Revenge, good versus evil, and the hard-fought victory of the underdog are the compelling themes in the western adventure novel, True Grit by Charles Portis. This work has been dubbed as “one of the great American novels” (Newsweek) and even inspired two award-winning films with its captivating characters and heart-wrenching conflicts. Only a year after the famous novel hit the American household by storm, True Grit (1969) was produced to recognize and appreciate the fans of the Portis original. Moreover, True Grit (2010) appeals to a different audience, because it pays less homage to the novel as a result of it being released nearly four decades after the book. These contrasting traits are exhibited in their trailers which are specialized to attract different moviegoers. Although both trailers are effective in attracting their own respective audience, if the trailers of True Grit (1969) and True Grit (2010) were previewed in a modern day theater, the 2010 trailer would be more popular, because of its …show more content…
For example, the 1969 teaser was made to attract the people that read the novel from 1968. As a result, the trailer does not prioritize on dramatizing conflicts of the story, such as Maddie seeking revenge and killing Tom Chaney or Maddie getting kidnapped, because the producers are aware that the viewers already know the plot and resolution. Instead, the trailer gives off an upbeat and cheery tone with goofy sound effects and pleasant music that entices whole families that love the book to watch the movie. However, an advertisement technique such as this would not persuade many modern day viewers to watch the movie, because they most likely have not read the book. Therefore, the lack of anticipation, suspense, and curiosity are the key components why the trailer would lose in this
In “The Thematic Paradigm,” University of Florida professor of film studies, Robert Ray, defines two types of heroes pervading American films, the outlaw hero and the official hero. Often the two types are merged in a reconciliatory pattern, he argues. In fact, this
My analysis begins, as it will end, where most cowboy movies begin and end, with the landscape.Western heroes are essentially synedoches for that landscape, and are identifiable by three primary traits: first, they represent one side of an opposition between the supposed purity of the frontier and the degeneracy of the city, and so are separated even alienated from civilization; second, they insist on conducting themselves according to a personal code, to which they stubbornly cling despite all opposition or hardship to themselves or others; and third, they seek to shape their psyches and even their bodies in imitation of the leanness, sparseness, hardness, infinite calm and merciless majesty of the western landscape in which their narratives unfold.All of these three traits are present in the figures of Rob Roy and William Wallace--especially their insistence on conducting themselves according to a purely personal definition of honor--which would seem to suggest that the films built around them and their exploits could be read as transplanted westerns.However, the transplantation is the problem for, while the protagonists of these films want to be figures from a classic western, the landscape with which they are surrounded is so demonstrably not western that it forces their narratives into shapes which in fact resist and finally contradict key heroic tropes of the classic western.
The Old Man and the Sea, by Ernest Hemingway, a simply written novel of an old man's singular struggle, while trying to catch a fish, against forces of the sea overpowering him and True Grit, by Charles Portis, a gripping western, placing you in the middle of the action during a girl's quest with two other men to get revenge for her father's murder, are two works united in several ways. Many similarities throughout both works appeared evident. Plot, theme, and characterization categorize those similarities.
“When the legend becomes fact, print the legend,” this single quote by the newspaper editor Maxwell Scott (Carlton Young), utters throughout the whole film on what Ford is trying to get across. The whole film tells of a lively era that is so deep in the roots of American history, but we seem to lose sight of that in the here and now. The standard critical approach to Liberty Valance has been to emphasize the contrasts between its two worlds, the old and the new, and to characterize it as celebrating the mythic western frontier and remember its passing by the industrialized times it had to give in to. John Ford brought back that view in his westerns, and although it was the last film with the duo of Ford and Wayne, it can now be referred to as a classical tale of fact and legend.
Gina Marchetti, in her essay "Action-Adventure as Ideology," argues that action- adventure films implicitly convey complex cultural messages regarding American values and the "white American status quo." She continues to say that all action-adventure movies have the same basic structure, including plot, theme, characterization, and iconography. As ideology, this film genre tacitly expresses social norms, values, and morals of its time. Marchetti's essay, written in 1989, applies to films such as Raiders of the Lost Ark and Rambo: First Blood II. However, action-adventure films today seem to be straying farther away from her generalizations about structure, reflecting new and different cultural norms in America. This changing ideology is depicted best in Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers (1994), which defies nearly every concept Marchetti proposes about action-adventure films; and it sets the stage for a whole new viewpoint of action in the '90's.
In the movie trailer for Holes you can generally see the three rhetorical devices, which make the trailer effective. These are fairly noticeable in the movie trailer, some more so than others. While the message they are getting across is quite obvious, the speaker aspect of it is not quite as obvious. The speaker in the trailer uses an enthusiastic voice to show the audience, which is generally young kids or people who like mystery, that it is a movie with plenty of excitement. While they go through it the speaker gets more enthusiastic, and the music for the trailer also becomes more upbeat. The speaker also mentions that the movie is based off of an award-winning book, most likely because it might broaden the age group for the audience.
True Grit, the 2010 remake of a classical western directed by Henry Hathaway, is a film that fits the category of genre of order as outlined in Thomas Schatz’s “Film Genres and the Genre Film.” Being directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, the modern western depicts the contested environment of the Arkansas in the 1800’s. The western accurately portrays society as still a largely segregated version of the United States, as blacks are still slaves, and Native Americans are treated as second rate citizens. The genre of order is both upheld and interrogated by the Coen brothers, as their film has an unconventional hero, but the conflict, setting, and resolution all fit within the characteristics of the genre of order.
Few Hollywood film makers have captured America’s Wild West history as depicted in the movies, Rio Bravo and El Dorado. Most Western movies had fairly simple but very similar plots, including personal conflicts, land rights, crimes and of course, failed romances that typically led to drinking more alcoholic beverages than could respectfully be consumed by any one person, as they attempted to drown their sorrows away. The 1958 Rio Bravo and 1967 El Dorado Western movies directed by Howard Hawks, and starring John Wayne have a similar theme and plot. They tell the story of a sheriff and three of his deputies, as they stand alone against adversity in the name of the law. Western movies like these two have forever left a memorable and lasting impressions in the memory of every viewer, with its gunfighters, action filled saloons and sardonic showdowns all in the name of masculinity, revenge and unlawful aggressive behavior. Featuring some of the most famous backdrops in the world ranging from the rustic Red Rock Mountains of Monument Valley in Utah, to the jagged snow capped Mountain tops of the Teton Range in Wyoming, gun-slinging cowboys out in search of mischief and most often at their own misfortune traveled far and wide, seeking one dangerous encounter after another, and unfortunately, ending in their own demise.
From a structural perspective, movies and novels appear as polar opposites. A film uses actors, scripts, and a set in order to create a visual that can grab and keep the attention of their viewers. However, an author strives to incorporate deeper meaning into their books. Despite these differences in media, 1984 and The Hunger Games present unique, yet similar ideas.
In “The Thematic Paradigm,” Robert Ray explains how there are two vastly different heroes: the outlaw hero and the official hero. The official hero has common values and traditional beliefs. The outlaw hero has a clear view of right and wrong but unlike the official hero, works above the law. Ray explains how the role of an outlaw hero has many traits. The morals of these heroes can be compared clearly. Films that contain official heroes and outlaw heroes are effective because they promise viewer’s strength, power, intelligence, and authority whether you are above the law or below it.
For this project, two films were viewed. The first one is Annie, a film made in the early 80s about a girl in an orphanage. She is then brought to live in a mansion for a week with one of the richest men in this world. He doesn’t like her at first, but he learns to love the little girl, and adopt her. The second film, Cinderella man, is about a boxer who loses his job after he breaks his hand during a match. He is then left to fend for his family. He begins to slowly rise up as a boxer and fight again, much to his wife’s distaste. For this project, I will discuss the similarities and differences between the films, and the time period, setting, and characters. Annie is the first film.
In the article “The Thematic Paradigm” exerted from his book, A Certain Tendency of the Hollywood Cinema, Robert Ray provides a description of the two types of heroes depicted in American film: the outlaw hero and the official hero. Although the outlaw hero is more risky and lonely, he cherishes liberty and sovereignty. The official hero on the other hand, generally poses the role of an average ordinary person, claiming an image of a “civilized person.” While the outlaw hero creates an image of a rough-cut person likely to commit a crime, the official hero has a legend perception. In this essay, I will reflect on Ray’s work, along with demonstrating where I observe ideologies and themes.
In this paper I will offer a structural analysis of the films of Simpson and Bruckheimer. In addition to their spectacle and typically well-crafted action sequences, Simpson/Bruckheimer pictures seem to possess an unconscious understanding of the zeitgeist and other cultural trends. It is this almost innate ability to select scripts that tap into some traditional American values (patriotism, individualism, and the obsession with the “new”) that helps to make their movies blockbusters.
The Role of Trailers for Movies Trailers are mainly used as marketing tools. Trailers make people
“Entertainment has to come hand in hand with a little bit of medicine, some people go to the movies to be reminded that everything’s okay. I don’t make those kinds of movies. That, to me, is a lie. Everything’s not okay.” - David Fincher. David Fincher is the director that I am choosing to homage for a number of reasons. I personally find his movies to be some of the deepest, most well made, and beautiful films in recent memory. However it is Fincher’s take on story telling and filmmaking in general that causes me to admire his films so much. This quote exemplifies that, and is something that I whole-heartedly agree with. I am and have always been extremely opinionated and open about my views on the world and I believe that artists have a responsibility to do what they can with their art to help improve the culture that they are helping to create. In this paper I will try to outline exactly how Fincher creates the masterpieces that he does and what I can take from that and apply to my films.