The classical Hollywood tradition of filmmaking has been both extremely influential and successful since the 1920s. Furthermore, the classical Hollywood cinema technique of making movies is not limited only to movies in the United States. For instance, “The Road Warrior, although an Australian film, is constructed along classical Hollywood lines” (Bordwell et al. 97). Director Alfonso Cuarón’s Y Tu Mamá También, which was produced and distributed originally in Mexico, is a coming of age story revolving around two young friends, Tenoch and Julio as they go on a several-day road trip to the beach with a woman named Luisa. Through its use of the coming of age narrative, Y Tu Mamá También is a good example of the classical Hollywood cinema form. …show more content…
First, “the plot focuses on one or two characters who want something” (Bordwell et al. 98). In a coming of age narrative, such as Y Tu Mamá También, the main characters are the characters who eventually mature and grow up after going through a series of events or accomplishing several goals. Furthermore, there should be a barrier which these characters must overcome in order to complete their coming of age quest. As Bordwell and Thompson put it, in a classical Hollywood film, there should be “an opposition that creates conflict” (Bordwell et al. 98). In a coming of age narrative, the main characters must undergo a process of change, which is also one of the characteristics of classic Hollywood cinema (Bordwell et al. 98). The last two characteristics of classic Hollywood cinema are, “filmmakers adjust time to fit the cause-effect progress of the story” (Bordwell et al. 98) and, “classical filmmakers prefer a strong degree of closure” (Bordwell et al. 99). In a coming of age narrative, the film should display most events as contributing to mental progression of the characters, and at the end of the film, it should be clear whether or not the characters have actually come of age. Essentially, there should be clear differences in a character’s traits at the end of the film comparatively to the start of it. In summary, the main characteristics of a classical Hollywood film are the following, there are a few main characters who have goals as well as barriers to their goals, the characters must go through change, most events and actions have a cause and effect, and lastly there should be
Lewis, J. (2008). American Film: A History. New York, NY. W.W. Norton and Co. Inc. (p. 405,406,502).
...e growing power of Latinos in the film industry. Latino producers such as Joseph Vasquez have made many films (such as Hangin? with the Homeboys and Manhattan Merengue) which show Latinos in a truer light. Also, since some of today?s hottest movie stars are Latino, big time producers cannot ignore the influence which they bring to the studio. Leguizamo, Antoni Banderas, and Jeniffer Lopez are just three examples of the growing number of latin@s whose appeal and presence in the film industry can help the overall cause of Latino representation, whether it be assimilated depictions or wholly cultural ones. It is important to recognize that American society recognize that there are indeed differences between U.S. Latin@s and Latin@s in their respective countries. In order to do this; both must be portrayed in popular film.
Barry, , Keith, and Grant, ed. Film Genre Reader III. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press,
The postmodern cinema emerged in the 80s and 90s as a powerfully creative force in Hollywood film-making, helping to form the historic convergence of technology, media culture and consumerism. Departing from the modernist cultural tradition grounded in the faith in historical progress, the norms of industrial society and the Enlightenment, the postmodern film is defined by its disjointed narratives, images of chaos, random violence, a dark view of the human state, death of the hero and the emphasis on technique over content. The postmodernist film accomplishes that by acquiring forms and styles from the traditional methods and mixing them together or decorating them. Thus, the postmodern film challenges the “modern” and the modernist cinema along with its inclinations. It also attempts to transform the mainstream conventions of characterization, narrative and suppresses the audience suspension of disbelief. The postmodern cinema often rejects modernist conventions by manipulating and maneuvering with conventions such as space, time and story-telling. Furthermore, it rejects the traditional “grand-narratives” and totalizing forms such as war, history, love and utopian visions of reality. Instead, it is heavily aimed to create constructed fictions and subjective idealisms.
The Latin American film genre is one of the most known genre worldwide and one of the most popular and successful of all of the genres in this business around the world. Yearly a number of productions from Latin America become favored and demanded successes, often-earning high levels of recognition and recommendation. In foreign film categories and in events and functions such as the Oscars, which are very highly respected around the world, Latin American films are awarded and praised and unquestionably make audiences sit on seat’s edge to bear mind films being produced in countries here. Latin American films are most likely to be as successful as they are because of the mixture of all of the elements, which their cinema provides, including
As the first major U.S. success for a Spanish language film, Como Agua Para Chocolate (Alfonso Arau, 1992) has had a major impact on Hispanic culture and the future of Hispanic cinema. This film has many implicit and explicit layers that challenge typical cultural ideals, not only in Hispanic culture, but in various cultures across the world. Based on his wife, Laura Esquivel’s novel, Arau used this film, known commonly as Like Water for Chocolate, to bring to the surface the liberation of females through the empowerment of food. Although food and cooking are often associated with the oppression and generalization of Hispanic women, Like Water for Chocolate captivates an empowering view of women using intimate and heightened cinematography of the food.
Describe some ways in which business values and artistic values in Hollywood contend with one another.
From the lavish mansions of Hollywood stars to the cigarette smoke filled offices of broke screenwriters, the 1950 noir movie Sunset Boulevard remains a timeless classic with a stunning story of an actress gone mad, and a screenwriter just trying to squeak by. This film is the first pre-1960’s flick that has left me with a feeling of awe. The first word that comes to mind after the credits begin to roll is just“wow!”. I was struck by the intriguing plotline and brilliant execution of the story. Not only is the film a classic for its gripping story, and twisted power dynamics, it also shows amazing camera work and brilliant acting.
This analysis observes the opening scene of the Coen brother’s film No Country for Old Men (2007), a neo-noir crime thriller set in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The film does conform to classic Hollywood style in that the story is character-centered and plot and narrative change to serve character exposition. As well as the character’s actions changing plot and narrative and that style is subservient to the story as the ultimate goal is to develop a fictional world that is perceived as real, as Bordwell put it the classic Hollywood style should be “seamless” and “style-less” (Bordwell, 1988). But does have Post-classical influences such as lack of musical score and modern editing techniques and special effects.
There were many issues and concepts that were arisen with this film. What seemed to be the major theme that predominated throughout the film was that being older does not mean that life ends. There are different issues that are dealt with when aging, but that does not necessarily entitle growing and transforming have ended. Each character in the film were dealing with a variety of changes, some which dealt with the aging process and some that can happen at any time in ones life (Hoffman, 2012).
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’.
Have you ever had one of those days that were so bad that you desperately needed a night at the ice cream or candy store? The 1970’s was that really bad day, while the night of self- indulgence was the 1980’s. Americans love to escape from our daily stress, and of all the products that allow us to do so, none is more popular than the movies. Movies are key cultural artifacts that offer a view of American culture and social history. They not only offer a snapshot of hair styles and fashions of the times but they also provide a host of insights into Americans’ ever-changing ideals. Like any cultural artifact, the movies can be approached in a number of ways. Cultural historians have treated movies as a document that records the look and mood of the time that promotes a particular political or moral value or highlights individual or social anxieties and tensions. These cultural documents present a particular image of gender, ethnicity, romance, and violence. Out of the political and economic unrest of the 1970’s that saw the mood and esteem of the country, as reflected in the artistry and messages in the movies, sink to a new low, came a new sense of pride in who we are, not seen since the post-World War II economic boom of the 1950’s. Of this need to change, Oscar Award winner Paul Newman stated,
Stanley, Robert H. The Movie Idiom: Film as a Popular Art Form. Illinois: Waveland Press, Inc. 2011. Print
Since the creation of films, their main goal was to appeal to mass audiences. However, once, the viewer looks past the appearance of films, the viewer realizes that the all-important purpose of films is to serve as a bridge connecting countries, cultures, and languages. This is because if you compare any two films that are from a foreign country or spoken in another language, there is the possibility of a connection between the two because of the fact that they have a universally understanding or interpretation. This is true for the French New Wave films; Contempt and Breathless directed by Jean-Luc Godard, and contemporary Indian films; Earth and Water directed by Deepa Mehta. All four films portray an individual’s role in society using sound and editing.
Kuhn, A. and Radstone, S. 1990, The Women's companion to international film, 1st edn, University of California Press, Berkeley, Ca. viewed 26th May 2014