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Connections between cinema and culture in the 1920s + 30
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The adventure fantasy genre in film has its beginnings in the early 20th century, according to Tim Dirks, a writer for the filmsite.org web site
“Adventure films can live vicariously through the travels, conquests, and explorations, creation of empires, struggles and situations that confront the main characters, actual historical figures or protagonists.”
Therefore, the genre has many components, such as a science fiction adventure, a western adventure, a jungle, fantasy and even a romantic adventure. Nineteenth century ideologies were present in these films; patriarchy, heterosexual romance, colonialism, racism were common components in the story plots. Nevertheless, throughout the 20Th century, factors changed enormously, and the adventure fantasy genre mutated to fit the changing times. Although the genre kept some of the main characteristics, it differed from its beginning. These types of films were mostly opened information system, since they were based upon the mood and the frame of knowledge of that époque.
The film King Kong (1933) by Merian C Cooper & Ernest B Shoedsack illustrate how the different social, political, economical and regulatory factors had changed throughout the time and impacted the style and content of these adventure films.
In 1933 when the original King Kong was released, the world was in a period of change. Its creators were two well-known adventure and documentary film makers. In the story, “a film crew goes to a tropical island for an exotic location shoot and discovers a colossal giant gorilla who takes a shine to their female blonde star (IMDb.com).” The story line presents the successful filmmaker Carl Denham, played by Robert Armstrong, who puts an expedition togeth...
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...on & Mass Media Complete. EBSCO. Web. 22 Aug. 2011.
Lorenz, Dagmar C. G. "Transatlantic Perspectives on Men, Women, and Other Primates: The Ape Motif in Kafka, Canetti, and Cooper's and Jackson's King Kong Films." Women in German Yearbook 23 (2007): 156-178. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 22 Aug. 2011.
“King Kong 1933” IMDb.com. IMDb, Web. 20 Aug. 2011.
“King Kong 2005” IMDb.com. IMDb, Web. 20 Aug. 2011.
“King Kong (1933)” Wikipedia. Wikipedia Foundation, 18 Aug. 2011. Web. 20 Aug. 2011.
“King Kong (2005)” Wikipedia. Wikipedia Foundation, 21 Aug. 2011. Web. 21 Aug. 2011
Morton, Ray. King Kong: The History of a Movie Icon from Fay Wray to Peter Jackson. New York: Applause Theatre & Cinema Books, 2005. BooksGoogle.com. Web. 20 Aug. 2011.
“Recreating the Eighth Wonder: The Making of King Kong.” King Kong. Dir. Peter Jackson. Universal. 2006. DVD.
Kracauer, Siegfried. From Caligari to Hitler: A Psychological History of the German Film. Princeton University Press: Princeton and Oxford, 2004.
Racist characteristics in films and stories are something that can be perceived in this generation, but was something that was normal and expected in the 1930’s. Sexuality and raciness were items that made films a commodity in the 30’s and King Kong uses both of these to attract a wide audience. These qualities are also a factor as to why King Kong remains a classic throughout the generations.
A noticeable difference in the way movies have changed over the years is evident when comparing and contrasting two films of different eras which belong to the same genre and contain the same subject matter. Two vampire movies, Dracula and Bram Stoker's Dracula, present an interesting example of this type of study.
Jewel, R. B (2007). The Golden Age of Cinema, Hollywood 1929-1940. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing. p255.
The pristine 1933 King Kong was constructed as a movie: to convey a story to entertain an audience. Peter Jackson’s 2005 remake took the substructure for King Kong and expanded upon it in virtually every way in order to “make again” the astoundment of the original for a modern-day audience. Audiences received the first King Kong very well. The stop-motion sequences of Kong were astounding for their time and the movie grossed over $90,000 in its beginning weekend. In order to bank upon its prosperity again, sequels were made and thus in 1976 a remake was made to amend upon the original. Paramount updated the movie to color, altered the story, and cast Jeff Bridges, a widely popular actor of the time, as the lead actor. Although the movie received stirred reviews, it did exceptionally well in the box office and tripled Paramount’s initial budget for the motion picture. Even though the movie wasn’t “as good” as the original, audiences still paid money to view it because of that hope that they would feel like they once did when they visually perceived the first King Kong. The remake add...
News. ""Kong" Score Tossed Out at 11th Hour."" Film Score Monthly 10.6 (2005): 6. IIMP. Web. 6 Dec. 2010.
Classic film noir originated after World War II. This is the time where post World War II pessimism, anxiety, and suspicion was taking the world by storm. Many films that were released in the U.S. Between 1939s and 1940s were considered propaganda films that were designed for entertainment during the Depression and World War II. During the 1930s many German and Europeans immigrated to the U.S. and helped the American film industry with powerf...
Neill, Alex. “Empathy and (Film) Fiction.” Philosophy of film and motion pictures : an anthology. Ed. Noel Carrol and Jinhee Choi. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing, 2006. 247-259. Print.
Williams juxtaposes the three genres together, to reveal similarities and differences, and, in turn, their similar and different desire effects on the audiences. Specifically, she points out the physical reaction of characters in the films, and how the audience members mimic them. Firstly, in regards to the physical body, Williams discusses the similar uncontrollable “convulsion or spasm,” that comes with the different genres; a body on the screen is “’beside itself’ with sexual pleasure, fear and terror, or overpowering sadness.” (729) Next, she dissects the sound of these bodily reactions – the overpowering moan, scream, or sob that the chara...
According to historians like Neil Burch, the primitive period of the film industry, at the turn of the 20th century was making films that appealed to their audiences due to the simple story. A non-fiction narrative, single shots a burgeoning sense
Dir. Stanley Kubrick. Prod. Stanley Kubrick, Victor Lyndon, and Ken Adam. By Stanley Kubrick, Terry Southern, Peter George, Gilbert Taylor, Anthony Harvey, and Laurie Johnson. Perf. Peter Sellers, George C. Scott, Sterling Hayden, Keenan Wynn, Slim Pickens, and James Earl Jones. BLC, 1963. DVD.
In this essay the following will be discussed; the change from the age of classical Hollywood film making to the new Hollywood era, the influence of European film making in American films from Martin Scorsese and how the film Taxi Driver shows the innovative and fresh techniques of this ‘New Hollywood Cinema’.
The culture and philosophy of Ridley Scott (pp. 231-243. United States: Lexington Books, Inc. Pramaggiore, M., & Wallis, T. (2005). Film: A critical introduction to the film.
Kagan, Norman. The Cinema of Stanley Kubrick. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1972. Print.
Barsam, R. M., Monahan, D., & Gocsik, K. M. (2012). Looking at movies: an introduction to film (4th ed.). New York: W.W. Norton & Co..