negative aspects that the filmmakers of American Beauty have intentionally set out to promote, in a manner not dissimilar to Sam Mendes' later film Road to Perdition (2002). In a scene depicting the family at the dinner table, a number of filmic techniques are immediately recognised: the use of shadows to foreground the melancholic nature of the situation, the positioning of the characters and the distance between them to represent isolation and how they are alienated from one another, and the way in which the camera angle remains consistent for a considerably long time in order to emphasise the anger and tension that is present."

Tags:anger, depression, loneliness, mendes, sam

Abstract
Nouvelle Vague or the "New Wave" movement in France was probably the most influential of similar movements in other parts of the world and it affected every form of expression. Its impact, however, was felt most prominently in the field of filmmaking where a group of highly creative directors gave a new direction to the industry in the 1958 to late 1960s period. This paper analyzes three films which came out this period and shows how each director created an individual and original statement through his work. The films examined are: Francois Truffaut's "Baisers Voles" ("Stolen Kisses," 1968), Eric Rohmer's "Nuit Chez Maud" ("My Night at Maud's," 1969) and Jacques Demy's 1964 musical "Les Parapluies de Cherbourg" ("The Umbrellas of Cherbourg").

From the Paper
"My Night at Maud's was the most successful of these six films and earned Rohmer the distinction of being one of the greatest Nouvelle Vague directors. Rohmer was older than other filmmakers of this movement but he shared and supported their views and also incorporated them in his movies. In My Night at Maud's, Rohmer like other directors focused extensively on the hero who remains unnamed and is referred to as "moi." This first person technique was used to stress the importance of individual and his actions. Jean- Louis Trintignant who played the narrator is as much in control of his actions as other heroes of Nouvelle Vague films."

Tags:existentialist, Antoine, Jean-, Louis, Trintignant

Abstract
This paper explores the ways that character and narrative interact to create meaning in the movie "American Beauty" .

From the Paper
"The proclamation of imminent death - "In less than a year, I will be dead" - in the opening narration establishes a curious and unconventional equilibrium. It is from the main character Lester's point of view that the audience is introduced to his wife Carolyn and daughter Jane, who both, according to Lester, hate him. Carolyn is first seen in "gardening clogs" with matching pruning sheers, cutting roses. This picture of domestic happiness is starkly contrasted by Lester's acid remarks about his wife ("She wasn't always like this"). His daughter Jane is first shown in her room, at her computer, closed off from the activities of her parents. This disjointed family system is the equilibrium that the film begins with, and is acknowledged by Lester as having been so for several years. Being off-balanced at the outset, the establishment of disequilibrium as the narrative progresses introduces a further familial dysfunction as the family structure begins to dissolve, further."

Tags:character, development, film, media, narrative, structure, studies

Abstract
A discussion of the non-linear film "Memento" in terms of narrative continuity and rupture. It looks at film technques and the thematic effect of the films unconventional narrative. The paper explores the film noir elements used and philosophical and psychological issues in terms of the films structure and themes.

From the Paper
"Christopher Nolan's Memento, described as a neo-noir revenge film uses a rather unconventional non-linear narrative structure to achieve thematic effect. Protagonist Leonard Shelby (Guy Pearce) suffers from a memory problem, limiting his short term memories to only a few minutes; the narrative structure attempts to put us within Leonard's world by creating a reverse chronological order of events, starting with the killing of Teddy, and moving backwards from there. There are also, in contrast the chronological black and white scenes. Through the "rupture" of the narrative into a series of non-chronological scenes, making meaning and continuity rests on the readers fabula - "the viewer's or reader's mental reconstruction of the narrative's nonchronological arrangement of events into chronological order" . Memento in this sense "demands constant attention from its spectators." , with the movie hinging on the viewer's ability to make continuity from rupture. This narrative structure works to great thematic effect, emphasising the conventional noir elements, mirroring the alienation and disorientation of Leonard, and exploring philosophical and psychoanalytical themes."

Tags:filmic, movie, movies, noir, techniques

Abstract
This paper reviews and analyzes the 2001 film "Black Hawk Down," which was directed by Ridley Scott. By outlining, in chronological order, 10 ethical decisions made by U.S. military personnel in the movie, the paper argues that ethical decision making is both ambiguous and subjective. The paper delves into each of the 10 ethical decisions. For example, the paper discusses the scene of an American soldier manning a machine gun atop a Humvee. The soldier is being shot at, and he can either shoot back or not shoot back; he chooses the latter. Next, the paper asserts that these decisions can be validly argued to be both good and bad, depending on the individual's perspective and ethical beliefs. The paper concludes that it was proven that good ethical decision-making is not a concrete science, but perhaps more of an art form, full of gray areas.

From the Paper
"This serious ethical decision can be argued to have been a good one. A Hedonist could argue that while the Somali would be quite unhappy with being shot, the two soldiers would be happy that they don't have to worry about the threat of that individual Somali. As this was the decision that meant the maximum happiness for the maximum amount of people, this decision was a good one according to the hedonist argument. Believers in preventative attacks could argue that the soldiers conducted a preventative attack on the suspicious Somali as he was holding a weapon and running on a battlefield, and hence the decision to fire was a good one. It could also be argues that the circumstances were extreme in that the soldiers were alone and surrounded by hostile Somalis. In this case, extreme tactics must be employed in order to stay alive. Hence, by this argument, the soldier made a good ethical decision."

Tags:philosophy, military, ethics, rules, engagement

Abstract
This paper analyzes this romantic comedy which centers on a young Greek-American woman's trials and tribulations when she falls in love with a non-Greek and struggles to get her family to accept her fiance while she herself comes to terms with her heritage and cultural identity. The paper examines the main characters and how they develop throughout the movie.

From the Paper
"The central female character, Toula Portakalos falls in love with Ian, and finds herself caught between her love for him, and pleasing her father, Gus who believes Toula should "marry a Greek boy, make Greek babies, feed everyone" (Harvey, 2002). Both male characters are pivotal to the development of the story and in the end, Toula's growth and acceptance of her cultural heritage (and family's overbearing traits). She is able to take what she has been taught by her father, and re-learns from an "outside" point of view of Ian what it means to be a Greek-American."

Tags:marriage, culture, fiance

Abstract
This paper discusses how "Thelma and Louise" strayed from the typical "road movie" formula in terms of casting, theme and storyline. It shows how the film not only helped to redefine gender stereotypes but also paved the way for other women, as well as gays, people of color and other traditionally underrepresented groups, to become "road movie heroes" as well.

From the Paper
"The conventional road movie twosome, which is usually comprised of either two young males or a male and female with a romantic connection, has permeated the genre since its inception. Thelma and Louise broke that tradition by not only using two female protagonists, but by portraying men in a consistently negative light; essentially as either "rapists", "bullies" or "boy toys"."

Tags:action, adventure, film, gender, roles, theme, gay, color