Discuss the ethical perspectives of either team in the upcoming Captain America movie. We have become accustomed to Captain America being the most moral man throughout the past movies. Is it time to reflect on his motives, to question whether his actions are driven by his self-interest rather than the greater good? Conversely, is Iron Man moving past his thinking that saving the world is his personal responsibility by willing to work with other heroes and opening up to the public?
Bucky Barnes is battling his own mind, re-learning morals and ethics… does getting so protected by Captain America perhaps cloud his views and provide them with a certain bias?
Love this topic so much! One could also write the article with Team Cap and Team Iron Man and divide it up in a way that Civil War is and that would be really cool to see as well! – scole9 years ago
This is a great topic to define the protagonist, antagonist and dynamic main character. Should be a great article! – Munjeera9 years ago
You could even have two articles here, one per side! I've heard others say it's Cap from CA:TWS--distrusting authority, going back to his roots--versus Iron Many of Age of Ultron--feeling accountable, wanting to protect the most people possible. – IndiLeigh9 years ago
The 'James Bond Girl', as we like to refer to the main female characters in the Bond series, has had many faces and many different nationalities, from Sophie Marceau to Lea Seydoux (yes, a lot of French girls! Does that say anything about our conceptions of French women and the images we associate with them?). It would be interesting to have a look at the different performances/interpretations in the Bond filmography. What ideals of femininity do they relay? How do nationality and foreignness affect their performances? What does that bring? What are our expectations of the James Bond girl? How do they compare with books?
This sounds so interesting, it would also be interesting to see how the portrayals have changed through the decades. – Austin Bender9 years ago
And of course the one woman to be a bond girl twice, Maud Adams. And the fact that fans rejected Halle Barry, because she was already famous. And a dozen other things. Whether you approach this from a analysis of hollywood hiring practices, feminine ideals or just narrative structure of James Bond, this is a great topic. – CrunchyEnglish9 years ago
This is a good topic to see how the role has evolved. – Munjeera9 years ago
Great topic! And also, what her significance is to the film and James Bond and what her contributions are to the storyline. – Jaye Freeland9 years ago
This is particularly interesting in light of the latest film--which features the oldest bond girl to date (though of course, she's still gorgeous). I think Daniel Craig himself said in interviews that Bond is a chauvinist, and that the latest bond girl (played by Léa Seydoux) is more than young enough to be his daughter. "Beauty," and therefore age, is definitely a big factor. – Tiffany9 years ago
How interesting! I agree with the above -- one might also ask how each Bond girl reflects her time period and the contemporary fears and hopes that might have gone into her character as a "foil" for Bond. – sophiacatherine9 years ago
Guillermo Del Toro's new fantasy horror is adamant that it is influenced by Victorian and Romantic literature: part of the dialogue from Jane Eyre's famous proposal scene is even adapted for the film. How are concepts from Jane Eyre (the hidden wife, the haunted house, gender roles in relation to marriage and power) and other novels of the era paralleled in Crimson Peak? Is their inclusion effective?
Interesting notion. Some research into the styles and stories associated with Victorian, Romantic, and Gothic literature and how they converge in Crimson Peak would be interesting. It'd be a great way to source the images in Crimson Peak as well as help distinguish between the three movements in literature. – jwiderski9 years ago
I just REALLY want to read this. I haven't actually seen Crimson Peak yet, but so far this link to Jane Eyre, and how the "gothic elements" like haunted houses or spirits relate to the character development, would actually make this scaredy-cat see it. – thekellyfornian9 years ago
I like this topic a lot. Interesting, especially since the actor who played Edith also played Jane Eyre. I can see parallels between Tom/Rochester and Lucille/Bertha, as well as Jane and Edith both being orphans. After watching the film on Halloween, I always thought the film would be a loose adaptation of The Fall of the House of Usher if the mansion collapsed in the end. I have actually considered writing about gender in Crimson Peak--the strengths and weaknesses, and the details right down to the costume choices. – Emily Deibler9 years ago
Looooooove thissssss! And the exploration of gothic/romantic/horrific in general. – Jaye Freeland9 years ago
I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought this. The book, Jane Eyre, clearly has themes of horror due to its gothic story telling. I think Crimson Peak resembles Jane Eyre is largely due to the deary and haunting setting. – jarvisholt9 years ago
The Witch has made a ground-breaking impact in the art-house film world for its innovative, minimalistic, and period piece approach to black-magic and witchcraft. While the film was generally liked by audiences, many objections to it were "it wasn't really scary, just creepy." Is this true? Is horror in film merely having a demon jump scare the audience? The Witch should be applauded for actually bringing three dimensional characters and a powerful narrative into its inner workings; where most horror films completely fail. Is The Witch not true horror?
It would be a good idea in my opinion to discuss different aspects to the horror genre. Can a film be classed as horror even if there is no extreme use of violent visuals? It could lead onto how what scares audiences is subjective. – Ryan Errington9 years ago
Quebec's film industry is commonly regarded as a distinct entity from its English Canadian counterpart. Write a study and history of French Canadian Cinema, looking at filmmakers like Xavier Dolan, Atom Egoyan, Denis Villeneuve…. What makes it paricular? How can it be exported? Is there a Hollywood/Canadian influence?
I suggest you add "and" before Denis Villeneuve and immediately put a period after the name. You do not really need the ellipsis and the question can stand on its own. However, you can use the ellipsis, but it's three periods and not four. – Diego Santoyo9 years ago
Twickenham Studios in the UK might not be well known, yet they have worked for the past century on enormous films. They have produced the Beatles films in the 1960s, The Italian Job with Michael Caine, My Week with Marilyn, The Iron Lady, War Horse, Kick-Ass among others. They are also particularly famous for their post-production work, receiving Emmys, BaFTAS and Oscar nominations for their sound editing of The Martian or Amy for example. Celebrating their 100th anniversary, it would be interesting for someone to look into their history and create a retrospective of their most famous work.
I have never heard of Twickenham before - this would be really interesting! Great idea. – Katheryn9 years ago
The work of Concept Artists is one of passion, hard-work, determination and patience. They come up with incredible designs that really help the production and give a visual stimuli to directors, producers, set designers, production managers and art directors. They manage to translate the director's and screenwriter's vision into beautiful images that are then used as a basis to convey the film's atmosphere and tone. They also help the technicians (lighting, camera work) and touch upon all aspects of production. It would be interesting if someone decided to shed a bit more light on these works. What is a concept artist? What do they achieve? How do they impact? Also, would be really interesting to find the concept art for big films to illustrate the point, like Harry Potter, Lord of The Rings or Marvel Universe films etc…
Disney animated films also have really beautiful concept art. – MichelleAjodah9 years ago
Another great movie to have a concept art for is Sleeping Beauty. – SpectreWriter9 years ago
'The Magical Negro' is a trope in American cinema in which a white protagonist is "saved" through the efforts of a self-sacrificing, wise, spiritually prophetic and often mysterious African-American. Examples include Will Smith in 'The Legend of Bagger Vance' and Michael Clarke Duncan in 'The Green Mile'. It is worth exploring the idea that white America once viewed Obama as a type of 'Magical Negro' when elected in 2008; interpreting his message of "hope and change" as an oath to drastically improve race relations. However, by 2016, race relations are infinitely more strained, and many who initially supported Obama now feel disgruntled and let down by what they see as a failure to make good on his promises (even though his rhetoric never truly specified this issue to that great a degree, and was spun by the media to reflect the general public's desires). The Right also manipulates this issue to use as a strike against him. How might the specifics of the cinematic stereotype reflect this surge of negative feelings toward Obama? Do white Americans subconsciously rely on this trope politically as an effort for them to feel safe and comfortable with black people (specifically men)? Has film conditioned them to expect this from black men of influence?
This is interesting topic. I think comparing films from the periods before Obama, during his presidency, and the recent portrayals to examine any significant changes. Also, if there is a negative portrayal, in what aspect? - i.e incompetency or personality flaw etc. – idleric9 years ago
Do white Americans subconsciously rely on this trope politically as an effort for them to feel safe and comfortable with black people (specifically men)? This is a very good question. The number of negative portrayals greatly outweighs the number of positive portrayals of African-American males in the media. Whoever writes on this topic should look at some causes as to why people don't feel safe and comfortable around non-White people. This includes non-White to non-White interactions. Perhaps traditional media outlets are some of the greatest culprits in perpetuating negative interactions amongst diversity. The person who writes on this topic could also look into digital identities developed and the success of diverse interactions online. – Munjeera9 years ago
Someone I think would be perfect to contact about this idea would be Siobhan Carter-David from Southern Connecticut State University. I recently presented at a conference with her and we were paired on the "Race and Symbolic Objects" panel. Her utilization of pop culture to examine blackness in America was very impressive.
carterdavis1@southernct.edu
Give it a shot! – Dillon Raborn8 years ago
