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"Xiu-Xiu: The Sent-Down Girl", 2003.
A review of Joan Chen's film "Xiu-Xiu: The Sent-Down Girl".
750 words (approx. 3.0 pages), 0 sources, MLA, AU$ 34.95
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Abstract
This paper takes a look at the film "Xiu-Xiu: The Sent-Down Girl" by Joan Chen. According to the paper, the film is a moving love story that takes place during China's cultural revolution. The paper explains that when the film's character, Wen Xiu, or Xiu Xiu, is sent to the countryside in a cultural movement to learn from Lao Jin to care for horses, she is told that she will only be there for six months, but it becomes clear that she will not be leaving the countryside again.
From the Paper
"There are several places where we see the affection that Lao Jin has for Xiu Xiu. First, during the scene where the second visitor has come to Xiu Xiu, we alternately see Xiu Xiu being brutally taken advantage of, and at the same time in a different place, Lao Jin is collecting eggs. Lao Jin plans on bringing these eggs home to Xiu Xiu and the scene set in contrast to the scene in the tent turns the simple, every day act into something tender. The symbolism of the eggs, the pure white objects in the filth and dirt of a nest, also could represent the purity of Lao Jin's love."
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Docudrama Films, 2006.
A comparison between the films 'Fahrenheit 911' and 'Bowling for Columbine' versus films 'FahrenHype 9/11' and 'Celsius 41.11 - The Temperature at Which the Brain Begins to Die'.
4,669 words (approx. 18.7 pages), 12 sources, MLA, AU$ 156.95
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Abstract
This paper takes a look at, and compares, the docudrama films 'Fahrenheit 911' and 'Bowling for Columbine' versus the docudrama films 'FahrenHype 9/11' and 'Celsius 41.11 - The Temperature at Which the Brain Begins to Die'. The paper takes a look at how these films influence the reputation of docudrama as a film genre.
From the Paper
"Within Fahrenheit 911 Michael Moore uses footage that is simultaneously disturbing and humorous, in which President George W. Bush is shown, immediately after hearing the news of the September 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, continuing to read the children's book My Pet Goat to a group of Florida elementary school children, while also looking blankly off into the distance trying to figure out what to do next. The sequence of events leading up to that series of shots, in which Bush reads "My Pet Goat" and looks perplexed, for at least five full minutes, is obviously intended by Moore to illustrate that, even though Bush comes from a powerful, privileged family, he is still unfit, on his own, to be President. "
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Schizophrenia, 2007.
This paper analyzes the development of schizophrenia in John Nash, the main character in Russel Crowe's movie, "A Beautiful Mind."
1,485 words (approx. 5.9 pages), 4 sources, MLA, AU$ 64.95
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Abstract
The paper looks at the movie "A Beautiful Mind" by Russell Crowe that portrays John Nash, a brilliant but eccentric graduate student of mathematics at Princeton University. The paper describes how in spite of Nash's eccentricities, he manages to fall in love, marry, have a child and become a tenured professor. In spite of these accomplishments, the paper shows how paranoid schizophrenia gradually takes hold of him and dominates his life. The paper examines his diagnosis and treatment and explores the condition of schizophrenia in general.
Outline:
The Subject: John Nash
Diagnosis
Treatment
From the Paper
"In spite of Nash's obvious social awkwardness, he possesses a fair amount of charm. He tells his imaginary roommate that he is "quite well balanced" -- he has an equally heavy chip on both shoulders. However, he already believes himself to be special, too gifted to waste his time attending lectures and reading textbooks. In the opening scene, a professor tells the class that it was mathematicians who broke the Japanese code during World War II, and mathematicians who designed the atomic bomb, linking fine mathematical minds to national security. In the movie, his meeting with the Army when they hire him as a secret code-breaker is quite elaborate."
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Michael Collins and Terrorism, 2007.
This paper discusses the subject of terrorism focusing on Michael Collins.
1,357 words (approx. 5.4 pages), 5 sources, MLA, AU$ 59.95
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Abstract
In this essay, the writer maintains that the legend and reality of the life of Michael Collins is matter of much debate and also a certain amount of mystery. The writer notes that the subject of Collins' motivations and character are dealt with in the film "Michael Collins" directed by Neil Jordan. The writer points out that there is a certain amount of ambiguity with which the film attempts to deal, in that Collins is the instigator of a brutal form of guerrilla warfare used as a reaction against the occupying British forces. The central aim of these actions was to oust the British from Ireland and to achieve an independent Irish Republic. There are two central aspects that this paper attempts to address in light of the view that the film puts forward about Collins. Firstly, the writer notes the view of Collins as an Irish patriot and secondly the writer assesses Collins' methods of retaliation against the British forces in Ireland.
From the Paper
"The film itself leaves little doubt that the tactics that Collins employed against the British, while ethically questionable, were the only tactics that he felt were left to him in the face of the overwhelming force of British domination. At one point in the films he states that he hates the British not because of their nationality, colonial dominance or even their brutality, but because they have left him no choice but to employ harsh tactics that would increase violence and hatred. This reasoning is similar to the rationale behind many other guerilla or terrorist groups and tactics throughout the world. There is also suggestion in the film and the literature that the way that Collins used guerrilla tactics against the British was emulated by other leaders and groups such as Argentinean Marxist revolutionary, Che Guevara."
"This reason for the use of guerilla or terrorist tactics is often given as being inevitable, when a smaller force is faced by an intimidating and overwhelming or numerically superior oppressor that cannot be fought in a conventional manner."
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'Schindler's List', 2006.
A summary of the movie 'Schindler's List' and the historical events depicted in the film.
815 words (approx. 3.3 pages), 4 sources, MLA, AU$ 38.95
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Abstract
This paper reviews and discusses Steven Spielberg's film, 'Schindler's List'. The paper reports that 'Schindler's List' is based on the actual life story of a German businessman, Oskar Schindler, who saved over 1000 Polish Jews from the Nazis by putting them to work in a factory he owned that made war materials for the Third Reich.
From the Paper
" Ultimately, Oskar Schindler, whose compassion for his Jewish workers continually evolves throughout the film, loses the entire fortune that he has amassed during the war in bribing the Nazis, again and again, to leave his Jewish workers alone. At the end of the war, though, Schindler still will face arrest by the fast-approaching Soviet Army of wartime profiteering, so he is forced to flee his factory as the Russian Army approaches his factory in Moravia. His workers give him a letter to carry with him testifying to his good deeds and how he has saved them all from death. The next morning, when the factory itself is liberated by the Russian Army, Schindler himself is already long gone. "
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Takeshi Kitano, 2007.
A review of the life and work of Japanese film maker Takeshi Kitano.
2,378 words (approx. 9.5 pages), 9 sources, MLA, AU$ 94.95
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Abstract
This paper looks at the background of Takeshi Kitano, prior to becoming an actor, director and producer later in life, in order to understand his films. It looks at how he grew up with a mother who continually pushed the importance of education and experience so that he could break from an impoverished environment and how he has followed many different paths, positive and negative, to find the one that would be most significant to him and others. It discusses how his movies, including "Hana-bi", have fulfilled this objective by impacting audiences throughout the world with their vivid messages about the frailties and strengths of humankind.
From the Paper
"In contrast to many other directors, Kitano usually shoots his films sequentially, normally filming only one shot per scene--with the direction of the movie changing constantly. In the 1992 film Sonatine, the actor Ren Osugi's character was supposed to die in one of the first scenes. Kitano liked his acting so much, he kept him in the movie until the end. "Everyday, I thought, OK, today I am going to die," says Osugi. "I never knew what my character was going to do" (Tashiro, 2001). Sonatine was the tale of a yakuza boss, also played by Kitano, who takes refuge with his men in a coastal hideaway. "
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"The Wizard of Oz", 2007.
A discussion on "The Wizard of Oz", directed by, Victor Fleming.
940 words (approx. 3.8 pages), 1 source, MLA, AU$ 43.95
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Abstract
This paper introduces and discusses "The Wizard of Oz". It offers an archetypal analysis of the movie from the viewpoint of Jung's theory of the collective unconscious. The paper offers quotes from the film to qualify points made.
From the Paper
"Dorothy's journey through Oz to find the Wizard, or "trickster," is a journey through a magical land filled with strange and wonderful creatures. It can also be seen as a very real journey through the Jungian philosophy. First, Dorothy must travel through an unreal or unconscious landscape in an attempt to return to her normal conscious state. The entire time in Oz is a dream sequence in the film, so Dorothy is literally exploring her unconscious mind from the moment she is hit on the head and goes to sleep. Her return home (waking up) is a return to her conscious self. "
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'Bicycle Thief' and 'Un Chien Andalou', 2006.
A review of Vittorio De Sica's 'The Bicycle Thief' and Luis Bunuel and Salvador Dali's 'Un Chien Andalou' as two examples of avant-garde cinema.
1,798 words (approx. 7.2 pages), 4 sources, MLA, AU$ 74.95
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Abstract
This paper reviews two examples of avant-garde cinema, Italian neorealist filmmaker Vittorio De Sica's 'Bicycle Thief' and Spanish filmmakers Luis Bunuel and Salvador Dali's 'Un Chien Andalou'. According to the paper, avant-garde pushes the boundaries of what is accepted as the norm within definitions of art, culture and reality.
From the Paper
" For example, Lamberto Maggiorani, the actor who played Antonio, was in real life a factory worker in Rome ("Bicycle Thieves"). (In the aftermath of World War II, it is also likely, however, that this casting of "real people", instead of professional actors, was done to save money by not having to pay professional actors). The documentary-style camera work of De Sica's The Bicycle Thief, moreover, further increases for the audience the sense that the film is about true-to-life people and real situations, a characteristic also typical of post-World War II Italian neo-realist cinema. This is, also, an avant-garde filmmaking technique that resists, explicitly and implicitly, the commercialism of Hollywood, while offering, instead, a "purer", more "realistic" (and lower-cost) alternative to film audiences."
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'Scarface', 2006.
A review of the 1932 film 'Scarface' and the remake 50 years later.
2,854 words (approx. 11.4 pages), 7 sources, MLA, AU$ 109.95
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Abstract
This paper reviews the original and the remake of the film 'Scarface' and compares the two. According to the paper, a change in the gangster genre can be seen when comparing the two versions. The paper further discusses how while attitudes toward crime changed in some degree between these two films, both films are based on the primary view that the criminal will ultimately fail, a victim of his own evil actions, leading to a well-deserved death.
From the Paper
"The first version of Scarface was actually produced in 1930 and not released for two years while the filmmakers battled "with industry censors over its sensationalism and glorification of the gangster menace" (Dirks para. 1). When the film was released, it had as its subtitle "The Shame of a Nation," a way of telling the public that the production company disapproved of the main character and his style of life. Such disclaimers were a response to public concerns raised after the release of films like Little Caesar (1930) and The Public Enemy (1931), films cited both for glorifying criminals and for excessive violence (though given the way the gangsters in each film were killed, it is difficult to see the film as a whole glorifying them or their crimes). "
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Responsibility, 2007.
This paper discusses vocational and ethical responsibility as portrayed in the movies.
2,213 words (approx. 8.9 pages), 4 sources, APA, AU$ 88.95
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Abstract
In this article, the writer discusses ethical responsibilities in the workplace and examines how this subject is portrayed in various films. For this purpose, the writer studies the following movies: "Broadway Danny Rose", "The Conversation", "The Hospital" and "Things Change" . The writer points out that if one does not strive to live according to one's personal sense of morality, then one is likely to be haunted by one's own sense of moral inferiority. The writer concludes that "Broadway Danny Rose" and "Things Change" show that taking on more responsibility than one can handle might be dangerous, but the humor of the first film and the compassion of the second film in comparison with the brutal misery of the lives of the characters of "The Conversation" and "The Hospital," make the risks of Danny and Jerry seem like blessings in comparison.
From the Paper
"The Conversation" as directed by Francis Ford Coppola, depicts a man who might not seem to be a conventionally responsible individual even in his personal life. Harry Caul has no family ties. He lives entirely alone, in a small apartment in a city where he seems to know no one other than the persons he works for as a spy. Yet despite the potentially immoral nature of occupation, that a professional surveillance expert, Harry becomes haunted by a sense of moral responsibility for the consequences of listening to other person's conversations."
"The film begins after Harry has left the East Coast because his wiretapping caused the death of three people. Although Harry was just doing his job, and did not want to hurt these people, these individuals died as an unintended consequence of Harry's actions. Harry cannot even bear to confess the action to a priest, even though his evident loneliness conveyed by the starkness of his dwelling-place and his monotonous routine makes him seem haunted by guilt in the eyes of the viewer."
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Fuentes, Greenaway and Joyce, 2006.
An analysis of sexual narrative in works by Carlos Fuentes, Peter Greenaway and James Joyce.
4,904 words (approx. 19.6 pages), 5 sources, MLA, AU$ 161.95
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Abstract
This paper takes a look at 'Aura' by Carlos Fuentes, 'The Pillowbook' by Peter Greenaway and 'Ulysses' by James Joyce. The paper focuses primarily on the sexual narrative used by the writers to illustrate the interaction between the relevant characters.
From the Paper
"You're my husband..." is a very strange remark coming from this 20-year old woman, but obviously the protagonist is so thrilled by the sex he's just enjoyed, hey, whatever works for her, he is thinking, is cool. Besides, she's invited him to meet her in her room that night, the thought of which is a wonderful magic carpet to ride all day in this otherwise murky environment. He is "emptied of desire," so a reader assumes he has had a climatic ending to the adventure; she was "trembling" and she "surrendered" to him, but it also read like he was surrendering to her, as she joined him under the covers, uninvited by heartily welcomed. They surrendered to one another, and Felipe gets out of bed after being awakened by Aura's knocks, and he is "groaning,"
"So the reader has just been through a very sexy scene, a lovely release from the grim surroundings of Felipe's new job, and now on page 80 there are rats "swarming" around the parched manuscripts Felipe is hired to translate and re-write. The rats are peering at Felipe with "glittering eyes" and there on the bed is Consuelo with a white rabbit. Are readers being set up for another lively, intimate distraction away from the challenge of this haunted palace and the senora? "
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"Hamlet" on Film, 2007.
A review of the 1990 Franco Zeffirelli film of William Shakespeare's "Hamlet."
1,081 words (approx. 4.3 pages), 1 source, MLA, AU$ 48.95
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Abstract
This paper discusses the depiction of Hamlet in Franco Zeffirelli's cinematic version of William Shakespeare's "Hamlet." It describes how our view of various relationships in the play are altered due to Zeffirelli's use of imagery throughout the film. The paper concludes that Zeffirelli produced a positive introduction to the play of "Hamlet," however that the viewer is left with memories of the images used, rather than the words of Shakespeare's play.
From the Paper
"Gibson's Hamlet is thus an active, sexualized man in a pared-down version of the tragedy, as envisioned by the director Zeffirelli. Zeffirelli cuts any speech that can be reduced to images, making even the editing of the film seem as unreflective as its central character. Also, gentle and potentially contrasting aspects of the characters that remain are cut as well. In the play, a shaken Ophelia goes to Polonius to verbally reports Ophelia's encounter with Hamlet after Hamlet has first seen the ghost. By dramatizing the scene, this places the focus on Hamlet's emotions, rather than Ophelia's inability to articulate herself, and Hamlet's relationship with Ophelia rather than the girl's frightened difficult relationship with her own father. Overall, what little chance she is given to speak, Helena Bonham Carter's Ophelia seems strong and beautiful, a fit adversary for Hamlet in the "nunnery" scene, which also makes his abuse of her seem less frightening and unjustified than it seems on paper."
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"Marnie", 2007.
An analysis of the Alfred Hitchcock film "Marnie," from a Freudian, Marxist and feminist perspective.
837 words (approx. 3.3 pages), 1 source, MLA, AU$ 38.95
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Abstract
This paper discusses Alfred Hitchcock's 1964 film, "Marnie." The paper describes the ways in which the film lends itself well to different types of film criticism, including psychoanalytic, Marxist, and feminist criticism. The paper particularly focuses on the character of Marnie and describes her from a Freudian, Marxist and feminist perspective.
From the Paper
"In terms of Freudian psychoanalytic criticism, Marnie herself would be the subject for analysis, though Mark might be analyzed as well. Marnie is a thief, and as the film progresses, it is also clear that she hates men and steals in part as a way of getting even with them for something not stated overtly until the end of the film. She is forced to marry Mark in order to protect herself, but she would be completely frigid even without the added element of coercion. As she begins to care for him, she still remains frigid and is unable to change or to recognize the reasons why."
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Bram Stoker's "Dracula", 2007.
A review of the 1992 film version of Bram Stoker's "Dracula".
2,431 words (approx. 9.7 pages), 0 sources, AU$ 96.95
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Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to examine the formal-aesthetic value and social-ideological value of the 1992 film, "Dracula", directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The discussion encompasses different elements of film, including photography, movement, editing, sound, ideology and mise en scene.
Outline
The Love Story
Sexuality
Music
Foreign Language
Silhouetting, or Shadow Puppets
Narrative
Star Power
Dark Tones and Shadows
The Color Red
Studio Shooting
Movement
Depth in Photography
Editing
From the Paper
"The romantic interest between the Count and Mina is not the only romantic elements to the movie- there is also a subplot concerning the suitors of Lucy, Mina's friend and confidant. She is sought by three suitors of varying degrees of breeding and social status (an English aristocrat, an English psychiatrist, and a Texan cowboy). We see from one scene to the next how Lucy entices each man in turn, applying all of her girlish charm. The suitors love her purity, innocence and beauty, and Lucy represents a classical maiden, loved and desired by all. The Texan expressed those qualities of purity by describing her as "fresh as a spring rain..." At the same time, we see her tantalizing all three men at the same time, enjoying the sexual power that she has over them. "
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"The Bitch is Back", 2007.
An analysis of the book, "The Bitch is Back: Wicked Women in Literature", by Sarah Apleton Aguiar.
1,763 words (approx. 7.1 pages), 5 sources, MLA, AU$ 73.95
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Abstract
This paper discusses the book "The Bitch is Back: Wicked Women in Literature", by feminist writer Sarah Apleton Aguiar. It discusses her position that for a while the bitch was banished from feminist fiction as it became politically incorrect to create evil women in literature. The paper describes the roles of women in literature from as far back as the wicked stepmother in Cinderella, to more modern films and novels.
From the Paper
"It could be argued that she is a new representation of an old, basic type in fairy tales--the stepmother who hates and resents her stepchild. It helps to consider the historical context of the stepmother in fairy tales in order to understand her. Mothers often died in childbirth, which left the home motherless. A new wife, who married to earn a living, agreed to raise the surviving orphans. Sellers (2001) argues that the stepmother is really a victim herself of patriarchy. Be that as it may, the stepmother is self-absorbed and heartless. She interprets everything the stepchild does maliciously, as though the child were out to ruin her. The fairy tale stepmother also wants to be certain that her own child reaps all the material advantages and inherits the father's money. She wants to turn the father against his own child. The twist is that in Ordinary People, Beth's "own" child, Buck, is dead. Both boys were in the sailboat when the storm came up, but Buck "let go." Conrad, on the other hand, hung on and lived. So she hates him for it. Her own child is dead, and she's stuck with the stepchild."
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"Picturing Japaneseness", 2007.
A review of Chapter 7 of Darrell William Davis' "Picturing Japaneseness: Monumental Style, National Identity, Japanese Film".
1,009 words (approx. 4.0 pages), 0 sources, AU$ 46.95
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Abstract
This paper looks at how in Chapter 7 of Darrell William Davis' "Picturing Japaneseness: Monumental Style, National Identity, Japanese Film", Davis analyzes the film "The Abe Clan" (1938) in terms of its complex portrayal of ritual suicide.
From the Paper
"The film can be read to show how historical appropriation can be used as a tool of propaganda of the state. The film is not primarily interesting for its accuracy in its depiction of feudal Japan. Rather, the potency of the film for viewers of the 1930s was its ability to move the audience believe in a myth, what Davis calls a canonized view of feudal Japanese ethics. The surface reading of the film is a romanticized, simplistic and beautiful vision that celebrates the virtues of the hierarchical family system and the worship of a daimyo that functions as a stand-in for the Japanese figure of the Emperor, for whom ordinary Japanese soldiers and civilians would later, in wartime propaganda, be encouraged to die for. "
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