Darren Aronofsky's Requiem for a Dream
Requiem for a Dream is a movie that was directed by Darren Aronofsky. It's a story about the decent in to the hell and torment of drug addiction; however, Aronofsky sets out to demonstrate both the seductive ecstasy of a high and the shattering anguish of addiction. Character development is the main focus of Requiem, which is shown through creative camera angles, precise editing, and brilliant acting.
This movie blew my mind away, actually I found it difficult to sit through the entire movie without taking a break to go outside just to make sure that reality wasn't as bad as the movie made it seem. Aronofsky did a mind-boggling job of exploring the pleasures, and horrors of drug use. However, he did it in a way that I had never seen before, his camera work and editing were so creative I couldn't help but repeatedly think "Wow, I've never seen anything like that before." In a movie review of Requiem Arthur Lazere states "Technique is important here because Aronofsky's films are both manneristic and expressionistic in spirit and style, exaggerating and distorting images for dramatic effect. He uses split screens, fast motion, fades to white, body-mounted cameras, repeated sequences, exaggerated sound effects somewhat self-conscious methods that quite deliberately keep the viewer always aware of the filmmaker and what he is up to, much the same way some painters use a think impasto"
"I'm somebody now, Harry! Everybody likes...
Good evening and welcome to tonight’s episode of Learning Literature. Tonight we will be celebrating the 20th anniversary of Gattaca by analysing the techniques text producers employ to construct representations of social issues relating to marginalised groups. We will focus on two classic pieces of literature, Ken Kessey’s, One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest, as well as Andrew Niccol’s Gattaca. Through a range of techniques, the text producers have included representations of freedom and independence, power, as well as discrimination in each of their respective texts.
Perhaps an even stronger testament to the deepness of cinema is Darren Aronofsky’s stark, somber Requiem for a Dream. Centering on the drug-induced debasement of four individuals searching for the abstract concept known as happiness, Requiem for a Dream brims with verisimilitude and intensity. The picture’s harrowing depiction of the characters’ precipitous fall into the abyss has, in turn, fascinated and appalled, yet its frank, uncompromising approach leaves an indelible imprint in the minds of young and old alike.
Theatre students are often told what not to prepare for an audition because some pieces have been done so many times they lose their meaning. Of Shakespeare’s entire canon, the two most often forbidden texts are Puck and Helena monologues from A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Therefore, the two roles are often the most sought-after and coveted in the play when in production. However, in the 1999 film version, Kevin Kline as Bottom gets top billing. According to the rules of Elizabethan hierarchy, Bottom, being of the merchant class, is literally at the “bottom” of the social spectrum. The Athenians and fairies rank higher on the great chain of being. Kline’s billing is not merely a result of stunt-casting: Athenian Helena is played by television star Calista Flockhart and the fairy queen, Titania, is played by Michelle Pfeiffer, both “stars” at the time. The movie is considered “The Kevin Kline Version” because, compared to the text alone, the plot changes, cinematic adjustments, and Kline’s performance flesh out Bottom’s character, creating a protagonist for an otherwise ensemble cast.
Breathless is in many ways the antithesis of the classical Hollywood cinema; the changes have a direct effect on the relationship the film has with the viewer. Classical Hollywood cinema includes standards such as continuity editing, highly motivated, character-driven stories and a coherent narrative structure. Breathless defies these elements of traditional filmmaking, instead defining what we know as French New Wave.
With a new century approaching, Bruce Weigl's twelfth collection of poetry, After the Others, calls us to stand on the millennium's indeterminate edge. This book, opening with the last four lines of Milton's "Paradise Lost," parallels our departure from this century with Adam's fearful exit from Eden, beyond which is "all abyss, / Eternity, whose end no eye can reach" ("Paradise Lost"). Weigl posits that we stand at the century's uncertain gate naked, cold, and greedy; he refers often to a looming future, to give our collapsing present more urgency. We've forgotten, he says, how to love and live simply, how to write honestly and well.
Kate Chopin utilizes irony in “Desiree’s Baby” to warn people of the dangers of racism and how it can victimize not only the hated race, but also the one who is racist. “Desiree’s Baby” is a tale about a young slave owner, Armand, with a well-respected name in Louisiana. He marries an adopted woman named Desiree and once they have their child, he notices that the baby has black features. He assumes that since he does not know his wife’s racial background that his wife must have some sort of black heritage, but it is his “inferences [that] lead to tragedy." Armand did not want his wife to be around because of her assumed race, so she took the baby and left. Months later when Armand is burning Desiree and the baby’s possessions, he finds a letter written by his mother stating, “But, above all…night and day, I thank the good God for having so arranged our lives that our dear Armand will never know that his mother, who adores him, belongs to the race that is cursed with the brand of slavery.” Chopin’s irony was embedded in the fact that Armand hated who he is without knowing it. He assumed that his wife was the one with the black genes and that she needed to leave. Armand lost everything he had and loved because of the hate he held in his heart. The author proved through her use of irony that Caucasian and black people are the same. Besides physical features, it is impossible to tell from which race one has descended.
Daru, the schoolteacher in a remote area of Algeria, is torn between duty and what he believes is the right thing to do when he is suddenly forced in the middle of a situation he does not expect. He must escort an Arabic prisoner to the nearest town. It is not that Daru has much sympathy for the man; in fact, he does not, and actually finds himself disliking the Arab for disrupting so many lives. "Daru felt a sudden wrath against the man, against all men with their rotten spite, their tireless hates, their blood lust." Unfortunately, Daru loves his homeland, and cannot bear to think of leaving, despite the chaos that is raging around him between France and the Algerian natives. I believe that Daru makes the right choice in letting the prisoner choose his own fate. Daru has reaso...
"A Clockwork Orange", directed by the immeasurable Stanley Kubrick, starring Malcolm McDowell, Patrick Magee, Adirenne Corri, Aubrey Morris and James Marcus and produced by Stanley Kubrick in 1971, is, in my opinion, one of the greatest morality plays ever captured on film. It leads viewer in to many different pathways of thought about the time we live in, and about the validity of the concepts of law and morality, and the applications of the two in general society.
In Selby's 1978 novel Requiem for a Dream each character succumbs to self-gratification, which eventually and inevitably leads to self-destruction. The four main characters, Harry Goldfarb, Sara Goldfarb, Marion, and Tyrone C. Love each suffer from individual addictions, be it their dreams, illegal/legal narcotics, or even television. "Ultimately not only their bodies and minds, but their very souls are destroyed by their addictions" (Giles 104).
Requiem for a Dream offers a haunting glimpse into the life of addiction and drug abuse. This book depicts four individuals and their addictions to cocaine, heroin, and diet pills. Each of the characters have their own American Dream while the addictions to their drugs are keeping them further away from achieving it. In the beginning of the book, all the characters wanted was more out of life. Harry and Marion wanted to become financially stable so they could own their own coffee shop and have lots of money to travel the world. Tyrone just wanted to make more money to have a better life and Sara wanted to look good on television by losing enough weight to fit into a red dress. While following these dreams, they got lost in reality and slowly
The American peoples debt is almost entirely the faults of all those who participate in the active use of the credit cards solicited to them. This is due to several factors, the first of which is the ability of classes below the Upper-Middle and Upper classes being able to acquire credit cards easily and readily. The second reason is that the interest rates of these credit cards, set by the companies that advertise and produce them, has been and, in the foreseeable future, will be extremely high. Finally, the credit card debt is such a problem today because the market for credit card companies is so concentrated that isn't regulated enough to make any difference.
What do you think about when watching a film? Do you focus on the characters' good looks or the dialogue? Or do you go behind the scenes and think about what made the film? Maybe, it's even a combination of all three. No matter what comes to mind first, an important part of any good movie will be what you see. A camera and good director or cinematographer is needed to make that possible. Different directors and cinematographers will use different camera techniques to make you focus on what you see. Camera techniques show emphasis in films, because they make you focus more on situations and people. They are especially important in Darren Aronofsky’s Requiem for a Dream.
Aging is a phenomena we are all familiar with, a trait characteristic of all humankind, in fact, of all living organisms. What are the effects of aging, especially those which go beyond the biological aspects and effect the social aspects of changing roles, seniority, and treatment of the aged? What was the original human condition before high-tech medical interventions redefined death and dying, before the industrial age changed the nature of the nuclear and extended family? Going back still farther, what can the behavior of chimpanzees tell us about the origins of our responses to the aging of those around us?
Some of the arguments in the article say that the reason why people are in debt is because expenses are higher now than they were in the 1970 's. Another argument is that we are living in a materialistic place, especially in California and New York. Everybody wants to look good and have the best, so they use their credit card to make these expenses. Some arguments blame teens for using credit cards. Teens already use credit cards and spend money. Banks and financial institutions are also blamed for the rise in credit card debt because they lower monthly payments on credit cards. Others just think that Americans are comfortable with having credit card debts.
The plights of aging and minorities are substantially difficult to those to have endure the hardships of both groups. With the amount of the elderly majority increasing rapidly, this work examines certain aspects such as education and economic status. Based on that concept, I intend to find weather there is a correlation to the quality longevity of life for those of the aging minority differ in comparison to their counterparts