In accordance with film theorist Susan Sontag’s “Notes on ‘Camp,’” the best type of camp is the kind that fails at seriousness (Sontag). When a film tries to be ‘campy,’ it loses the enjoyment of what camp is—the exaggeration and ‘over the topness’ that is not meant to be for pleasure but is. Arguably, Nicholas Ray’s Johnny Guitar (1954) is a progressive and thought-provoking Western. And yet there are elements of the film that seem to lose their seriousness and delve more into what Sontag describes as camp. By Ray having two female leads, it creates a forward-thinking Western but it is this innovation juxtaposed with an out of place Russian Roulette wheel, over the top Foley sound, and poorly executed rear projection that ultimately heightens the segments of camp, and in return diminishes the thoughtful sequences.
The initial scene which the audience sees the two women characters for the first time is when Emma (Mercedes McCambridge) barges into Vienna’s (Joan Crawford) hotel, with her backup men, ready to take Vienna into custody, as Emma believes Vienna somehow aided in killing her brother. The sequence has a tense feeling, as a low camera angle points up to Vienna on the balcony, who is stating her innocence, while also pointing a gun down at the crowd below. Before the group enters, Vienna asks Eddie (Paul Fix) to keep the Russian Roulette wheel going. Eddie is wearing a striped button-down shirt, a tie, and a gun holster—which fits the aesthetic of the rest of the
“The screen is a magic medium. It has such power that it can convey emotions and moods that no other art form can hope to tackle.” The written word and the moving image have always had their entwining roots deeply entrenched in similar narrative codes, both functioning at the level of implication, connotation and referentiality. But ever since the advent of cinema, they have been pitted against each other over formal and cultural peculiarities – hence engaging in a relationship deemed “overtly compatible, secretly hostile” (Bluestone 2).
‘’ In America ’’, ‘’ Into The West ’’ and ‘’ Brooklyn ‘’ are films that experience extreme loss and migration. These films deal with the internal struggle of the characters as they try to comprehend the losses and struggles they have each faced and their attempts to overcome them. ‘’ When you have a holy thing happenin', you don't mess with it, ‘’(David Edelstein) this is what the director Jim Sheridan said after the screening of his semi - autobiographical film In America. Jim Sheridan is a foundational figure of Irish film with My Left Foot, The Field to name but a few of his exceptional films. Sheridan uses race, family, otherness and Americana in general, to dramatise Ireland’s affinity with America.
The film, Reel Injun reveals a distortion of the way Hollywood sees Native American life through comedy and the real way Native Americans live which changes according to the current times. Neil Diamond sets out on a journey across America to figure out where the incorrect image of Natives arose from, all signs pointing towards Hollywood. Dozens of films recreate the way Americans believe Natives live as savages and wear costumes and decorated headpieces with feathers, but Hollywood does not show the true spiritual side and the meaning of why they live the way they do as true to their own culture and assimilated to the American culture as well. US history negatively affects Native American live which lead to the image of Natives to be clouded by imagination through film, changed the way Natives viewed themselves and expect to live, and misshaped the view we now have for Natives.
The French New Wave was a film movement in the 1950’ and 60’s that consisted of an explosion of new film techniques, values, and styles that became a defining moment of cinematic innovation that’s impact is still present in the modern film industry. An influx of new, young directors sought to narratively, ideologically and stylistically veer off from the dominant, traditional mainstream cinema production standards and redefine the French film industry. The movement didn’t happen overnight and its origins and influences stem back to the occupation of France by Nazi-Germany during World War II, the subsequent Italian Neo-Realism movement, and a combination of previous film periods. During World War II, Paris was occupied by the Germans. This was a
Mise-en-scéne is crucial to classical Hollywood as it defined an era ‘that in its primary sense and effect, shows us something; it is a means of display. ' (Martin 2014, p.XV). Billy Wilder 's Sunset Boulevard (Wilder 1950) will be analysed and explored with its techniques and styles of mise-en-scéne and how this aspect of filmmaking establishes together as a cohesive whole with the narrative themes as classical Hollywood storytelling. Features of the film 's sense of space and time, setting, motifs, characters, and character goals will be explored and how they affect the characterisation, structure, and three-act organisation.
In his book, Mr. Leach comprehensively covers the history of our country 's cinema, from the early Realists to the popular cinema of the 1980 's. He readily admits it 's quite impossible to ascribe a certain set of characteristics or ideals to Canadian cinema. Within our own borders, multiple film traditions exist discordantly aside one another: Quebec cinema, for instance, is notably distinct from
Although Stuart lacks in fact based situations, he shines light on some important and noteworthy points towards his theses. For example, he begins to explain the occurrence of adventure films, and how todays media has shaped that genre into a progressive form of violence, crime, and structured visualizations on the race of characters, or a character that is portrayed a certain way because of his race. “Another based-image is that of the “native.” The good side of this figure is portrayed in a certain primitive nobility and simple dignity. The bad side is portrayed in terms of cheating and cunning, and, further out, savagery and barbarism.” This quote, along with other quotes in similarity, are indeed noteworthy, but Stuart solely relies on his pathos appeal, and the credibility of his accomplishments.
I always love to read books and watch their movies, because I get to witness the differences that take place. I prefer the books because they have more detail and really let you decide how the characters look and act. Lots of times, the stories are different than the film versions. The short story, “Most Dangerous Game”, is a very good example of this. The film and the movie have lots of things in common, but this paper is about the complete opposite.
During the 1920s, American society began to adopt values that threatened the traditional values that remained from the 1800s. Many of these changes were a direct result of the youth culture of the time and how their uncertainty of who they were helped contribute to these changes in values. Throughout the decade, the struggle between modern and anti-modern values was exemplified in literature, drama and silent film of the American culture. “Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans” represents the conflicting modernist and anti-modernist sentiments of the time through its use of cinematography and characterization. “Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans”, the 1927 film by F.W. Murnau, is a shining example of the struggle between modern and anti-modern values that
“The Dressmaker” has many similar elements and features to spaghetti westerns. How has the director used the style to engage a modern audience? The Dressmaker, directed by Jocelyn Moorhouse, is loved by many but disliked by an equal number for its quirky and unusual plot, acting and setting. It is set in the 1950’s and closely follows the style of spaghetti westerns which gained popularity in the same period of time.
“Essential for the movie is the time and the years; here I’m more interested in realistic and allegorical. The most important thing is the feeling of hallucinations, travel in dreams, born because of opium, which begins and which ends the film.” – Leone. This essay is an attempt to investigate how Leone, in his film Once upon a Time in America, created a narrative that involves the spectator, gives more impact, tells a number of stories, and moves between time frames.
There are many things that make “Citizen Kane” considered as possibly one of the greatest films every made; to the eyes of the passive audience this film may not seem the most amazing, most people being accustomed to the classical Hollywood style, but to the audience with an eye for the complex, “Citizen Kane” breaks the traditional Hollywood mold and forges its own path for the better. Exposition is one of the most key features of a film, it’s meant introduce important characters and give the audience relevant details and and dutifully suppress knowledge in turn. “Citizen Kane” does not follow this Classic Hollywood style exposition, instead going above and beyond to open the film with revealing as little information as possible and confuse/intrigue
S. Porter in 1920, and serves as a perfect illustration for Gunning’s examples on Aesthetic of astonishment. This movie retells what happened during that period of time, when movie is first introduced. The naive reactions of early audience are shown here when people were shown clips of movies with no narrative-- purely “cinema of attraction” where the film main function is to attract audience as an attraction without narrative. Uncle Josh is a representative of how the audience should not have reacted; his reactions to the clips are exaggerated, but clearly demonstrate how early cinema audiences reacted to films when they first watched them. The beginning of the film is showing uncle Josh watching Parisian Dance, a dancing
" Film & History (03603695), vol. 39, no. 2, Fall2009,
In note 20 Sontag points to Trouble in Paradise and the Maltese Falcon as the greatest examples of camp movies. Both of these movies held a great cultural significance and recognizability as movies to come out of “New Hollywood.” Camp was showing up in popular cultural and Sontag takes advantage of this by using popular art pieces and movies to help the reader understand camp, to show it 's universality, and as a tool to destigmatize camp. Camp sensibility at the time was often conflated with homosexual taste. By using popular culture and relatable evidence, Sontag contradicts that stereotype without breaking her neutral tone.