As time changes so does the art of movie telling, but culturally it also changes how we see and visualize story telling in 1950’s to 2000’s. The movies I chose were Rear Window (1954) directed by Alfred Hitchcock, and Disturbia (2007) directed by D.J Caruso. Both movies have the same plot, in which the protagonist is either injured or forced to stay at their home and in their spare time they observe the neighbors around them. They both speculate about one of their neighbors killing a woman, and begin to stalk the person until they realize what they have gotten themselves into. As for the differences, one movie is a character-oriented movie focusing around the people around him, and the remake is more of a teen suspense movie with romance and …show more content…
jump scares. In this essay it will talk about the culture between the films, and what differences are being made throughout Hollywood history. With more diversity and more broader look at teen lead movies like 2007 film Disturbia than the original 1950s film Rear Window because the color of your skin, different look at teens, and the portrayal of women aren’t much of a problem in that 21st century. Just like any period, the film industry evolved, and keeps evolving to the new generation of audiences who watch movies. The 1950’s started at the top of the mountain, but after it rolled down it broke down cultural and diversity barrier’s that were looked down or never mentioned to the public audience. There are reasons for each claim, but for those who object to the flaws of the 2000’s, I’ll also explain how the good out weighs the bad in the filmmaking world that is called Hollywood. The original film was Rear Window (1954) directed by Alfred Hitchcock, and it’s about a photojournalist named L.B Jefferies or Jeffery for short (James Stewart) is injured in the outcome of the car crash while he was taking a pictures of the race. He is left in his apartment with a broken leg, which leads to him looking out of his window and observing his neighbors in the apartment complex. He soon has a conspiracy about one neighbor Lars Thorwald (Raymond Burr) whose wife goes missing later in the movie. He keeps on eye on Lars, but in the end Jeff may have stumbled upon something he should have never seen. As for the remake, it was the Disturbia (2007) directed by D.J Caruso, and it involves a teenager named Kale Brecht (Shia LaBeouf) who tragically gets in a car accident, which his father dies from. As he deals with the loss of his father, Kale gets in trouble in school and is put on house arrest. When a girl named Ashley (Sarah Roemer) moves in next door to his house they spark a relationship, but they also stumble upon a neighbor who might be a wanted serial killer Mr. Turner (David Morse). As they stock him Kale soon finds out what Mr. Turner keeps in his house. Diversity in 1950’s Hollywood and the movement for more diversity 2000, which include Civil Rights Act of 1957 not applied until three years before Rear Window came out and the diversity between the two movies.
Before the Civil Rights movement “churches” were the first to plant their wisdom in the minds of African Americans about equality, and to stand together as one community and rise above criticism (Morris 4). Also Aldon D. Morris writes in his book The Origins of the Civil Rights Movement, “In a typical southern city during the 1950s at least 75 percent of black men in the labor force were employed in unskilled jobs” (1). As Ellen Scott explains that film during the 1950s took a while for Civil Rights to make an impact in most places, but with film it also gave a new insight on “Hollywood taboos” and “racial controversy” in the “independent film industry” (10). For example, in Rear Window, the diversity in that film was when L.B Jefferies or Jeff for short (James Stewart) tried to call his detective and old war buddy Det. Lt. Thomas J. Doyle (Wendell Corey), but the nanny picks up the phone and it’s a voice of an African-American woman. In Disturbia, Kale Brecht (Shia LeBeouf) has an Asian friend named Ronnie (Aaron Woo) who fills as the supporting character. Also, two Latino actors were in the movie Officer Gutierrez (Jose Pablo Cantillo) who is a recurring character, and his cousin Señor Gutierrez (Rene Rivera) a teacher who Kale punches in the face, and an …show more content…
African-American woman Detective Parker (Viola Davis) who has a recurring role that checks up on Kale. The differences in the film diversity changed since 1950, but in 1954 Hollywood was three years away from the Civil Rights Act of 1957. According to Sally E. James a member of the California Advisory Committee in 1978 this is what the Civil Rights Act of 1957 did, “Commission is charged with following duties pertaining to denials of equal protection of the laws based on race, color, sex, religion or national origin, or administration of justice” (vi). I feel this act increased the idea of having equal opportunities for people in the film industry and led to better improvements of the Act over the years, which also proves why fifty-three years later an improvement from the film remake would be allowing people equal chances to audition for the part of Disturbia. The portrayal of women in both films, but culturally in Hollywood, portrayed how women were supposed to act like or think. In the 1950s women were portrayed as the housewife who were supposed to care for their children, and make sure that she abided by the men’s rules, but it seemed like women were a one note and predictable in film (Basinger 4). A cultural change I saw in Rear Window would be in Jeff’s girlfriend Lisa Freemont (Grace Kelly). For example, Lisa would visit Jeff and keep him company, but she would always talk about marriage and being together, portraying all women wanted the same thing as Lisa. Basinger notes that women who were in films during that time showed a different view point to other women, a “paradox” that made women think that they had everything in place for them, and the decisions women made on screen was what women were supposed to do as well (6). For America the Women’s movement didn’t start until the 1960’s, but the movement was getting recognized during World War II, and when women were working and most men went to fight, what Vivienne Sanders writes in her book Civil Rights and Social Movements in the Americas, “National War Labor Board declared approval of equal pay for equal work, the principle was never enforced”, and with that women discovered that they wouldn’t be equal, until they came together to set aside “persistent inequality” in America (221). With the movement starting off and still going today, equality is much better than it was in 1954 in my opinion, and with an African American woman as a detective in Disturbia it shows how far woman equality has got in the 21st century. With teen films the effects differ from the original film, Rear Window.
Disturbia is centered upon a teenager and with the performance of teen movies over the course of years it showed why they took a different spin. Teen films showed a different spotlight in a way the teen demographic are relatable to the character, and Catherine Driscoll sates that “Teen film is thought more interesting” and in a way it “historically chang[ing] experience of adolescence” (Introduction – The Adolescent Industry: ‘Teen’ and ‘Film’ para. 4). According to Driscoll it started off in the 1950s, but as the years went by it started to become more popular within the teen culture and provided a new look at what other teens “stories” can be made (Modern, Cinema, Adolescence para. 1). For example, Kale is a regular teen that gets in trouble, gets in a relationship with the girl next door, and tries to find a way to stop a serial killer as well. Everybody in the film is a teen, and in the eyes of most teens, they would probably want to know what it would be like in that
situation. Even though Hollywood isn’t that perfect, we still get the typecast actors or stereotypical roles in films in 2007. The opportunity is there, but it’s up to the studio if they want to have an African-American man/woman be a lead star in a franchise blockbuster summer movie or a women in the same role. It’s up the studio to take the chance for more equality in film. It’s up to the writers and story board to not type cast a woman in a role of a damsel in distress, but a role wear she is strong and powerful to take on anything that goes her way. It’s also up to the studio to incorporate more diversity for all and not retract back to the 1950s. Differences throughout the movies are culturally shown in both the films. They both have the same plot, but as years change the type of people and roles given out change as well. The movements of Civil Rights and Women’s movement helped change the look of cinemas. As well, the evolution of teen films becoming popular after the early start of it, back in 1950s. The Hollywood industry adapted to the culture affects over the years and in a new century it will keep evolving as long as films are being made.
Christopher McCandless and Adam Shepard both did some similar targets in their lives, at the end it lead them to unexpected situations. Christopher McCandless was a young man who didn't believe in society and he chose to get away from that and left everything he had, including his family. He developed important relationships with key people that helped him on his journey into the wild. Similarly Adam Shepard was a young man who left with only $25 and a sleeping bag to go prove his point that the american dream does exist and to see if he can achieve it in a couple of months. Overall comparing McCandless and Shepard, Christopher McCandless had a greater impact in people, motivated many, and was selfish in plenty of good ways.
Two people could be living two very different lifestyles, yet they could be very similar in the way they act and react in the same situation. Charlotte from “The Metaphor” by Budge Wilson and the Mother character from “Borders” by Thomas King live very different lives but the way they deal with the problems they are faced with is very similar. Both protagonists have to deal with trying to be forced to be something they are not by society and their families, but Charlotte from “The Metaphor” has been challenged by her strenuous home, she must face her organized mother and orderly home; the Mother from “Borders” must stand up for what she believes in and fight for what she wants.
The differences and similarities between the traditional version of the Epic Beowulf and the modern version, Beowulf and Grendel, makes passages for characters such as Grendel to be changed due to the time frame in between the film and the epic.There are several characters that stood out from the film, as they are portrayed in the epic as something completely different than in the movie. Grendel is one of the few that stood out the most.
Teenage films are often thought of films focused on issues such as teen angst, conflict with parents, coming of age, and most notably rebellion. Nicholas Ray’s Rebel Without a Cause(1955) is one of the first films that could be classified as such. In today’s times, many films that fall into this genre follow the same structure as Rebel without a Cause in that perceptions and activities of youth defy what is considered to be a seemingly more stable adult life. Prior to Rebel Without a Cause, there wasn’t a film that challenged the ideas of masculinity in society and the struggles that teenagers endured in that era, so it is no surprise that the film is considered to be the poster child of youth rebellion in the 1950’s. Ray brings to light a
Some people think that if they could only change one aspect of their lives, it would be perfect. They do not realize that anything that is changed could come with unintended consequences. “The Monkey’s Paw” by W.W. Jacobs and “The Third Wish” by Joan Aiken both illustrate this theme. They demonstrate this by granting the main character three wishes, but with each wish that is granted, brings undesirable consequences. The main idea of this essay is to compare and contrast “The Monkey’s Paw” and “The Third Wish.” Although the “The Monkey’s Paw” and “The Third Wish” are both fantasies and have similar themes, they have different main characters, wishes, and resolutions.
Why do directors choose to stay faithful to or depart from a text when they are producing a film? Many directors choose to either alter or maintain literary elements such as characters, plot, and resolution from a text. The presence or lack of these specific features affects the audience. For instance, in the story “The Monkey’s Paw”, a classic short horror story written by W.W. Jacobs, and its accompanying film, the similarities and differences in the characters, plot, and resolution have an effect on the readers and viewers.
While some differences between Ventura College and the colleges that Andrew Hacker and Claudia Dreifus wrote about in their essay are evident, the similarities are salient. Ventura College meets the characteristics that Hacker and Dreifus described in their essay, Ventura College has a low tuition rates, small class sizes, and all students have access to counselors and instructors. The only difference between Ventura College and the colleges that Hacker and Dreifus talked about is funding. Ventura College doesn’t cost a lot of money to attend, but is experience it provides actually worth the price?
This was especially evident when they were being pulled over by a racist white cop. She felt that he could have done more to defend their rights instead of accepting injustice. There is also a Persian store owner, who feels that he is getting the short end of the stick in American society because his store was robbed multiple times. Then the Hispanic locksmith encounters racial slurs and discrimination, although he just wanted to keep his family safe. The partnered detectives and lovers of different races, one is a Hispanic woman and the other is a black male, who are dealing with his drug addicted mother who feels that he does not care enough about taking care of his family. In this movie, discrimination and prejudice are the cause of all kinds of collisions. We easily prejudge people with stereotypes, and we are concerned with our pre-thoughts of what kind of person he/she should be, we forget to actually get to know them. It is human nature to have some type of prejudices in one way or another; we fear the unknown. There are stereotypes that black people are angry or tend to be violent; white people feel they are the dominant race and discriminate against all; Asians are thought to be poor or ignorant, and people with higher economic statuses are distinguished to the working class
Women have traditionally been known as the less dominant sex. Through history women have fought for equal rights and freedom. They have been stereotyped as being housewives, and bearers of children. Only with the push of the Equal Rights Amendment have women had a strong hold on the workplace alongside men. Many interesting characters in literature are conceived from the tension women have faced with men. This tension comes from men, society, in general, and within a woman herself. Two interesting short stories, “The Yellow Wall-paper" and “The Story of an Hour," focus on a woman’s fix near the turn of the 19th century. This era is especially interesting
Although both protagonists in the stories go through a psychological disorder that turns their lives upside down, they find ways to feel content once again. In Charlotte Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper," a nervous wife, an overprotective husband, and a large, damp room covered in musty wallpaper all play important roles in driving the wife insane. Gilman's masterful use of not only the setting, both time and place, but also of first person point of view, allows the reader to process the woman's growing insanity. The narrator develops a very intimate relationship with the yellow wallpaper throughout the story, as it is her constant companion. Her initial reaction to it is a feeling of hatred; she dislikes the color and despises the pattern, but does not attribute anything peculiar to it. Two weeks into their stay she begins to project a sort of personality onto the paper, so she studies the pattern more closely, noticing for the first time “a strange, provoking, formless sort of figure that seems to skulk about behind that silly and conspicuous front design” (Gilman). At this point, her madness is vague, but becoming more defined, because although the figure that she sees behind the pattern has no solid shape, she dwells on it and
Huxley 's Brave New World is an arrogant vision of a future that is cold and discouraging. The science fiction novel is dystopian in tone and in subject matter. Paradox and irony are the dominant themes used within the novel to suggest the negative impact of excessive scientific and technological progress on man and his relationship with the natural world, very similar to today 's society. It links to the title which was created from the Shakespearean play called The Tempest using the famous quote ‘O’ Brave New World’ but instead of referring to an island paradise, it now describes a nightmare of a place full of mockery for being equal and overbearing control among one another.
Both articles concern the highly contentious subject of the British strategic bombing campaign in Germany during the Second World War. This subject focuses around the historical debate that the British government knowingly targeted civilian cities in Germany, killing hundreds of thousands of non combatants while also gravely misinforming the British public as to the purpose and results of their strategic bombing campaigns. In the years after the war the debate had come to light due to the renewed interest in the strategic bombing campaign. The articles by Mark Connelly and Alex Bellamy are products of this renewed interest. This essay seeks to compare and contrast the articles on three grounds: the different methods hat each historian uses
Youth have a certain quality and charisma that has made making films about them not only an interesting endeavor but also fundamental to cinema (Shary, 2002). Representative of hope and change, children are viewed as the future. Youth culture, with its ‘here today and gone tomorrow’ kind of dynamic, suggests that children are also the future of film. For decades the film industry has relied on young audiences for patronage and also looked to youth for inspiration and just the kind of material that makes a relevant and refreshing script (Shary, 2002). Youth-oriented film has subsequently become a genre all its own (Shary, 2002). A history of American youth cinema would indicate no different. It is thus interesting to explore youth-oriented films and how films across time, namely Lolita (1962), Marathon Man (1976), Rain Man (1988), Kids (1995), and The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012), have depicted youth culture, specifically the theme of “Coming-Of-Age.”
Short stories are a form of literature works that authors use to communicate various themes and issues to the reader. As such, it is common for different short stories authored by different people to have a central meaning or theme that differs from each other. In addition, the way the author portrays his/her central theme or meaning would differ from the way other authors would craft their short stories to best portray their central meaning. While some would use characterization as a means of portraying the theme of their story, other authors employ the use of symbols to better communicate their theme. However, some slight similarities can always be drawn between short stories. ‘Hills like White
In the famous novel and movie series, Twilight by Stephenie Meyer, an average teenage girl, Bella Swan, is forced to move from Arizona (where she lived with her mother) to Washington to start an almost new life with her father. She attends a small-town high school with mostly average people, besides one family, the Cullens. As Bella and Edward Cullen get closer, she uncovers a deep secret about him and his family. Their relationship faces many hard challenges and conflicts as the story develops. Both the novel and movie share very similar storylines, however, differ in many ways. From themes to author’s craft, or to relationships, these important parts of the story highlight the significant differences and similarities of Twilight.