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Culture in the 1960's
The graduate film analysis
Culture in the 1960's
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American Graffiti (1973) produced by Frances Ford Coppola, written and directed by George Lucas, is a nostalgic period piece movie about a small California town in the 1962. Lucas credits his childhood memories for being the catalyst for this film, and his experience mirrored a generation’s nostalgic remembrance of growing up in what was perceived as an easier time. The simplicity is in the reminiscing, but the reality of the lives of these teenagers in not all that simple or innocent, a concept that shines through the nostalgic gauze of the “boss” cars and “bitchin’” tunes packed into this film To summarize, the four main characters, Steve Bolander, John Milner, Terry “the toad” Fields and Curt Henderson are presented to us on the eve of great …show more content…
The new graduates speak to the rising cultural norm of high school graduates attending college, with Curt even landing a scholarship through the local moose lodge. College was a big deal in 1962, and today we are used to the power push for a degree, and it helps to remember how not common it was then and how it frames this story. Watching the film with both my college age daughters was enlightening, as they were appalled that Steve would deny himself the opportunity to attend college back east. They were not impressed with the music, the cars or the dilemmas. “Grow up” was their response to the clingy girlfriend, and comments about carbon emissions and gas guzzling greeted the pivotal foundation of this story: cruising the strip to see and be seen in cars. Curt, a sensitive intellectual, is looking for the meaning of life on this night in his small town. He stumbles through the night searching for answers, gets mixed up with a group of gang members while chasing a mystery women in a white Thunderbird. He is compelled to find this woman who he is sure whispered “I love you” (did she really say it?). What he realizes in the wee hours of the morning is a confirmation that you cannot stay a child forever, while Steve, voted the most likely to succeed, settles for community college, until Laurie
Napoleon Dynamite is one of the best movies portraying loneliness and nerds. It is the story of Napoleon in high school and his lonely adventures. All the main characters feel separated, misunderstood, and have nobody to relate to. Napoleon has no friends and lives in his own fantasy land. He is avoided by everybody. His brother seems to be mislead, wanting to be a cage fighter but staying home all the time hopelessly trying to find love and attention on the internet. Their grandmother is never there for them, though she lives her own life right beside them. They live next to a huge field, reinforcing their isolation. Practically every home in the film is
The film, The Graduate, tells a story about a new college graduate and his experience upon returning home to expectations of his peers and a fear of his own future. Produced in the 1960’s, The Graduate, depicts topics such as isolationism and alienation through the protagonist, Benjamin Braddock. The main theme of the movie is the idea of Benjamin’s isolation being caused by the pressure from expectations that the older generations lay upon him; he does not know what he wants to do with his future, yet his father and peers continues to hound him and question him on his future plans. A common fear for most college students and newly college graduates, many college students are unsure of where their lives will lead them and without a certain answer, can be nerve racking. Benjamin’s father and peers make this idea apparent to Ben when they often ask him “What are you gonna do now?”. Our protagonist does not seem to have a positive answer for them almost every time. Mr. Braddock also parades Benjamin to his friends by buying him extravagant gifts
Dazed and Confused is a film that follows a plethora of characters on the last day of school before summer vacation. Although lacking in tangible plot, it makes a bold attempt to encompass and present the zeitgeist of the 1970s. In my opinion it is as if Dazed and Confused was produced in hopes of making those viewers who lived through the 1970s feel a sense of nostalgia. The film’s trajectory, harnessing of zeitgeist, and soundtrack are all very similar to George Lucas’s American Graffiti—a film that also successfully rooted in nostalgia. Dazed and Confused was released in 1993 and, like American Graffiti, was able to look over its shoulder to determine what music stood the test of time. The film attempts to epitomize what it meant for someone to grow up in the 1970s. Its success depends on its ability to recreate the spirit present in that era. In this paper I will talk about how the use of the popular soundtrack functions with the overall narrative, show ways in which characters actually interact with the music, how the soundtrack functions in a specific scene, explain my personal relationship to the soundtrack, and touch briefly on how the meaning of the film has changed over the course of time.
Over time, the United States has experienced dramatic social and cultural changes. As the culture of the United States has transformed, so have the members of the American society. Film, as with all other forms of cultural expression, oftentimes reflects and provides commentary on the society in which it is produced. David Fincher’s 1999 film Fight Club examines the effects of postmodernity on masculinity. To examine and explicate these effects, the film presents an unnamed narrator, an everyman, whose alter-ego—in the dissociative sense—is Tyler Durden. Durden represents the narrators—thus every man’s—deep-seated desire to break free from the mind-numbing, emasculating world that is postmodern, post-industrial America.
Can you recall the very last night that you spent with your high school buddies before packing your bags and leaving for college? The films American Graffiti and Dazed and Confused bring you back to that through the recreation of those great experiences. American Graffiti is based on a closely-knit group of teenagers who will all be leaving each other the next day for new adventures. This gang of teenagers, despite their differences, all goes out together and share their last memorable evening. Throughout the night, friendships are strengthened, conflicting struggles arise, and romances are created and disrupted. Dazed and Confused dealt about life during wartime – the wartime of high school, where the faculty is irrational, the parents are
Gallman, J. Matthew. "Gangs Of New York (Film)." Journal Of American History 90.3 (2003): 1124-1126. America: History and Life with Full Text. Web. 2 May 2014.
One movie that pertains to the family adolescent life cycle is The Goonies. Not only is this movie a cult classic, but it also gives a great perspective on an adolescent’s life cycle. This movie revolves around a group of kids in search of a way to save their home from the rich towns people. While on this search they stumble on treasure map from the infamous “One Eyed Willy”. Thus begins the adventures of the Goonies on their mission to save their homes.
This classic move focuses on a single night in the early Sixties, the hopeful future of the main characters is followed by the events which occur. Steve (Ron Howard), and Curt (Richard Dreyfuss) will be leaving for college the very next day, the build up of years of hard work. Finally they'll be able to leave their small hometown and "spread their wings", experiencing life in ways they never have. Curt is unattached to anyone, but Steve will be leaving behind his longtime girlfriend Laurie (Cindy Williams), who happens to be Curt's sister. Also remaining at home are Terry (Charles Martin Smith), a fumbling nerd, and John (Paul Le Mat), an older kid with "the fastest car in the valley". The two main things that kid's focused on in 1962, it was cars and music. Everyone who's anyone cruises the strip in their shiny automobiles and while they're doing that they're listening to Wolfman Jack on the radio. Music is an integral part of this group, defining its moods, fears, desires and feeding from the same emotions.
Studying a university degree is one of the biggest achievements of many individuals around the world. But, according to Mark Edmunson, a diploma in America does not mean necessarily studying and working hard. Getting a diploma in the United States implies managing with external factors that go in the opposite direction with the real purpose of education. The welcome speech that most of us listen to when we started college, is the initial prank used by the author to state the American education system is not converging in a well-shaped society. Relating events in a sarcastic way is the tone that the author uses to explain many of his arguments. Mark Edmunson uses emotional appeals to deliver an essay to the people that have attended College any time in their life or those who have been involved with the American education system.
“Many institutions have begun to use hard-sell, Madison-Avenue techniques to attract students. They sell college like soap, promoting features they think students want” (Bird 372). This is a strong statement to use because it seems like some kind of item of need in everyday life for young adults. Colleges have gotten to the point where they have become so much like a business that they feel the need to satisfy the customer on what they are selling so they include all sorts of programs and curricular activities that could please the new students. Not only does it seem as if they are being pressured into attending college by their high school counselors and parents but also by their own classmates as most of them are going so many don’t want to feel out of place and they attend anyways. Due to society make it seem as if college is a necessity people feel the need to attend but also as if it is just a way to “temporarily get them out of the way…” (Bird 374) Today even some sociologist believe that college has become an institution so people just accept it without question. That’s wrong because people make it seem as if you won’t get far in life if you don’t have or get a college degree. But that shouldn’t be the case because in the past many jobs were done by people
Within the last few years, graffiti has been deemed an acceptable and tasteful genre of art. Long gone are the days where the spray can belonged exclusively to the local delinquent. From the past to present, there has been a shift in how street art is recognized by the general public and the government. Laws and policies are being put into place that both defend and threaten the promulgation of this creative medium. By both protecting and prohibiting, the government displays an inconsistent and confusing relationship with street art. When art is so subjective, it can become challenging to delineate the fine line between vandalism and creativity. This essay will discuss the changing public perception of graffiti, the trademark and copyright battles between graffiti artists and property owners, the categorization of street art as an artform, and the beneficial aspects of commissioned street murals.
In the media, prisons have always been depicted as a horrible place. The film, The Shawshank Redemption, is a prime example that supports the media 's suggestions about prison life. In the film we are familiarized with Andy Dufresne, who is a banker that is wrongfully convicted of murdering his wife and her lover. While trying to both remain discreet and find his prison identity, he assists Ellis Boyd 'Red ' Redding, a peddler, and Brooks Hatlen. In his attempt to fit into the rough prison subculture, Andy strategically starts a business relationship with the captain Captain Bryon Hadley and Samuel Norton. The film gives an insider 's look at various aspects of prison life. These aspects include prison culture; explicitly, guard subculture and inmate subculture.
...ed a moral geography of artistic practice. This helps me as an evidence or fact to support some of my main ideas in my 3rd paragraph .
To begin with college used to be known as a sacred place where knowledge was sought out and pursued. Now it has become the norm. Therefore one may think, what’s wrong college becoming the norm? Isn’t that a good thing? However, what most people are blind being that the quality of education has changed dramatically. Author Caroline bird mentions in her narrative
The beauty of art is that everyone has a different opinion of what they consider art. A highly debated topic is if graffiti can be considered art. Technically speaking, it is usually vandalism but people believe it is also art. Although it is in fact vandalism, graffiti is still art because it is self-expression of the individual and can even convey powerful messages that can reach out and affect the everyday person.