A strange film, a strange film indeed. It's quite amazing that director Julie Taymor was even able to get this thing distributed by a major movie studio, despite how flawed an experience it is. In fact, about half of the film just flat out does not work, however the half that does work is simply magical. The threadbare story, which is really just a vehicle for masterfully-staged musical segments, follows Jude, a young dock worker from Liverpool who journeys to America in search of a father he never knew. While there he befriends college dropout Max, and subsequently falls in love with his younger sister, Lucy. Their rocky relationship, intermixed with a lot of Vietnam talk and psychedlic visuals, comprises most of the film. Had Taymor left it at that, the film would have been an endearing and fun ride. Unfortunately she feels the need to clutter the screenplay with subplots concerning every other character in the film, including a fame-seeking female rock singer, a …show more content…
Of course the main reason this film was made was to rework Beatles songs, which Taymor does surprisingly effectively. However, she uses them in such abundance, that they are frequently hit and miss. "For the Benefit of Mr. Kite!" is one of the strangest and least relevant of all the songs used, and its placement in the film struck me as being there simply as an excuse for some extreme visual excess. Thankfully, plenty of arrangements are pure brilliance, "Come Together", "Let it Be", and "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" being the most notable. Filled to the brim with gorgeous and inventive visuals, some of the best songs ever written, and heartfelt performances, "Across the Universe" is a film meant for the soul. If Taymor knew when to say know (and had spent more time in the cutting room), it would have been perfect. Still, a definite recommendation from yours
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
Lisa Cholodenko is best known for her award-winning short film Dinner Party (1997) and her film High Art (1997) in which she won the National Society of Film Critics. However Cholodenko’s biggest accomplishment was her 2010 movie called The Kids Are All Right, nominated for four Academy Awards (this included Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay), Lisa Cholodenko won two Golden Globes including Best Picture, in comedy, and Best Actress. Coming along way from winning a film critic award to be winning awards from two of the biggest and most popular award shows show how Cholodenko’s career gradually became more successful.
Madness: A History, a film by the Films Media Group, is the final installment of a five part series, Kill or Cure: A History of Medical Treatment. It presents a history of the medical science community and it’s relationship with those who suffer from mental illness. The program uses original manuscripts, photos, testimonials, and video footage from medical archives, detailing the historical progression of doctors and scientists’ understanding and treatment of mental illness. The film compares and contrasts the techniques utilized today, with the methods of the past. The film offers an often grim and disturbing recounting of the road we’ve taken from madness to illness.
Deborah Sampson was declared in 1837 by congress that the history of the Revolution “furnished no other similar example of female heroism, fidelity, and courage”. Deborah was the real life Mulan. She disguised herself as a male soldier named Robert Shurtleff and joined the Fourth Massachusetts Regiment in 1782. Under the command of Captain George Webb, she was assigned the dangerous task of finding neutral territory to spy on the British regarding their quantity of soldier and supplies in Manhattan. Gathering this information was helpful for General Washington’s battle plans. Despite close calls on other soldier finding her true sex identity, she was discovered in 1783, a year and a half into her service. She had received a contusion on her
“I Want to be useful or bring enjoyment to all people even those who I’ve never met, I want to go on living even after my death!” (from a Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank). This quote has a lot of meaning because she wanted to be remembered and I am now writing and telling about her eighty one years later. Anne Frank is a hero because she was a spirited young Jewish girl that had to go into hiding at the age of thirteen.
Many people know Susan B. Anthony as ‘the women that dared to vote.’ Many women go to vote without knowing how important she was on that decision. She is one of the most recognized historical people fighting for Women Suffrage. She was an icon on Women’s Rights history. Women regardless of age, religion, social class, fought for one objective; the achievement to get the right to vote, the right to make their own decisions. She was part of this achievement. Susan B. Anthony was an American women hero.
“When you're young you don't know anything, but you have lot of energy to express yourself. So you make a lot of mistakes and you stumble, but you also get a lot of truth from within.” Said Gilbert Hernandez. This idea shows when one is young it is necessary for that person to express their emotions to deal with any complications they might encounter. In the play, “Diary of Anne Frank" Anne is a teenager dealing with the challenges of the Holocaust. Due to this her family goes into hiding. Throughout their experience conflicts start to come up between Anne and the other residents. When facing these conflicts she turns to her father, a sixteen year old boy named Peter, and her diary. It is in this play that the author uses Anne Frank’s relationship with her father, Peter, and her diary to demonstrate the theme of expressing feelings can help cope one with societal challenges beyond someone’s control.
Inside every human being is the desire to be evil. In society, rules and order exist for the purpose of keeping human civilization from revealing our inherently immoral sides. In William Golding’s novel, Lord of the Flies, it is witnessed that when order is absent from society, people choose to act immorally. In fact, many of the boys fall into the hands of evil behaviour and are conquered by savagery. Whereas only three boys in the novel named Piggy, Simon and Ralph, stay true to themselves amongst the chaos of their rule-free society. As a result, the three boys are forced to endure isolation and abuse and are dehumanized by the other boys.
In 1843, an ex-slave named Isabella Baumfree, heard the voice of the Holy Spirit speaking to her. He instructed her to take on a new mission of preaching the people to abstain from sin and to change her name to Sojourner Truth (Sojourner Truth PBS). Sojourner left New York City where she had lived working as a housekeeper and going to spiritual gatherings for the past 15 or so years of her life. Traveling up the Connecticut River Valley, Truth gave speeches on rights for women and slaves as an itinerant preacher (Voices of the Civil War). Her work as an abolitionist and women’s rights activist made a difference for African-Americans, women, and the Union during and around the time of the Civil War.
Rosa parks was a phenomenal woman whom played a tremendous part in our history. Rosa Parks was a woman who had changed our history for the best. She was a woman of authority and because of her, our world has changed from segregation to everyone was combined no matter your race, color, or the way you looked.
The film has many redemptive moments and looks and feels a little creepy because of some of the songs they sang. Some of the memorable songs such as ‘’I smell children” and ‘’Come out my children’’ reveal the objectionable content of this movie. The movie includes very mild scares, and occasional rude language. The thematic content affects the experience and interpretation because it is similar to a theme and this is very important in a movie. If the theme is not well written then it will cause people to dislike the movie. Formal techniques do forward the thematic content by carrying out a specific task for the
Oprah Gail Winfrey was born on January 29, 1954 in Kosciusko, Mississippi. Her parents are Vernita Lee and Vernon Winfrey who were 18 and 20 at the time of Oprah’s birth. Her Grandmother who took care of her early in life was Hattie Mae Lee. Oprah's mother moved north to Milwaukee, Wisconsin to find work. She planned to move Oprah there once she had secured a job. Oprah stayed with her grandmother on her farm in Mississippi. (www.about.com, 2000).
Almost everyone has a favorite genre of film, but how everyone defines their favorite genre can differ greatly. Horror is one of the genres where its definition can be perceived differently by many people. Like all other genres, horror does have rules and traditions that must be included in order for a film to be considered a horror film. These rules and traditions include a protagonist, an antagonist, an escape or escape attempt of some sort, and very influential audio and visual effects.
	"...he had wisely brought Belcore with him to entertain Mademoiselle 		while he could have an uninterrupted conversation with 				Charlotte. ... Belcore... possessed a genteel fortune and had a liberal 			education; Dissipated, thoughtless, and capricious, he paid little 			regard to the moral duties, and less to religious ones: eager in the 			pursuit of pleasure, he minded not the miseries he inflicted on 			others, provided his own wishes, however extravagant, were gratified.
Taylor Allison Swift was born December 13th, 1989 to proud parents Scott Swift and Andrea Swift in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania (Taylor Alison Swift). From a very young age Swift proved to be a talented young performer while performing at various fairs, exhibitions, and recitals. Her parents recognized her ambition and decided to move to Nashville, Tennessee in order to pursue her career as a country artist (Taylor Swift). After many trials she was finally signed to Big Machine Records in 2004 and became the youngest artist ever to sign with a Sony records label. Swift started out her professional career by practicing her song writing and attending school while making time to hang out with friends and family (Taylor