Hollywood can be difficult to break into, but yet there are new directors emerging every year. Examine directors from the past four years who have directed their first blockbuster film and the journey they took to get there.
The examples that come to mind are definitely Josh Trank and Colin Trevorrow, both of which were put at the helm of major, tentpole blockbusters with light resumes. Given how much media attention was put on Josh Trank's stumbles, it would be good to discuss the troubles that new directors face, and I would hope this article discusses the way race/gender biases come into play at such a key point in a director's career. – bbctol8 years ago
The Russo Brothers, beginning with Captain America: The Winter Soldier. They'd directed a Hollywood rom com before but Captain America was definitely their first 'Blockbuster'. – J.P. Shiel8 years ago
From Mickey Rooney's portrayal of I.Y Yunoshi in Breakfast at Tiffany's to recent controversy of Scarlett Johansson playing Motoko Kusanagi in the Ghost in the Shell live action adaptation. Many Hollywood films give various roles meant for minorites to Caucasian actors but is it really racism or just Hollywood not quick enough with times to adapt to our rapidly changing world.
I think another issue the article writer might tackle is the justification I've heard that even some global markets prefer white/light-skinned actors and how this affects actors of color worldwide. Concerning just America, I've seen a lot of discussion about the effects on Asian-American actors when whitewashing happens. Gene Yang, a Chinese-America graphic novelist and proponent on diversity, made a comic about The Last Airbender's whitewashing. Constance Wu and Ming-Na Wen have addressed The Ghost in the Shell. Another older film to look at could be The Conquerer with John Wayne as Genghis Khan. – Emily Deibler8 years ago
As an Asian, I really take this issue quite personally. I would recommend the person looking into this article and accompanying video http://www.vox.com/2016/4/21/11477914/hollywood-asian-whitewashing. It speaks about Asians being underrepresented or portray as a fool. I don't think it should be considered revolutionary to cast a Japanese for a Japanese role. It's galling to see that "yellow face" is still acceptable in 2016. – Jill8 years ago
The former, people don't realise it but this is a more subtle form of racism. – sandrazemingui8 years ago
Al Jolson and Robert Downey, Jr. in blackface, separated by about seven decades. Now that's inertia. – Tigey8 years ago
So many films, be it through nationalistic fervour or propaganda, glamourise, glorify and normalise the promotion of war. Assess the extent to which popular war films engage with the reality of conflict and what agenda this serves.
Could you clarify what you mean by "agenda?" Are we talking about directors and screenwriters consciously appropriating nationalist imagery into their war scenes? I feel like this could branch out much further than war movies - what about the Marvel movies ("Civil War" reflecting the dividedness of the US populace, etc.)?
I totally agree that war has been glamorized, but what sort of war? Historically based conflicts like Saving Private Ryan? Narnian creatures swinging axes? Romanticized events (The Patriot)? I assume you definitely mean the last kind, but it might need clarification.
If an article was written about this topic, I would certainly read it. – Dillon Raborn8 years ago
The agenda served by war is that creative expression in TV, film and plays maintain audience interest through conflict. War is an easy way to engage audiences' attention. Good vs evil always creates drama. – Munjeera8 years ago
Glamorize is the key term, and is almost unavoidable in Hollywood movies which tend to have a cohesive narrative that ends in triumph for someone. But this of course doesn't make the glamorization of war any less reprehensible. would be interesting to also examine reaction to Sainsbury's 2014 Christmas advert which caused some degree of outrage, for harnessing a scene from WWI in its Christmas marketing strategy... – lizzyhajos8 years ago
The question you pose: "What does this agenda serve?" is an important question to ask. Considering when war films are released and the manner in which they promote specific political agendas is a topic worth investigating. It seems as if many war films have a component of glamorizing and glorifying war - showing the true horror would be a downer! If we critically view this genre of film, how many would be exposed as nationalistic ploys to endorse and legitimize armed conflict? I think your opening sentence clearly states how these films may promote specific political pro-war agendas. It may be interesting to take a look at when these films are released in relation to specific armed conflict. This would be a good read! – margo8 years ago
To what extent do the films in Nolan's Batman trilogy engage with 21st century anxieties, and how are they aligned within the Batman myth? After exploring the origins story, Nolan decided to place the character within a contemporary framework. How was he influenced by previous interpretations, and what do the films say about American attitudes towards crime? Possible themes: vigilante justice, crime prevention, state control, corporate guilt.
There is also an interesting amount of political/economical systems portrayed within the movies. For example the first movie, with Raz Al Gual (sorry if that's miss-spelt) we have him try to put totalitarian rule over Gotham, and an attack on democracy for the greater good. In the second movie, the Joker's actions could be said to follow the anarchist philosophy. And in the last, Gotham is placed in a state of Marxism, with the leaders and wealthy cast out and the poor rise up and take control. – Thomas Sutton8 years ago
Great question!!! I was quite surprised by the villain Bain whose role almost seemed to portray the Wall Street Occupy movement as in error. Definitely a comment on corporate greed. But at least a blockbuster movie did not try to have a holier than thou attitude about making money. – Munjeera8 years ago
I've always found the most troubling, and as a result, fascinating, element of this kind in those films is the moment in 'The Dark Knight' when Batman creates the Gotham-wide sonar reader, in order to catch the Joker. That's an absolutely humongous infringement of civil liberties, which Fox states quite clearly when he's shown the machine. It echoes very much the actions taken by Western governments in the heat of the War on Terror. And yet, without it, Batman probably wouldn't have found the Joker in time to save the ferries, and countless civilians would have been murdered. Was the massive intrusion into Gotham citizens' private lives vindicated by Batman's saving of the ferries? Is it better to live compromised, safer lives or pure, free ones which carry a far greater risk of terrorism? There's a quotation from Benjamin Franklin which reads roughly: 'Those who sacrifice liberty for security will in the end enjoy neither.' I think they're wise words, and probably true, but this debate, exemplified most in 'The Dark Knight' but present in the other two movies two, is one with no easy answers. – J.P. Shiel8 years ago
Time and time again great anime has been adapted into live-action movies only to fall short of its potential. Some examples of this include Dragon Ball Evolution and the Attack on Titan movies. Analyze why some of these movies fail and how some were more of a success. What are some obstacles when adapting anime into film? What would be needed for success?
Holy cow. Were some live action Anime actually successful? It seemed like one big failure after another. Interesting. – Adnan Bey8 years ago
You should also specify where exactly they were successes/failures, either in Japan, the USA, or elsewhere.
– Tanner Ollo8 years ago
(1) The attachment we create with an anime character cannot be replicated by humans. Their eyes, their lack of facial details, their clear-cut expressions, etc. (2) Not all anime live action movies, if any, have VFX teams like that of WB or Disney. So whatever happens in anime, like the AoT titan fight scene, is trimmed down in a live-action adaptation. – Abhimanyu Shekhar8 years ago
I think the transference of the "spirit," if you will, of anime - it's compositional energy, its ability to carry on nonchalantly as deathly serious events unfold, and other characteristics - is really what is lost when the medium changes from animated to live action. As you mentioned, I think the most recognizable example is definetely Dragon Ball Evolution. What come off as a highly masculine and ego-invested character developments (at least in the case of shonens like DBZ) become cringey and, frankly, stupid one-liners when performed by real people. Not to mention in the case of DBZ that entire characters can get rewritten entirely so that they're unrecognizable to the fanbase the movie should so obviously be pandering to if it wants to be successful. tl;dr- this is an interesting idea and someone ought to pursue it. – Dillon Raborn8 years ago
There were some interesting live actions that were known to be a huge success such as the Ruroni Kenshin Live Action series as well as the latest being Assassination Classroom. One terrible live-action that could have went very well was the Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai series, which told it's actors to not look at the original source material for the characters. By doing that, it impeded upon the movie's success because of the ignorance of the writers and producers for trying to make it something that the source material was not. If they stuck to the original premise of the series and the characteristics of each character, the movie could have been done very well! – Kevin Mohammed8 years ago
What use do flashbacks actually have? To merely give backstory to a character(s), to add a tension, to foreshadow something? What are good (and bad) examples of flashbacks in film and do they make use of the flashback in a suitable and compelling manner. One example that could be used is this "Saw" short film ((link) which uses flashbacks to portray the main ction and torture scenes. The torture scenes should create suspense with not knowning whther this man is going to live or die, but by seeing him being interviewed about what happened, any tension is lost. Tarantino's "Pulp Fiction" and "Kill Bill" could be an interesting point of discussion, as well as "Red Dragon" which uses a scene to introduce the audience to Will Graham and Hannibal Lector, but it is also set before "Silence of the Lambs;" is this film a flashback in itself? Are there better examples of entire films being a flashback? DC CW television shows have also use flashbacks extensively (mostly in "Arrow" as a rhetoric device linking Oliver's experiences on the island to present-day turmoils.)
Explore and analyze how the subconscious idea affects the development of the movie.
The word "subconscious" is an adjective to describe the situation of "appearing out of the consciousness". It is originated from the French word subconscient introduced by psychologist Pierre Janet.
One of the classical examples which obtain subconscious idea is A Nightmare on Elm Street(1984). The killer murdered the victim in the nightmare of his.
I believe Hitchcock played around with introducing plot elements subconsciously. In Psycho, Norman Bates is showing off his taxidermy collection to another character (can't remember who at the moment), which consists of all birds.
Now what is another term for an old lady? Don't we call old ladies an old bird? (at least they did in the 60's when the movie was made) A stuffed old bird offers the viewers subconsciously the finale of the movie, it would appear. – DrTestani8 years ago
In Alfred Hitchcock's films produced in the 1930s, the master director/producer develops his protagonist in each film following a generally prescriptive pattern of having the leading man stumble or fall (intentionally or not) into conspiracy, controversy, and calamity. Then, the hero must struggle to redeem himself, usually with the assistance (invited or not) by the leading female. How do these film plots portray and challenge ideals of modernism?
