Once was created despite a small budget and an originally limited audience. It was produced for only $160,000 and marketed exclusively in Ireland and then after a strong reception brought to the United States. The film used this regional release to gain popularity and a somewhat of a cult following instead of using marketing and traditional means of promotion. Rick Altman successfully uses Once as a model for many of the motifs and roles found in his semantic version of the Hollywood musical. Altman describes the romantic couple much differently than Once. He does this through his use of the relationship of the couple and the plot, dual focus strategy and the relationship between the music and the plot. The main point Altman makes is that the syntactic framework of a musical is not independent of the semantic framework. The semantic framework has relatively little meaning and relating this to the syntactic meaning he states that the syntactic meaning “surrenders broad applicability in order to isolate a genre’s specific meaning.”
Altman’s view of the romantic couple differs from the Hollywood musical in his semantic description of the characters in relationship to society. He depicts two people of the opposite sex who both seem to lack romantic goals; Guy is instead interested only in physical pleasure from the girl. This couple’s relationship is only defined by music and not illustrated in the traditional terms of a “relationship”. This happiness and the love this couple receives only come from their shared interest in music. This concept of a relationship is much more twisted and dark than societies traditional relationship. Both of their music is inspired by love for others but this love is unrequited love felt for so...
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...is helps to show that they both have achieved happiness even though it is away from each other. Altmans views on the dual-focus strategy, the parallel between the couple and the plot, and relationship between music and plot are all shown in this scene.
Once successfully shows all of the elements Altman describes in his semantic-syntactic framework. Once however depicts a relationship devoid of sexuality or real romanticism. These characters still love each other this love is only pertinent in relation to the advancement of both of their careers. Success brings both individuals more happiness than sex with the other would. Altman’s framework does repeat the classical Hollywood musical formula. Once successfully illustrates Altman’s dual-focus narrative strategy, the parallel between the plot and the couple and the relationship between music and the plot.
Composers throughout various zeitgeists are linked by different representations of universal human concerns, and their texts simultaneously embody certain values and agendas individual to themselves. An exploration of Shakespeare’s King Richard III (1592) and Al Pacino’s Looking for Richard (1996) allows for a greater understanding of the composer’s respective contexts, along with their intended agendas, through the lens of their own societal values and concerns. The manipulation of Richard III’s persona, whether by authorial adaptation of historical sources related to his character, or through the differing views of Richards motives, are universal concepts, that when studied in relation to the differing time periods, accentuates the context and our understanding of recurrent aspects of the human experience.
Bazin called this the “Myth of Total Cinema.” He believed that a total representation of reality was an ideal. Musicals are popularly believed to be leading away from the ideal of total cinema. This is because they are filmed using non-diegetic sound. This is to say sound that originates from outside of the film.
up an overall idea of the theme of the scene. The scene is quite long,
There are many forces in the tragic play of Romeo and Juliet that are keeping the two young, passionate lovers apart, all emanating from one main reason. In this essay I will discuss these as well as how love, in the end, may have been the cause that led to the tragic deaths of Romeo and Juliet. Their strong attraction to each other, which some call fate, determines where their forbidden love will take them.
..., the society begins to see love as a goal. Romantic love becomes a noble trait and just quest if one wishes to embark on it.
Tom Wayman's "Wayman in Love" is a satirical look at the consequences of passion and sex through the eyes of one of the participants. Jut as the main character has finally succeeded in persuading a young lady to join him in passionate embrace, he feels the tug of conscience in the form of a nineteenth-century thinker who joins the couple under the covers. "I'm here to consider for you the cost of a kiss" (11), says the intruder, a gentleman by the name of "Doktor Marx". Since Wayman had previously been "locked in one of those embraces so passionate that his left arm was asleep"(2-3), it is clear that the young man is now having second thoughts about his one-night stand.
...by the wrong person. Only after the death of her mother can she let her guilt override her pride. Only after the death of her mother, when she can act on her own accord and not please her mother, does she truly play the piano. Their conflict has gone unsolved, and the mother has died believing that she was a failure as a parent. Throughout the daughter's childhood, both are trapped in their own selfish illusions. Their personalities clash, and neither is willing to compromise. It is unfortunate that neither can realize the extent to which they have damaged themselves individually and jointly. They are fundamentally the same, but, blinded by tenacity, neither realizes that "they are two halves of the same song."
Kate Chopin’s “Story of an Hour” and John Collier’s “The Chaser”, utilize characterization, setting, and symbolism to demonstrate the misunderstanding of love.
The main problems with the music video and lyrics of “We Found Love” are the androcentric representation of the couple’s relationship and living arrangements and how it is justified by biological determinism along with the normalization of objectifying women and the dualism of passivity from females in active male dominated relationships.
Love is defined in many different ways; often times it depends on the person you ask. Sometimes it can be mistaken for lust or hate, and some people don’t even believe love exists. Although each individual carries their own opinion and perspective, it is safe to say that the portrayal of love in literature and film can appear much more magical and grand than it is in reality. Love can be an extremely controversial topic, but for the duration of this paper I ask the reader to hypothesize with me and explore the point of view from the literature and film aspect. I will be comparing the theme of love in the film Twilight and the story The Mysterious Stranger. Specifically, I will be comparing the theme of love in contradiction with “love” that
He tries to beautify the experience by making it a waltz. He also, by means of images and rhythm, shows the conflict between the
What is love? It is an abstract concept, a feeling, a sensibility. Perhaps it is impossible to explain without defining it through observable examples. In film, this is often the way in which the concept of love is explored: definition is established through the words, the looks, and the touches of couples who are engaged in love relationships that are identified as such by a narrative. However, such definitions are bound within the narrative spaces in which they are established; they do not convey a general understanding of what love is. In order to develop a more general definition of the concept, a film must illustrate and discuss it in a manner that transcends narrative boundaries. A sequence in Godard’s Alphaville does this very successfully. Various formal techniques, particularly in the sound track, are employed to remove this sequence from the narrative flow, and the discussion of love that takes place in this part of the film occupies a space that is shared between the characters, filmmaker, and viewer. The context of this discussion is such that the definition of love is granted a generic currency. The sequence serves as an interlude in the diegesis of the film in which the filmmaker attempts to explore and express a universal truth.
The music in the film was spectacular and was incorporated in dance scenes to highlight different parts of the love story. All of the actors had some expressions on their faces that entertained the audience throughout the entire show. It made it look like all the actors were engaged
Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is a play commonly viewed and known as a true love story; however, after analyzing several hints portrayed by the protagonists, it is evident that Shakespeare did not intend to make Romeo and Juliet seem like a true love story but a criticism of how superficial society’s view on love is.
...alistic romance place the speaker and his love in their own realistic fit. Although he can list the lover’s shortfalls, he able to show that he lacks her good traits. Despite that fact that he is stellar, he needs her to complete himself and to shine. Collin’s paints the image of man without much stability who is perfectly matched with woman who, ignoring other standards, completes and compliments him. Moreover, Collins manages to describe from some angles a romance in the absence of a rhyming scheme. In its place, Collins entertains he reader with a comical, light-hearted, puzzle. The speaker goes against society’s generalization. His lover isn’t describe as great beauty or on par with him, yet he loves for who and what she is.