Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
History of no diversity in film
History of no diversity in film
Minorities in cinema
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: History of no diversity in film
The Prospects For A Reinvigorated And Diverse British National Cinema
'Is there scope for British Cinema in the future?' could be one
interpretation of this statement and one that I intend to explore. I
believe that with the dominance of Hollywood overpowering the British
film industry, the past century has seen the traditional British
cinema suffer. Although audience figures were utterly immense in the
earlier half of the 20th century, we could argue that the Hollywood
film industry enticed the majority of these people. I therefore
disagree with the above statement and propose to look at how the
British film industry has failed the nation and the reasons why.
With recent hit British films such as 'Harry Potter and the
Philosopher's Stone' and 'Bridget Jones' Diary' enticing massive
audiences to British cinemas nationwide, we begin to see some truth in
this statement. And certainly, with respect to a number of other
British successes, it could be reinforced. However, it appears to be
one off hits that the British film industry relies upon whereas
Hollywood can boast hit films, in one way or another, near enough
every year. I intend to look deeper into how Hollywood succeeds vastly
dominates the film industry and the evidence to prove this fact.
To do this I will need to survey attendance figures, highest grossing
British films as opposed to Hollywood 'movies' over the decade and
other relevant information. Therefore, using statistics from the
British Film Institute, such as audience figures over the last century
and the top ten films of all time, I can begin to observe how Britain
has suffered at the hands of Hollywood.
To b...
... middle of paper ...
...the overriding point that all of these 'special effects
successes' are American.
'Bend it Like Beckham' (Gurinder Chadha, 2002) grossed £2 million in
its first weekend.
I personally think that if Britain's film industry is to be
'reinvigorated' it needs to take on the American approach, namely
large-scale funding, marketing and distribution of films. America
produces numerous films every year, some of which fail, expected as
not all films are successful. This may be seen as a gamble, yet
Hollywood continuously remains financially sound and scoops immense
profits annually. So this idea may be gambling with British taxpayer's
money but in the long run profits can begin to heighten. So unless
these techniques are taken on board, this country cannot even begin to
compare with the US, even in the foreseeable future.
The overall appeal of the cinema to the masses was particularly evident during the interwar era. Audiences worldwide wanted to watch the variety of films, particularly American produced films, and they always went back. The visibly attractive and glamorous Hollywood movies often depicted the success of the underdog over unjust authority. Values of cash over culture were often a theme in the early American films and societies with restricted social mobility, such as those in Europe, could dream of such a triumph. The working class and unemployed could fantasise about wealth, fame and freedom which America as a country was portrayed as offering.
One could easily dismiss movies as superficial, unnecessarily violent spectacles, although such a viewpoint is distressingly pessimistic and myopic. In a given year, several films are released which have long-lasting effects on large numbers of individuals. These pictures speak
Au Revoir Les Enfants and La Lengua de la Mariposa: A Closer Look at European Films
Small, Pauline. (2005) New Cinemas: journal of Contemporary Film Volume 3, Queen Mary, University of London
It’s September, the kids are back in school, and it’s time for another new season of television. Another round of must see Felicity, Friends, and Frasier, with a side of ER and some Nash Bridges for dessert. Loads and loads of Caucasian males and females making us laugh, and cry. What you do not see are Black, Hispanic, or other minorities making us laugh, and cry. In this day and age, where everyone gets a fair shot at doing what they really love, the same can not be said for minorities in the film industry. More and more minorities are being turn away in favor of Caucasian actors. It’s not only actors that are feeling the pinch, its also writers, directors, producers, and network execs.
The United States has long been a country that has accepted that change is a necessity for prosperity and growth. However, each change within the nation's history was hard fought against those who resisted such change either through racism, bigotry, and blatant discrimination. African American cinema is enshrouded in history that depicts these themes of racism, struggle, and deprivation. Yet, this same cinema also shows scenes of hope, artistic spirit, intellectual greatness, and joy. Black actresses, actors, directors, producers, and writers have been fighting for recognition and respect since the great Paul Robeson. The civil rights movement of the 1950's and 60's was fueled by black cinema through films like A Raisin in the Sun. Progressions in the industry were hindered by blaxploitation films such as Shaft, but these too were overcome with the 1970's movies like Song. The true creativity and experiences of African Americans started to be shown in the 1980's with directors like Robert Townsend and Spike Lee. These directors helped enable black cinema to expand in the 90's with the creation of works ranging in brutal but honest portrayal of urban life to that of comedy. By analyzing Spike Lee's film Bamboozled, director John Singleton's Boyz in The Hood, and movies like Coming to America and House Party indicate that the experiences of African Americans and the way that they are depicted in cinema directly impacts the way mainstream society perceives them to be, while showing that African Americans are a major driving force behind creativity and ingenious inspiration behind many aspects of American life.
Smith, Scott. The Film 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential People in the History of
Despite this occasional negative reception, nothing signifies the influence of a film on screen culture more than when dialogue enters the vernacular of a nation. The iconic line “You’re terrible, Muriel” highlights “an intangible outcome beyond anything money can buy, striking
Christie, Ian (1 August 2012). "The Top 50 Greatest Films of All Time". Sight & Sound. British Film Institute. Retrieved 12 May 2014
It is no doubt that Martin Scorsese has heavily influenced the emulating of American film making from European influences. He is a prime example of a ‘New Hollywood Cinema’ director, not only from his ethnicity and background, but from his sheer interest in this form
Lacey, N. (2005). Film Language. Introduction to film (pp. 16-22). Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan.
caused a sensation in Britain, where it took in more money than any U.K. film
Barsam, R. M., Monahan, D., & Gocsik, K. M. (2012). Looking at movies: an introduction to film (4th ed.). New York: W.W. Norton & Co..
The movie “This is England” was released in 2006, written and directed by Shane Meadows , a story taken, in part, from his life as a boy growing up in the Midlands of England. Mr. Meadows work presents to the viewer a representation of the cultural depiction of the street gang known as Skinheads, in a non-stereotypical light. This is England is a drama combining peer pressure, gangs and gang violence, social gatherings, loss and companionship of youths in a working class environment of a small town in England. This is England has been nominated and has also won multiple awards, according to IMDb.com, several nominations are from the British Academy of Film and Television (BAFTA), Golden Kinnaree Award for Best Film, Best Screenplay for British Independent Film Awards and won the Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film additionally won Best European Film from the Mons International Festival of Love Films. This film stars Thomas Turgoose as Shaun, the 12-year-old troubled youth whom this film revolves around, Stephen Graham as Combo and Joseph Gilgun as Woody. Shaun's troubles seem to begin with the loss of his father, an officer, killed during the Falkland War. Subject to bullying from other local gang types, Mods, New Romantics . . ., depression takes it toll on young Shaun. Seemingly, being a loner, Shaun happens upon a small group of older teenage kids, Skinheads, led by a charismatic boy named Woody. Woody takes an immediate liking to Shaun and invites him to join his group. Shaun finds camaraderie in being a part of this group, and they all enjoying the carefree life of being kids, although sometimes the play progresses into vandalism like where a small group of abandoned, derelict housing units meet further destruction a...
During the course of this essay it is my intention to discuss the differences between Classical Hollywood and post-Classical Hollywood. Although these terms refer to theoretical movements of which they are not definitive it is my goal to show that they are applicable in a broad way to a cinema tradition that dominated Hollywood production between 1916 and 1960 and which also pervaded Western Mainstream Cinema (Classical Hollywood or Classic Narrative Cinema) and to the movement and changes that came about following this time period (Post-Classical or New Hollywood). I intend to do this by first analysing and defining aspects of Classical Hollywood and having done that, examining post classical at which time the relationship between them will become evident. It is my intention to reference films from both movements and also published texts relative to the subject matter. In order to illustrate the structures involved I will be writing about the subjects of genre and genre transformation, the representation of gender, postmodernism and the relationship between style, form and content.