J. Edgar, a 2011 film staring Leonardo DiCaprio, is biographical drama that is, obviously, about J. Edgar Hoover. It was written by Dustin Lance Black, a LGBT rights activist as well as a gay man himself. It focuses on both the public political life and the private life of J. Edgar Hoover, the first Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The film jumps around in time, as the main premise is that J. Edgar is retelling the story of the FBI to a writer so that the public can know the truth. It is clear that the social climate of the time, one of extreme homophobia, affected J. Edgar endlessly in the aforementioned public political life and private life that he led. In real life, J. Edgar Hoover’s sexuality was never made explicitly clear but many believe he was a homosexual, as he never had girlfriends and spent most of his time with one man in particular, Clyde …show more content…
Tolson. J. Edgar does, though, take the stance that J. Edgar was indeed gay and therefore is saturated in allusions to this homosexuality even in scenes which at the surface seem to be purely political. In fact, one cannot help but see the influences of his homosexuality and the homophobia he is surrounded by in almost all of his actions. The opening monologue that Hoover delivers, which is about Communism, can easily be interpreted as a reflection of how Hoover felt about his sexuality.
Hoover’s first lines are “Let me tell you something. The SCLC has direct Communist ties. Even great men can be corrupted, can't they? Communism is not a political party. It is a disease. It corrupts the soul, turning even the gentlest of men... into vicious, evil tyrants. What we are seeing is a pervasive contempt for law and order.” On the surface, this is clearly about the Red Scare that took place around 1920. As shown in the film, fear of radical communists led Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer to lead his “Palmer Raids”, which J. Edgar Hoover oversaw when he was only twenty-four years old. At the time, he was the director of the Radical Division of the Justice Department. Hoover had a list compiled of radicals who simply were thought to have held communist ideals, not just those who had committed crimes, and as a result, “more than 5,000 persons were arrested” (Foner 760). There is a dual meaning to J. Edgar’s monologue,
though. In the early 1900s, being gay was also a taboo, like communism was. In fact, psychologists and other health professionals considered homosexuality a mental disorder! So as Hoover says, ”It is a disease”, he definitely could be referring to homosexuality. Viewing homosexuality as a mental disorder can therefore be said to “corrupt” men just as the government considered communism to be corrupting. If in this monologue it was, like I believe, the intent to refer to Hoover’s homosexuality and his self-hatred, it also would make sense that Hoover listed and deported those who just held the Communist beliefs, not only those who acted on them. Hoover did not openly act on his homosexuality but he still felt like he was a “pervert” as that is what society generally thought of gay people in that time. There are too many parallels in this monologue between communism and the homosexuality that Hoover repressed in himself to see it as just a coincidence.
Anyone can teach others from leading by example. Showing others what you can accomplish establishes confidence in others to try out their own dreams, wishes, and goals. A great example of leading by example is Gus, Clark, and Richie in the movie The Benchwarmers. These men meet Nelson, a stereotypical nerd that is bullied by baseball jocks every day just because he wants to play with them. This little boy inspires the men to show others that everyone should have the same opportunity to play baseball, no matter the skill level.
To get a clear view and understanding of the book, first must review the time period in history. The book was written in the mid 1950's during the cold war. Former General McCarthy, then U.S. Senator started a fire ball of suspicion, suppression, and incarceration. This had a very huge impact on the entrainment industry, which included everyone from playwrights to filmmakers, as well as writers and actors. If anyone in that time period was suspected of being a communist, the government could come and pull them out of their home. At the least a suspected communist would be banned, or put on a black ball list. Printed in the Times, McCarthy's First Slander, "Overnight, his speech sparked a media firestorm that played to the basest fears of Americans swept up in a frightening cold war and triggered loyalty oaths, blacklists and personal betrayals that cost an estimated 10,000 Americans their jobs and some shattered innocents their lives." (Johanna McGeary 28) This happened to a number of actors and film makers during that time period. The black ball list was a list of names of people who were believed to be communist. The people on this list came from the movie industry as well as writers. These people would no longer be able to get work ...
On October 14th, 2016 in class we watched “Two Spirits” by Lydia Nibley. Basically the film explored the cultural context behind a tragic and senseless murder of the main character. Fred was part of an honored “Navajo” youth who was killed at the age of sixteen by a man who bragged to his friends that he was nothing but a “fag”. While walking home from a carnival he was chased by one of his friends. Once his friend caught up to Fred, he pulled him down from a mountain and smashed his head with a heavy rock. Fred laid there for five days straight where two young boys found his body lying there. He was labeled as a “two-spirit” who was possessed of balancing masculine and feminine traits. In the film, there are two parts that are put together effortlessly like the people it discusses. Most of the documentary focuses on Fred’s murder, but the real issues in the film were those of the lesbian, gay, and transgender community and how its members were viewed in a
Reel Injun is a compelling, thought-provoking documentary that shows how movies have stereotyped Native Americans, and has shaped how society in general viewed Natives. The film seeks to show how Natives really are, and ultimately seeks to correct the Native stereotypes created through the Hollywood Native films. Neil Diamond discusses why films about Natives were originally created and how Natives were portrayed in the early years of film. Through the documentary he continues to show how Natives and their culture changed in the eyes of society.
“There once was a time in this business when I had the eyes of the whole world! But that wasn't good enough for them, oh no! They had to have the ears of the whole world too. So they opened their big mouths and out came talk. Talk! TALK!” (Sunset Boulevard). The film Sunset Boulevard directed by Billy Wilder focuses on a struggling screen writer who is hired to rewrite a silent film star’s script leading to a dysfunctional and fatal relationship. Sunset Boulevard is heavily influenced by the history of cinema starting from the 1930s to 1950 when the film was released.
I have in my hand 57 cases of individuals who would appear to be either card carrying members or certainly loyal to the Communist Party, but who nevertheless are still helping to shape our foreign policy” (para 9). In this metaphor he compares the State Department to place that has been infested with rats, the rats being Communists spies. Moreover, he made accusations and claims about having in his hand the names of 57 individuals who are card carrying Communist, yet are working in the government and shaping foreign policy. This plants fear in the audience by making them feel as though they are unsafe since the government is falling to Communism, therefore immediate action must be taken to eliminate Communist traitors and restore the security of the country. Furthermore, McCarthy uses an analogy when stating, “This cloak of numbness and apathy has only needed a spark to rekindle them. Happily, this spark has finally been supplied” (para 12). McCarthy claims that after seeing war and mass murder, people become numb and, like a fire, they need a spark to
John Quincy Adams once said, “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” After getting a behind the scenes look at J. Edgar Hoover’s life and accomplishments I consider him to be a very influential leader. I was always familiar with the name J. Edgar Hoover, but I never fully understood his impact on the United States. Edgar, as his mother would call him, wasn’t a perfect man by any standards. He was born with a variety of traits that contribute to his leadership. Some of these traits attributed to his downfall. Throughout the movie there were many instances that tested his leadership in both negative and in positive ways.
...le years, Nixon resigned in scandal, which brought people’s distrust of government to an all-time high. It is very difficult to believe that a mere decade separates these movies.
The movie shows the Hoover family a typical American dysfunctional family who are all at different stages of their lives. Each member of the family has their own odd quirk. The family includes Richard, the father, who gives motivational speeches on “The Steps to Being Successful” which is completely ironic because his motivational book is failing, the grandpa who is addicted to heroin, Dwayne, the son, who is slightly depressed and refuses to speak, Sheryl, the mother/wife, who is just trying to keep it all together for everyone and Frank, the uncle, had a failed suicide attempt. Abby, the daughter just landed a spot at the Little Miss Sunshine beauty contest. The whole family decides to pack up their van and take a road trip
The film “Goodfellas,” directed by Martin Scorsese, is loosely based on the true story of mobster Henry Hill’s career with the mafia. The main characters in this movie are Henry Hill, played by Ray Liota, who was part of the mafia, James Conway who was a stickup/hit man, played by Robert De Niro, and Tommy DeVito, played by Joe Pesci, who was another gangster. At the beginning of the film a young Hill is seen admiring the gangsters who spend time across the street at one of their establishments. Hill can be heard talking about how much he admired gangsters, and that all he ever wanted to be was a gangster. Throughout the movie the audience gets a sense of what life as a gangster in the criminal underworld might have been like.
... home for thousands of American during the 1930’s, even though hoovervilles weren’t the most ideal places to live. Hoovervilles were full of sickness, crime, and death. A large portion of Americans would say that hoovervilles were bad things because of all the crime and death that happened there, but what they don’t realize is that hoovervilles were a huge help to a large number of the victims of America's economic downfall that we call the great depression.
The movie J.Edgar (2011) outlined his life and his rise to power within the FBI. J. Edgar Hoover
Prior to the 1950’s, society had already formed the foundation of its bias towards gay men. Scientific and social studies executed by famous scholars, such as Freud and Kinsey, suggested not only that homosexuality is abnormal, but it is prevalent among society (Johnson). Correspondingly, Washington began to grow, which gave way to new government positions, ranging from the lowest corporate level to the highest corporate level; thus, paranoia, regarding homosexual men in the White House, dispersed
District 9 is a film that takes us into a realm of a different world from the one that we know now. It combines extraterrestrial life with immense science fiction to illustrate a story we could only imagine to ever actually occur. Although it was created for entertainment purposes, the motion picture can be compared to many different types of individuals and situations. District 9 displays many underlying concepts throughout the movie about racism, prejudice and discrimination. While studying and analyzing the plot and characters, these concepts became more translucent to me, the viewer. This paper will discuss the treatment of District 9 residents and equate their treatment to people with disabilities.
The movie “John Q” narrates a story of the financially constrained character John Quincy Archibald who ensures that his nine year old son at the brink of death, secures a heart transplant by any means possible. Throughout the movie, there is a compelling display of the love shared by a family and this is seen in the great lengths John went to save his son, however unlawful. The main characters are John, Michael and Denise Archibald, Rebecca Payne, Doctor Turner and Lt. Grimes.