An examination of the musical movement of jazz as it was depicted on film, ranging from "The Jazz Singer" (1927) to "High Society" (1956) and "Bird" (1988). This could also encompass what jazz music can add to otherwise non-musical films — the Duke Ellington score for "Anatomy of a Murder" might be the best example of this.
I think this would be an excellent topic especially if you talked about film scores. It may be too broad to just attack in one article as is but there is definitely enough material in here for at least 2-3 different articles. – DClarke9 years ago
Another film that could be looked at is Chico and Rita. An animation romance from Cuba. It is for the most part set during Castro's dictatorship and the jazz music in the film represents a revolutionary aspect.
Jazz is that sort of revolutionary, anti-capitalist, non-conformist type of music and it was also popular during the blaxploitation film movement in the early 70s. – Jamie9 years ago
While the film may have a bit of 80's cheese, it is still in some ways culturally relevance. The high school stereotypes are still prevalent in this day and age, and it shows that all teenagers go through the similar struggles in their lives. It is also very realistic on how teenagers talk about their parents. They talk about all their parents flaws to feel rebellious, but there just hiding the fact that they will be the exact same way when they grow up. – Aaron Hatch9 years ago
You could even discuss the historical significance of the film. I read an article that in the 80s, divorce rates was increasing, which could explain why the characters feel distant towards their parents. Perhaps you could conclude the article with whether or not relationships with teens and their parents have changed. Just an idea. – Amanda Dominguez-Chio9 years ago
More important questions: For who? On what standards? At what extent? – T. Palomino2 years ago
Comic books are notorious for never truly killing off any major characters, even the villains. Yet for many years, the exact opposite has been true of comic book films, wherein villains display a remarkable tendency to die off at the end of their debut movie. Is this simply the result of the films not needing the villain for future entries in the franchise, or is there a more fundamental difference between mediums at work here? What are some of the advantages of removing a villain completely from play? What are some of the disadvantages? And for that matter, why are comics so often willing to resurrect a deceased foe, while films almost never do it?
We have to consider that a film may very well end up being stand alone. It could flop. And if it does, it' better to have a more open-close storyline than an open-ended something that may never truly end. An exception is the Amazing Spiderman where the Green Goblin is still kicking. – SpectreWriter9 years ago
Man of Steel is a great movie to look at. Superman doesn't kill, so by having him forced to kill General Zod brought a whole new dynamic to Superman that we don't normally see and helped set the stage for what the new DC Cinematic Universe will be. – tdrumm79 years ago
You also must remember the business side of making a Comic Book Film. Some studios may be wary of signing on villains for multiple films in case the fans do not approve of the portrayal. In addition, fans typically want to see new and exciting stories. After a while, fans become bored with the same villain appearing over and over. – cdenomme969 years ago
^^Actually Man of Steel is a poor movie to look at. In John Byrne's run, Superman executed a depowered Zod (and Faora and Quex-Ul) with Kryptonite. In the theatrical cut of Superman II, Superman threw a depowered Zod into a chasm under the Fortress of Solitude from which he was never seen to emerge again. Superman killing Zod is well established in both previous comics and films. Superman has also used lethal force against the Antimonitor, Darkseid, Brainiac, and Doomsday in both comics and various adaptations. – Winter9 years ago
This article would discuss the focus that director Guillermo Del Toro placed on the concept of familial bonds and their role in the Drift. The article could also discuss the role of trust and memories that come with the Drift as well as break down the different relationships of Jaeger pilots in the film and additional material. Tales from Day Zero and the art book would be helpful assets as well as the wikia as it includes quotes from Travis Beacham, the film's writer.
A retrospective look at Nolan's films and a discussion on aspects of his work that attracts most audiences while detracting from others. This article can involve looking at the themes in his work, character development, or the general scope of the worlds his stories take place in.
I love Christopher Nolan's work, so it'd be great to read an article about his approach. I think he does a great job of balancing dark and intellectual themes while reaching a broad audience and achieving commercial success at the same time. I'm personally drawn to his portrayal of Batman in his The Dark Knight series, and think he conveys a level of depth to the characters that most other super hero movies don't. At the same time, there's still a lot of action, great graphics, and humour at play. Overall I think this could be an interesting topic, and there's a lot to cover! I would suggest focusing on a few connecting threads across all his works, or focusing on a few specific films and making connections between them to have a more focused approach for some strong writing! Would love to read more on Nolan. – Kim9 years ago
This article should certainly include an analysis of "Memento" ! – Rachel Watson9 years ago
When an author hates the film adaptation of their book, it is mostly because the film missed what made the book so special. While it only makes sense for an author to want to defend his/her own book, does that make the film adaptation automatically bad? While Stephen King may be open on how he disliked The Shining, a lot of film fans would say that the movie is a masterpiece, regardless of King's disapproval. Should hate a film based on what the author says, or should just judge the film on our own?
This is a very good question. Whoever takes this up, I would suggest writing about the controversy between not only Stephen King but Percy Jackson, whose author reportedly does not like the movies (need a source, however can't verify this.) The author, E.B. White did not like the animated musical version of the film Charlotte's Web simply because of the songs (my source is Wikipedia though so you might want Wikipedia's source). There are plenty of times where the film is good on its own and plenty where the author goes against it and splits the fan down the middle. And in the case of Harry Potter, the author supports the films and the fans are still split down the middle. – SpectreWriter9 years ago
I think this topic could be elaborated on throughout numerous decades and different genres all the way back to the film adaptions of both Mary Poppins and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. While the modern film Saving Mr. Banks will tell you Travers eventually came to like the films made by Disney, in reality she detested what they had done to her characters. – cdenomme969 years ago
I think a major distinction to be made is those films which have the authors on as creative directors or, they themselves wrote or co-wrote the script, i.e. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Gone Girl. I think this is a very interesting topic which goes into areas of who owns a story, should a story only be told once and left alone for the rest of time and so on. – Matthew Sims9 years ago
Alan Moore notoriously hates all the adaptations of his comics that have been made into movies, but he hates most of the creative people he's worked with, too. And maybe movies in general, hard to say. But certainly the factors include how difficult some authors are to work with. – Monique9 years ago
A film adaptation is really nothing more than a reinterpretation of the original text. Take Inherent Vice for instance, based on the novel by Thomas Pynchon (2009) and later adapted by Paul Thomas Anderson (2014). Never having read any of Pynchon's novels, but having seen all of PTA's films, what from I can gather is that Pynchon loves life like Value loves the Spy. "He is a puzzle, wrapped in an enigma, shrouded in riddles, lovingly sprinkled with intrigue, express mailed to Mystery, Alaska, and LOOK OUT BEHIND YOU! but it is too late. You're dead. For he is the Spy - globetrotting rogue, lady killer (metaphorically) and mankiller (for real)." I say 'gather' rather than 'get' because it's my least favorite (by default since I still love it) of Anderson's films because it has the biggest disregard for its audience. As an adaptation, it works, or at least that's what the critics and book-readers tell me; but as a film... not so much. The camera work and the editing tend to service Anderson and Pynchon more than they do me, which is bad since I haven't read a single word of the original text. This means that despite how great the film is, and it really is a damn-fine film if I do say so myself, it can't stand on it's own two feet. If you have to have someone say, "You should read the book to understand the movie"... you failed as a movie. At the end of the day, if I had to choose between Inherent Vice and The Big Lebowski to watch with my friends... "The dude abides." – Reggie "Rusty" Farrakhan9 years ago
There seems to be a weird fascination of the romance of dying teen girls, especially in more indie films. We see this in "The Fault of Our Stars" and the new film "Me, Earl, and the Dying Girl." What is this new fad? What is the cultural relevance? Is it weird or inappropriate romanticism of a weak teenage girl being the object of affection, or is it delving into something deeper?
An even darker take on this theme of dying teenager girls is, of course, David Lynch's series "Twin Peaks." Except with shows like Twin Peaks you can also factor in a kind of twisted romanticism around death by murder, as well as drug use and many forms of abuse. So yes, the writer will need to figure out whether to focus on dying girls in film by natural causes or accidents, or by murder. – Rachel Watson9 years ago
Another film to look at when you're examining this would be "The Virgin Suicides". :) – Sunbro9 years ago
So interesting. I also think it is important to understand what teenage girls represent, and how we think about teenage girls in our culture. Innocence, coming of age, youth. Death of a teenage girl could mean the end of innocence. It could also mean a preservation of female gender roles. ALSO, one should think about the death of teenage girls in literature throughout history. It seems to be a Shakespeare's Juliet kind of trope. – HeatherDeBel9 years ago
Discuss the wildly divergent tones of the 1970 Robert Altman film and the popular TV series which followed. Analyze the culture that influenced both film and series, and explain why the two turned out so differently.
One of my favorite television shows growing up. I think this would be an excellent article. By giving a detailed historical background, you'll provide readers who may not know so much about the Korean War an informative platform to understand a time period that is often obscured by American history. – RobertCutrera9 years ago
