American Cinema: 1960 to present Stella Menezes Torres 02/21/2014 Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966) Introduction The movie Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? was created based on a play with the same name by Edward Albee, which was already a huge success in New York in 1962. For that reason, it was a great risk and challenge for the director and the actors to create a movie based on a play with such high standards. Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? was directed by the acclaimed Mike Nichols and stars Elizabeth Taylor as Martha, Richard Burton as George, George Segal as Nick and Sandy Dennis as Honey. The movie is officially drama, but it also has a lot of comedy to it. Censorship Before the movie was produced, the PCA had advised Warner Bros. that some changes would have to be made in the script in order to release the movie, however, the studio decided to go on with the production. The studio even considered alternative distribution channels that were not regulated by the PCA so they could keep the script intact. After years of debate, Warner Bros. produced the movie with no changes on the script and only after it was ready the studio presented the script to the PCA, which was slightly different from what was really shot. Both sides would not agree either to approve the movie or to cut some scenes. If Warner Bros. decided to release the movie without any changes, it would have to resign from the MPAA (Motion Pictures Association of America), since all the members had agreed to release only approved movies. If the PCA didn’t approve the movie, the box-office revenue of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? would have little effect by that. On the other side, if the PCA lost Warner Bros. it would show the deficiency of the MPAA t... ... middle of paper ... ... about things and develop a critical thinking, such as in the alienating subject as well as accepting a black person into the white society in the 1960’s. Conclusion Overall, the movie Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is a great example of how the 1960's was a decade that brought up a lot of issues to debate to Hollywood's movies. The movie has common issues that were seen in a lot of movies' subjects such as violence, sex and alienation. Another important thing that was born in this decade and relates a lot with this movie is the censorship. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? brought a lot of tension between the PCA and the Warner Bros. studios, being very important in the beginning of the PCA and the MPAA on accepting mature themes. The movie was definitely a mark on the 1960's movies and also on the adaptation of a successful play to a Top 3 box-office rank movie.
Adapted from Michael Cunningham's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Director Stephen Daldry and playwright David Hare, The Hours was inspired by Virginia Woolf's 1925 novel Mrs. Dalloway. It is no coincidence that The Hours was the working title Woolf had given Mrs. Dalloway as she was writing it. The emotional trauma that this film guides its viewers through becomes evident in the opening prologue. The scene begins with Virginia Woolf composing what would be her suicide notes to her husband Leonard and her sister Vanessa, the two most important people in her life (Curtis, 57.) She begins: "I feel certain that I am going mad again: I feel we can't go through another of these terrible times... You have given me the greatest possible happiness.. ." The portrayal of this process quickly demonstrates the turmoil Woolf is feeling, both from her oncoming episode of "madness" and the difficulty she is having finding the correct words to say "farewell" (Lee, Hermoine). The prologue comes to its climax as Kidman portrays Woolf's suicide. It is a gut-wrenching display of one's "matter-of-fact" acceptance of one's own coming death. Very dramatically, Woolf fills the pockets of her coat with large stones and stoically walks into a swollen river. Her head slowly disappears beneath the muddy water as all hope of her reconsidering her suicide is swept away with the current.
The novel “To Kill A Mockingbird” by Harper Lee, is an American classic, narrated by the young Scout Finch, the most engrossing character in the book. The novel is about the adventures of two siblings over the time of about three years. Jem and Jean Louise (Scout) Finch were two young siblings who one day met another young boy named Dill. Over time, Jem and Scout grow up under the careful watch of their father and friends, learning how to be adults. They play games, they sneak into a courthouse, and they learn a valuable life lesson. Scout was an intriguing character. As the narrator, you learn more about Scout’s feelings towards the events in the book and soon learn to love her. Let me introduce you to Scout Finch.
Themes in the Novel and Movie Adaptation of James Cain’s Mildred Pierce. In contemporary film making, “Hollywood-ization” generally refers to the re-creation of a classic work in a form more vulgar and sexually explicit than the original in an effort to boost movie attendance. After all, sexuality and violence sell. However, from the mid-1930’s to the 1950’s, “Hollywood-ization” referred to the opposite case where controversial books had to be purified to abide by the Production Code of 1934.
After overcoming her denial and admitting that no son exists, Martha lies prostrate as George asks her, “Who’s afraid of Virginia Woolf?”(242). Martha wearily replies, “I…am…George….I…am…”(242). In other words, “Who’s afraid of the truth?” My parents, Stuart of Christopher Durang’s Beyond Therapy, and Martha and George from Thomas Albee’s “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”. Ceasing to rationalize reality to suit one’s needs entails dealing with the truth and experiencing pain. Therefore, it stands to reason that many smart, reasonable people fall victim to the allure of denial. However, as Martha demonstrates, the walls crumble eventually, and one feels the pain as acutely as ever. So, who’s afraid of the truth? The more appropriate question is who’s not afraid of the truth?
The 1950 and 60s were a time of the “red scare/communism”, anything which sounded like opposition to the government or frowned upon anything which basically sounded "out of the ordinary/ unusual" was branded communist and this was shown in this movie. One would think that film writers would not be under much scrutiny, but many were called communists for their portrayals of what was
“Rebecca” is a novel written by Daphne du Maurier in 1938 about a young, simple, beautiful woman who fell in love with a wealthy gentleman many years her senior. She was head over heels and thought all her dreams would come true, but undenounced to her, she was entering into a world where she would battle the memories of her husband’s late wife, not only in within him but in the staff of her husband’s house hold “Mandeley” Over the years many directors have tried to bring Maurier’s “Rebecca” from the written page to the big screen motion picture. Two such directors are Alfred Hitchcock, with his black and white version in 1940, and the Jim O’Brien’s colored version in 1997. Having read the same book, these directors came up with two
...cago Tribune wrote a piece about the movie in July of 1942 and quickly agreed with the Times’ Crowther in regards to the movie. She refers to Kings Row as an “uninspiring [and] dreary melodrama in two parts” which connotes dissatisfaction and she goes on to, like Crowther, critiquing the acting. Kings Row was filled with blockbuster actors and actresses, yet the critics believed they were not even able to elevate the movie because of how much had been transformed due to the Production Code. In terms of the movie specifically, Woods and Casey Robinson, the screenwriter, was forced to eliminate the homosexuality hints, incest references, and physical abuse. These forms of domestic trauma were all key elements that helped to build the foundation in the novel, and their absence arguably changed the entire plot of the movie. However, all these omissions were a result of
The 1920s was a decade for creativity for black Americans that were living in New York city, particularly Harlem. Here Harlem became the race capital. Essentially, “on one hand, there emerged a new generation of black thinkers who were attracted by the promise of socialism” (Locke 929). The thinking Negro, has been encouraged to share a general attitude and focus his attention or controversial issues, to see himself as a view of a social problem.
1. Take Cinderella, add one part Gothic, one part Freud, and a dash of Scooby Doo – and the result will be Rebecca. Rebecca was made in 1940. It was directed by Alfred Hitchcock, and was his first American project. The film is shot in black and white, and is a gothic tale. We never see Maxim de Winter's first wife, Rebecca, who died before the story starts, but her reputation, and recollections about her, are a constant presence to Maxim, his new young second wife, and the housekeeper Danvers. Rebecca is an altogether brilliant film, haunting, suspenseful, handsome and handsomely played. Miss du Maurier's tale of the second mistress of Manderley, a simple and modest and self-effacing girl who seemed to have no chance against every one's—even
Pride and Prejudice Essay Throughout Jane Austen’s, Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth Bennett faces many challenges to realize that she was in the wrong and her prejudice against Mr. Darcy was misguided. Austen emphasizes the importance of wisdom through Elizabeth, who faces the challenge of overcoming her prejudiced judgement to reach maturity and recognize the man she loves. At the beginning of the novel, Elizabeth Bennett’s first meeting with Mr. Darcy was marred by Mr. Darcy’s pride to which, “Elizabeth remained with no very cordial feelings towards him.” At the end of the novel, after Elizabeth learns the truth and unravels her prejudice against Darcy, she begins to realize that she does have feelings for him.
Argument: Mrs. Ramsey is triumphant over Mr. Ramsey, by her awareness and intuitive feeling of the more important things in life: the value of human relationships. Though she is submissive, with no mention of extensive educational background, she innately possesses the crucial social skills that gain: the cohesion of the family as a whole; the respect and love of her children, and the continued survival of her marriage.
Virginia Woolf's 'To the Lighthouse' is a fine example of modernist literature, like her fellow modernist writers James Joyce and D.H Lawrence. This novel in particular is of the most autobiographical. The similarities between the story and Woolf's own life are not accidental. The lighthouse, situations and deaths within the novel are all parallel to Woolf's childhood, she wrote in her diary 'I used to think of [father] & mother daily; but writing The Lighthouse, laid them in my mind ….(I believe this to be true – that I was obsessed by them both, unheathily; & writing of them was a necessary act). Woolf, Diary, 28 November 1928) Woolf like many other modernist writers uses stream of consciousness, this novel in particular features very little dialogue, preferring one thought, memory or idea to trigger another, providing an honest if not reliable account of the characters lives. There novels motifs are paired with many of the novels images. The novel features two main motifs that Woolf appears to be interested in examining, firstly we notice the relationships' between men and women and the other appears to be Woolf's use of parenthesis. The novels images only become apparent once these motifs have been explored, allowing the reader to examine the relationships between the different characters.
In her passage she imagines what it may have been like had William Shakespeare had a sister. She notices how difficult it would be even given the same talents as Shakespeare himself, to follow throughout and utilize them in her life. It is clear after reading further into Woolf's passage that obviously she lived in a different time period, only about fifty years apart though. The way she relates and tells a very similar story with an entirely different setting shows without the reader even knowing that she wa... ... middle of paper ... ...
To the Lighthouse is a novel full of hidden messages, symbolism and history. All of these elements make “To the Lighthouse” a novel that is not easy to read. There are no clears signs within the novel telling us “Hey look here!! This is where the action is!!” The novel also lacks to mention when the events all takes place, who is speaking, and lastly does not give us an indication in what way we should think and feel of them. Virginia Woolf’s novel opens with an answer to a question that hasn’t been asked yet. This answer is given by a character who is not identified or described, and is addressed to the child who is sitting on the floor near a “drawing room window” in an undisclosed place that is also not described or identified. Also within this novel, there is not much respect for the standard novelistic conventions of clock time or consecutive action. Just when the audience starts to think that they’ve begun to establish an order of events, they start to realize that Woolf seems to take pleasure in confusing her audience by inserting an event or idea that has happened in the past or she anticipates a reaction, so that time in her novelistic world, the past and present and future, seem to flow into one another in an unbroken stream of consciousness.
Clurman, Harold. "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" Edward Albee: A Collection of Critical Essays. Ed. C.W.E. Bigsby. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall 1975. 76-79