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More handpicked essays just for you.
Link between society and self
The role of self concept
The role of self concept
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Going to the movies is a favorite leisure activity for people not only in the US but also around the world. Some people like sappy romantic comedies, some love animated movies voiced by their favorite funny actors, and some prefer action movies. I personally love an action thriller and these movies are always at the top of my list, particularly when there's a series involved as is the case with the Bourne movies. At first glance, the Bourne series is a plot-heavy action flick involving a secret agent who does the CIA's bidding and the international affairs the CIA involves itself in. Upon further examination, however, this is the story of a soldier on a journey to understand himself and find absolution for the evil he has perpetrated by destroying …show more content…
Imagine going to a mall and there are "wanted" posters of you all around the mall before you enter the mall. When you are in the mall all eyes are on you and people are whispering while staring at you and giving you dirty looks. You have no idea what is going on or how people know you. This is what our character experiences throughout the first movie, The Bourne Identity. There are many scenes that underscore this confusion. For example, Jason Bourne has no idea where he learned the martial arts that he uses to escape police, nor the origin of his deposit box full of money, passports from different countries all around the world, and a gun. Furthermore, he cannot remember where he gained the ability to understand and speak very fluently languages other than English. Bourne expresses his concerns to the female lead at the diner: he knows the weight of the guy sitting at the bar, the license plate numbers of all six cars in the parking lot, and the safest route out of the diner. The scary part for Bourne is the fact that he doesn't know how he obtained this knowledge. All of these plot points, the way the other characters view Bourne, and what Jason Bourne says to other characters underscore the soldier's sense of confusion and fear in relation to himself and
...e instead of trying to pick it apart and understand why it works. I enjoyed watching “V” for Vendetta and reading “A Wall of Fire Rising” but, because of this in-depth analysis, I don’t think I could stomach either of them again; but, that’s just my opinion.
I thought Sling Blade was written and filmed well. It did get slow in parts, but overall it kept my attention. I picked up on minute details that on a regular basis I wouldn’t have. This paper made me see the underlying aspects such as the music, lighting, and script. It made me pay attention to what the characters were saying and how they were relating. I now look at film in a new light. I don’t just watch the surface. I dig deeper and watch for everything.
To fully appreciate the significance of the plot one must fully understand the heroic journey. Joseph Campbell identified the stages of the heroic journey and explains how the movie adheres meticulously to these steps. For example, the first stage of the hero’s journey is the ordinary world (Campbell). At the beginning, the structure dictates that the author should portray the protagonist in their ordinary world, surrounded by ordinary things and doing ordinary tasks so that the author might introduce the reasons that the hero needs the journey in order to develop his or her character or improve his or her life (Vogler 35). The point of this portrayal is to show the audience what the protagonist’s life is currently like and to show what areas of his or her life are conflicted or incomplete. When the call to adventure occurs, the protagonist is swept away into another world, one that is full of adventure, danger, and opportunities to learn what needs to be learned. T...
Post-traumatic stress disorder is an anxiety disorder that develops when an individual experiences or lives through a life-threatening event. (NIH 2010) These individuals react with intense fear, helplessness, or horror. On a daily basis, the Troops overseas live through life-threatening events. These events are why 12-30% of warfighters develop combat-related PTSD. Troops are prepared for duty but are unprepared for psychological effects of war. We can witness the effects of PTSD in American Literature. One unusual example of these impacts could be shown in the novel, The Great Gatsby. Jay Gatsby is a symbol of combat-related PTSD, which he inquires during World War One(WWI) while stationed with the 17th Infantry. Throughout the novel, Gatsby is described to have many symptoms and risk factors of PTSD. Jay Gatsby’s
Great movies come and bad movies go. Some stay seeded in the mind while others sink back into a quiet existence, never to be heard from again. Even though according to Jamie Weinman from the Maclean’s, “The disappointing fifth-place box-office opening of Scott Pilgrim vs. the World means that Universal probably shouldn't have spent $60 million on a Michael Cera movie” (78), Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World is not one of the movies that needs to slide back into the hole from which it came. In fact, the near two hours goes by quite quickly with all the action involved. Based on the visual effects, music, and conflict quality, Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World is a cinematic masterpiece that is sure to become a classic.
Citizen Kane has earned the prestigious honor of being regarded as the number one movie of all time because of Welles’ groundbreaking narrative and plot structures that paved a path for the future of the film industry. Though critics have viewed the film with such prestige over the years, a present day viewer might encounter a great amount of confusion or difficulty as to why Citizen Kane is the number one movie on the American Film Institute’s top 100 movies of all time. Especially considering the modern day film industry, Welles’ production does not measure up to the amount of thrill and entertainment audiences experience today. Not even considering the possibilities with special effects and technology, Citizen Kane seems to lack an exciting plot that might involve some action or twists instead of the gossip of a man’s life that we no longer appreciate. In 1941, the general public could greatly appreciate the connections between Kane and William Randolph Hearst unlike young adults watching the film now.
An intriguing plot is the first thing people look for in a movie. War is a complicated subject so in a film about war, while it is important for the plot to be interesting, it is even more important that it is sensible and flows smoothly. This allows the audience to be entertained and keeps them from getting lost in too many complicated details. The Hurt Locker is the story of three men who are part of a United States Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal (E.O.D.) team stationed in Baghdad in 2004. Sergeant First Class William James is a daring specialist who knows everything there is to know about bombs, inside and out. He begins his rotation with Bravo Company after the former team leader is killed while attempting to disarm a roadside bomb. Bravo Company has just 38 days left on rotation and since James has arrived, those days are fraught with tension. James d...
...ulture. Together the characters of Watchmen reflect an unflattering image of American identity. We sacrifice morals to defend principles rather than saving people. We sacrifice ourselves for commercial gain and for the fame that comes from the worship of strangers. We worship our own achievements, obsess over time and in the end we lose what makes us human as we continue down a path that takes us farther away from each other and deeper into ourselves.
This film by virtue of its independence has shied away from the usual hype associated with American movies. The result is an original screenplay by Billy Bob Thornton that is transformed into a mesmerising tale of the south. Thornton cast actors with ability rather than their image or ‘Hollywood status’. Sling Blade challenges us to re-evaluate our principles and our definitions of right, wrong and of justice.
The only real way to truly understand a story is to understand all aspects of a story and their meanings. The same goes for movies, as they are all just stories being acted out. In Thomas Foster's book, “How to Read Literature Like a Professor”, Foster explains in detail the numerous ingredients of a story. He discusses almost everything that can be found in any given piece of literature. The devices discussed in Foster's book can be found in most movies as well, including in Quentin Tarantino’s cult classic, “Pulp Fiction”. This movie is a complicated tale that follows numerous characters involved in intertwining stories. Tarantino utilizes many devices to make “Pulp Fiction” into an excellent film. In this essay, I will demonstrate how several literary devices described in Foster's book are put to use in Tarantino’s film, “Pulp Fiction”, including quests, archetypes, food, and violence.
In recent times, such stereotyped categorizations of films are becoming inapplicable. ‘Blockbusters’ with celebrity-studded casts may have plots in which characters explore the depths of the human psyche, or avant-garde film techniques. Titles like ‘American Beauty’ (1999), ‘Fight Club’ (1999) and ‘Kill Bill 2’ (2004) come readily into mind. Hollywood perhaps could be gradually losing its stigma as a money-hungry machine churning out predictable, unintelligent flicks for mass consumption. While whether this image of Hollywood is justified remains open to debate, earlier films in the 60’s and 70’s like ‘Bonnie and Clyde’ (1967) and ‘Taxi Driver’ (1976) already revealed signs of depth and avant-garde film techniques. These films were successful as not only did they appeal to the mass audience, but they managed to communicate alternate messages to select groups who understood subtleties within them.
A set of practices concerning the narrative structure compose the classical Hollywood Paradigm. These conventions create a plot centering around a character who undergoes a journey in an attempt to achieve some type of goal (). By giving the central character more time on screen, the film helps the audience to not only understand the character’s motivation but also empathize with his/her emotional state. Additionally, some antagonistic force creates conflict with the main character, preventing immediate success(). Finally, after confronting the antagonist, the main character achieves his or her goal along with growing emotionally(). This proven structure creates a linear and relatively easily followed series of events encompassing the leading character and a goal.
Though the storyline often takes back seat to the special effects and fight sequences, it...
While hundreds, even thousands of excellent movies have been made over the years since motion pictures were invented, there are some movies that stand out among the best. There are various reasons for these standouts, sometimes incredible acting, sometimes impeccable story lines, but in many cases, it is the issues addressed by the movie. Most of the greatest movies contain commentaries or analyses of certain issues, be they moral, social, or otherwise. John McTiernan directed one of these films, The Hunt for Red October, based on the similarly titled best-selling novel by Tom Clancy. The Hunt for Red October, a product of the anti-communist attitudes of the 1980’s, is above all a commentary on morality. It follows a critical moral decision made by one man, Soviet Captain Marko Ramius, portrayed by Sean Connery, and follows the consequences of that moral decision to their conclusion. While this is not the only instance of morality being questioned in this movie, it is the most important, as it is the decision upon which the story is based. Other characters, like Alec Baldwin’s character of Jack Ryan, and Scott Glenn’s character Captain Bart Mancuso also have to make moral decisions that will have important effects on Ramius’ decision.
Action films contain lots of physical stunts, chase scenes, rescues, fights, humour, destructive disaster (Explosions, floods, fires, natural hazards), escapes, and non-stop action. People expect the stunts when they come to see an action film, because the stunts and fights are what make the film so popular. Action films are normally set in either popular cities or glamorous islands. I watched a film to see if it fitted the expectations of what id expect from a typical action film, the film I watched was twister. Twister doesn't fit the expectations of an action film entirely, it is different to what I would expect from an action film, however it does