In the film, Singin’ in the Rain, characters go through the struggle of having their name viewed positively. The main characters, Lina Lamont and Don Lockwood, break out into Hollywood as the next big actress and actor. They have a few successful silent films together, but once a new production company comes out with a talking motion picture, Lina and Don are no longer the crowd’s favorite. They try so hard to keep their name in bright lights that they come up with a talking motion picture themselves but fail terribly. The struggle that Lina Lamont and Don Lockwood face in Hollywood is something that most actors and actresses face daily. In the film Cosmo (Don Lockwood’s best-friend) said, “The price of fame. You've got the glory, you gotta …show more content…
take the little heartaches that go with it. Now look at me: I've got no fame, I've got no glory, I've got no big mansions, I've got no money! But I've got - what have I got?” Most people in Hollywood would do anything to have their name viewed positively in order to keep their fame and fortune. Actors and actresses are always on their toes making sure one comes along and takes their spotlight. This is one negative perspective to Hollywood. Actors and actress are easily removable and replaceable; just like Lina Lamont and Don Lockwood, who got replaced by the new innovated talking motion picture. Throughout the novel, Play It As It Lays, Maria Wyeth struggles with abuse and self-harm.
Maria’s depression slowly develops with every struggle she encounters in Hollywood. After Maria’s abortion her depression started to occur. The doctor prescribed her Edrisal for the pain. “The Edrisal did not work and neither did some Darvon she found in the bathroom and she slept that night with a gin bottle by her bed” (Didion 90). Taking numerous pills and mixing them with alcohol can seriously damage someone and potentially cause an overdose. Maria could not cope with the loss of her child and used drugs and alcohol as an outlet. “She wanted to ask him for more Dexedrine, but instead she got some from her hairdresser on set” (Didion 94). Maria was doing anything to get her hands on any type of drug that would keep the pain away. Maria is not the only character in the novel that encounters abuse and self-harm. BZ took Seconal capsules before going to bed and the next morning he never woke up. He asked Maria to take the pills with him, but she refused. BZ said, “You’re still playing…Some day you’ll wake up and you just won’t feel like playing anymore” (Didion 212). I believe what BZ is saying to Maria is that she is still a pawn in the game that Hollywood plays. Hollywood is the player and the characters in the novel (Maria, Carter, Helen, BZ, etc.) are simply the chess pieces. This shows the audience the control that the Hollywood industry has over people and the negative effects
it has on them resulting in something so serious as suicide. The novel gives readers the impression that the characters are tired of the struggles they face in Hollywood. Throughout the novel characters show their true feelings towards the Hollywood industry. As stated from the previous paragraphs, we get the sense that Maria and BZ are the only characters that struggle with Hollywood but in fact Helen is as well. “It’s shit,” Helen said. “It’s all shit” (Didion 128). Helen struggles with Hollywood even though she is only associated with the Hollywood industry through marriage. This gives the audience the perspective that even though you have nothing to do with the Hollywood industry (being a producer, actor/actress, model, etc.) it still find a way to affect your life. The negative perspective on Hollywood through this quote shows the audience how fed up some people can be with the things that occur on a daily bases in their lives in Hollywood.
Maria Full of Grace, written and directed by Joshua Marston, is a film portraying the Colombian drug trade. Marston being born in the U.S, includes some international socially fragile aspects within this film. He shows the globalization of the flower and drug trade, within Colombia. Incidentally showing the globalization of the film industry as well. As this film reaches towards a specific audience who are sentimental to the negative activities in the global south. Marston includes an unrealistic portrayal about immigrants in America. Plus, he depicts the U.S. as a safe haven for all those who struggle. Making Maria Full of Grace a perfect film to analyze, pointing out how Marston unsuccessfully does his job, and instead glorifies the U.S. Focusing on all the positive aspects this country offers, when we might be the source of the problem.
Clurman, Harold. “Actors-The Image of Their Era.” The Tulane Drama Review 4.3 (1960): 38-44. JSTOR.
[3] But back to Silkwood. As an historical film, it immortalizes an image of the working class in Crescent, Oklahoma, as well as Karen Silkwood, their representative. It is important to think about how the film treats the working class -- is the tone condescending, honest, or quaint? And how does Karen fit in as their spokeswoman?
Unfortunately, Maria is constantly aware of the children missing from her life and is border-lining depression. Didion shows readers many symptoms of Maria’s depression throughout the novel. For example, the narrator says “When she got home she thought about calling him [Les Goodwin], but instead she went upstairs and lay face down on Kate’s empty bed, cradled Kate’s blanket, clutched Kate’s baby pillow to her stomach and fought off a wave of the dread” (Didion 23). It is obvious that Maria is depressed; however, she cannot confide in anyone. She cannot confide in Carter because he is emotionally distant nor can she confide in her lover Les Goodwin because he is a married man. Thus, leading to Maria becoming self-destructive and unintentionally seeking an identity. For example after a party, Maria “was stopped for speeding outside Tonopah and when the highway patrolman saw the silver dress and the bare feet and the Ferrari registered to someone else” the officer found out it was indeed stolen ( Didion 154). Didion creatively shows readers that Maria is acting out unintentionally because of her lack of control over life. In fact, someone who was in his or her right mind would have not stolen a car from a famous person like the one Maria did. The people in Maria’s life Maria’s notices there is a problem and start to worry about her well-being. This is shown when
Throughout history, there has been a multitude of themes showcase in some of the generation’s biggest movie hits. For instance, one movie that has a strong central theme is Singin’ In The Rain, released in 1952, starring some of the greatest actors to this day. Singin’ In The Rain follows the story of the transition from silent films to sound films with two big actors, Don Lockwood (Gene Kelly) and Lina Lamont (Jean Hagen), who have to speak in their first film. In the climax, Don has a wonderful voice, but unfortunately Lina has a high pitched, annoying voice, so Don and his friend Cosmo Brown (Donald O’ Connor) devise a plan to dub over her voice with a girl they met named Kathy Selden (Debbie Reynolds). In Singin’ In The Rain, the central
The Asian women interviewed in this film spoke candidly about their experiences in the entertainment industry. This film shows a comprehensive look at media stereotypes of Asia and Asian American women since the silent era. One point that the film brought up was that many white women played Asian women in early Hollywood films. One actress who frequently played an Asian woman was Katherine Hepburn. I can’t imagine how insulted I would be if I was an Asian actress who was losing roles to an American woman.
There are many movies that portray mental and psychological disorders, from these I chose the award winning movie: Rain Man. Rain Man was released on December 14, 1988. In the beginning of this movie, a car dealer, Charlie Babbitt (Tom Cruise), learns that his father has died and returns home to Cincinnati to attend his funeral. Charlie and his father had a falling out with each other starting when Charlie was sixteen years old and decided to steal his father’s car for a victory lap around town. His father reported the car stolen, resulting in Charlie being arrested. Charlie’s friends got off with a warning, however Charlie’s father decided to leave his son in jail for two days before he got him out. Charlie’s mother died when he was two years
Some of the areas that Maria would like to address are marital concerns (the romance, hanging out with people other than her husband’s coworkers, communication, spend more time doing outdoor activities), concerns regarding pleasing her parents even during adulthood (the guilt she feels about her parents making sacrifices to send her to the United States to obtain her college degree), and the pressure of her religious background (being Catholic and feeling that she could not divorce her husband, even if she wanted).
The hit musical "Singin' in the Rain" may possibly be one of if not the greatest musicals of all time. With it's tale of the film world of the mid 1920's and its creative underlining love story between Don Lockwood (Gene Kelly) and Kathy Selden (Debbie Reynolds), it provokes the interest of someone who would not generally be attracted to a musical. It is a classic masterpiece that set the standards that musical films of today will be judged by. It is a classic performance by the great Gene Kelly and displays outstanding performances by Debbie Reynolds and Donald O'Connor. As well as starring in this brilliant movie, Gene Kelly teams up with Stanley Donen to make their mark in film history.
...erson, that we want to become, whether it is a professional or personal aspect. I feel as if Whitney had a sheltered life and she never had the ability to live a normal life. In turn, she began to lash out at her family and the public, because she could not withhold the standard that everyone expected her to be. For this reason, she indulged in drugs, to release her from the drama and unhappiness in her life. Drugs does not solve the problem, it makes things even worse, because one is focused on numbing themselves from the pain, so that they can still manage their everyday lives. There is nothing wrong with having no inhibitions and just letting go of everything that consumes you. I believe that if Whitney could have established her identity at an early age and freed herself from the pressures of her family and media, that she would have still been alive and happy.
Upon its release in 1952, Singin’ in the Rain not only entertained audiences with its fun-loving storyline and musical numbers but informed them about the struggles Hollywood faced during the transition from silent pictures to talkies. However, when taking a closer look at the film, you realize that it also relays a much deeper message. Set in the “roaring 20’s”, Singin’ in the Rain stars Debbie Reynolds as Kathy, who grows into a strong, successful woman throughout the film and becomes a role model and inspiration to all women in the 1950s, especially those expected to revert back to their duties as housewives after taking up jobs to support their families and the war effort during World War II.
Noted in Yvonne Tasker’s Working Girls: Gender and Sexuality in Popular Cinema, Goldie Hawn says this about women's role in the film business “There are only thee ages for women in Hollywood: Babe, District Attorney and Driving Miss Daisy” (1998, p. 3). While Haw...
This is a paper is meant to show how Sigmund Freud 's dream interpretation is used to lay out the ground works for Bill 's life in the movie Its Such a Beautiful Day (2012). Many of the main character 's scattered dreams throughout the movie help show how he is feeling both physically as well as mentally and give an idea of what it is he is going through and as his mind begins to deteriorate some of his dearest memories of what is important to him still lay dormant in his unconsciousness mind slowly dribbling out, as possible dementia and other aliments begins to take hold of him. Many bizarre dreams, memories and hallucinations Bill has help him cope through his many hospital trips, loss of family members, and open a window to his unconsciousness and express how they are his subconsciousness helping explain what is going on around him.
In the beginning of “I Only Came to Use the Phone,” Maria sets herself up to be trapped after her car breaks down, and she gets on the bus. “Maria looked over her shoulder and saw that the bus was full of women of uncertain ages and varying conditions who were sleeping in blankets just like hers.” (72) this should foreshadow that something is not right to Maria, but she just goes with it. Maria is the only women that talks on the bus, she is not acting like the other women at all. “She was less certain when she saw several women in uniform who received them at the door of the bus, pulled the blankets over their heads to keep them dry, and lined them up single file, directing them not by speaking but with rhythmic, peremptory clapping.” (73) Maria realizes once again that she is out of place and that she should get out of here as soon as possible. The first line of the poem Exile, “The night we fled the country,” (1) this family is taking a risk as they are leaving their country illegally. The family is setting themselves up to be trapped if they get i...
Reading through the extract above, the reader gets the idea that the people of Golema Mmidi saw Gilbert as a symbol of hope, someone that had a lot of new ideas and that had the solutions for their problems. Therefore I agree with the aforementioned statement that Bessie Head portrays Gilbert as a messianic figure who goes to Golema Mmidi to save and help the people with major life decisions. I do not agree with the critics that Bessie Head sketched the black population as incapable looking after themselves. I believe that Bessie Head used Chief Matenge as a symbol of anti-progress and was the person who suppressed the tribe from personal growth and agriculture.