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Topics on how American film affects culture
Topics on how American film affects culture
Topics on how American film affects culture
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The power of film is immense in modern American culture. The symbols and identity’s created in these films has proven to possess a lasting impact shaping in new cultures. Film has not failed to accomplish this using the motorcycle. Although a controversial image the motorcycle possesses a strong identity of freedom and brotherhood creating an individual counterculture. The freedom represented by the motorcycle contradicts previous connotations and transforms our definition of freedom. The motorcycle also provides a cultural identity of rebellion and brotherhood. Film has contributed greatly to creation of the motorcycle identity and has not failed to capitalize on the power symbolism the motorcycle represents. In many cases film created the motorcycle image we think of today.
The 1946 film The Wild One is widely considered the archetype for modern motorcycle film and culture. The movie portrays a rebellious protagonist that consistently goes against the grain of society. This is the first time that the motorcycle is accompanied with the rebellious connotation of a counter culture movement. This is an image that has since stayed with the motorcycle. An example of this is when Mildred ask Johnny, the insubordinate protagonist what he’s rebelling against. Johnny responds with “whadda you got?” this is a powerful quote in which director Laslo Benedek summarized his interpretation of this new motorcycle counter culture. This identity of reckless anarchists took off and became the widely accepted as the motorcycle identity. The Wild One came out in a time of rapidly accepted conformity, and provided an outlet to individuals seeking and individual identity. This is a “Hipster” identity that many bikers in the 1940s emulated from Afric...
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...es how powerful of a symbol it has become. You wouldn’t consider the fact that someone drives a Honda Accord a defining characteristic of his or her identity but somehow that changes when it becomes a Harley Davidson Heritage Softtail. "Four wheels move the body two wheels move the sole" (Harley Davidson Ad/ 1992). It becomes clear that the motorcycle is much more than a vehicle; it is a manifestation of American values. When you break it down nothing seems more American that freedom, and brotherhood. Film has fully capitalized on these characteristics helping make the motorcycle a powerful image that has had a defining impact on American culture.
Works Cited
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1925.
How to grow a band. Dir . Mark Meatto . Perf . Chris Thile, 2011 . Film.
Needless to say, that experience has changed over time. It began from a simplistic design in 1904 as a motorized bike. However, as time progressed it brought about the introduction of the biker gang era. These were the bad asses image riding their heavy bikes down the highway, rebels who refused to give in to society’s pressures. It was the time of the Hell’s Angels, with their patches, long hair, and untidy beards that became the symbol of freedom on the road. They created the mantra of the bad ass dude on a bad ass American bike and no one was gonna tell him what to
By adapting the standard Hollywood ‘road’ movie narrative (east to west), incorporating modern music as non-diegetic sound and utilizing shocking scenes – both socially and in terms of ignoring every written and unwritten filming law - Dennis Hopper’s Easy Rider stands as a testament to the changes going on in the US during the late 1960s and creates a certain distance to the previous way of seeing America.
In this essay I will be looking at the topic of the countercultural movement of the 1960’s through counterculture film. The 1960’s were an extremely interesting time in history not only in the United States but all over the western world, as we saw the rise of the counterculture generation. The counter was a group of movements focused on achieving personal and cultural liberation and was embraced in many different ways by the decade’s young people. I have chosen this topic as the 60’s stand out for me as a revolutionary and often misrepresented period in history. The films I have chosen to look at are The Baader Meinhof Complex from director Uli Edel, Woodstock from Michael Wadleigh, Pirate Radio from Richard Curtis, and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas from director Terry Gilliam. I chose to analyse these films as I believe they clearly demonstrate the social and political issues of the 1960’s and societies response to them.
Here starts the tale of how a (LEGEND) came to be. In 1903 William Harley along with Arthur and Walter Davidson of Milwaukee,WI began experimenting with an internal combustion engine in a small wooden shed, amazingly the shed doesn’t burn down and the motorcycle that was built in it goes over 100,000 miles under 5 owners. And that was just the beginning, soon after that first bike being built; it began to happen. A cheap reliable form of transportation was needed in the country. Henry Ford’s automobiles were a little expensive for the average family. So a niche opens up for the motorcycle. Though there was no cutting- edge technology in their design, it worked. The trio had just brought a single cylinder engine (based on a DeDion design) and tube type bicycle frame together. Painted in gloss black, that first machine was admired by friends and family - now it gets interesting.
“Automobile In American Life and Society.” Automobile In American Life and Society. N.P., n.d. Web. 16 Feb. 2014.
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.
The movie I decided to analyze for this course was American History X (1998), which stars Edward Norton. Though this movie isn’t widely known, it is one of the more interesting movies I have seen. It’s probably one of the best films that depict the Neo Nazi plague on American culture. The film takes place from the mid to late 1990’s during the Internet boom, and touches on subjects from affirmative action to Rodney King. One of the highlights of this movie that really relates to one of the key aspects of this course is the deterrence of capital punishment. Edward Norton’s portrayal as the grief stricken older brother who turns to racist ideologies and violence to cope with his fathers death, completely disregards the consequences of his actions as he brutally murders someone in front of his family for trying to steal his car. The unstable mentality that he developed after his father’s death really goes hand-to-hand specifically with Isaac Ehrlich’s study of capital punishment and deterrence. Although this movie is entirely fictional, a lot of the central themes (racism, crime punishment, gang pervasiveness, and one’s own vulnerability) are accurate representations of the very problems that essentially afflict us as a society.
America has come a long way with how people are treated as opposed to how things use to be not so long ago. In the film American History X (1998) we see how some parts of America were not adjusting to change in their towns which resulted in violent outbreaks and many deaths. Although throughout the movie we see the main character, Derek Vinyard (Edward Norton) that at the beginning of the film is in a “white power” gang and later transforms as a character to protect his brother and the rest of his family from being hurt and corrupted by the racist world that they were living in.
In this essay the following will be discussed; the change from the age of classical Hollywood film making to the new Hollywood era, the influence of European film making in American films from Martin Scorsese and how the film Taxi Driver shows the innovative and fresh techniques of this ‘New Hollywood Cinema’.
The demand for Harley-Davidson is in excess; the company utilizes customer surveys along with motorcycle rallies while conducting market research. This research did lead Harley; it led the company to start manufacturing motorcycles designed for women. There has been a 10% increase in the number of women riding the motorcycles since 1987. On the company website, Harley does have a page set aside for riders who are women. Harley-Davidson appeals to its customers by way of brand identity. “The value of brands in today’s environment is phenomenal. Brands have the power of instant sales; they convey a message of confidence, quality and reliability to their target market” (Learn Marketing, n.d., p.2). Everybody recognizes a Harley-Davidson’s bar and shield symbol. Having ownership of a Harley motorcycle signifies American pride, a...
Harley-Davidson has survived through many decades and is an American business icon. Rivals have often successfully imitated motorcycles , but never duplicating them. It is often seen as those who are experiencing a "mid life crisis", are a part of a motorcycle gang, or an investment bankers that are attracted to these particular motorcycles. It is believed that Harley-Davidson is successfully selling the freedom within the American Dream through their motorcycles.
The automobile has impacted the world by faster traveling, also making it possible to go farther distances. In this society cars are used to get around but to some people, it’s a way to get around, but to some people it’s a way to express them. From loud engines to hybrids, cars mean a lot more to people than just a way to get around. It has become much more meaningful to people. It has become of a person and how they express themselves.
Women are seen as still being relatively new in the Harley Davidson world and they are working hard to cultivate these relationship. A common theme is that women are not taken seriously when it comes to the topic of motorcycles. Leslie Prevish, who previously worked for Harley Davidson, is a big promoter of women ridders and created the “garage party” to market to women (Zube, 2013). Harley Davidson understands the needs of women and is therefore marketing deeper to reach these needs and build loyalty with
Within Gran Torino, Eastwood has employed the change of a stubborn man’s opinion about the new multicultural America to convey his own messages on the concept. The fall of the old America is depicted via voice-over, a negative association with this achieved via stereotypical characters. The friction between new and old America is shown through symbolism, and finally the relationship between two major characters provides a symbolic example of the overcoming of this. Thus, Eastwood has crafted an insightful film on the falling away of the old American way, and the inception of the new multicultural
...are however a few outlets that are not constricted by the ideals of PC, and one of them is the automotive media. In this realm, men can be viewed as masculine, women can be feminine, and it is realized that they view the world in different ways. This private industry provides us with a way to view our society as it naturally is, not through the tint of a new political vision.