The similarity between westerns and science fiction films are striking. You can see the obvious attempts of Hollywood to suck in every possible demographic. After taking a more serious look at the two I have noticed that to me it seems as though there is a great difference between the audiences for a good hearted sci-fi and a cold hearted sci-fi such as Alien. Star Wars had a much wider base in age confirming the direct correlation between westerns and sci-fi. Before sci-fi people in the states used to watch westerns which had action, love, and always ended with a horse ride in the sunset. People had a fear of technology and the future. However, when America needed a thrust in technology to keep up with the Russians it produced a couple of generations of people not afraid of technology and these people needed entertainment that they were not getting from westerns.
Hollywood obliged with the sci-fi. At first the films were scary and unappealing to much of America except for the kids. Hollywood had to do something to please the masses so it started to incorporate western themes and icons into the new sci-fi films that it was creating to bridge the gap and it worked. Films such as star wars and close encounters were box office smashes for their time. Planet of the Apes was an even earlier movie that had a lot of western ties. The apes rode horses and carried rifles, the backdrop of the forbidden zone was a desolate desert wasteland. The apes also lived in dwellings which were similar to Indian adobes. Star Wars had the sand people which were treated as and were savages. In a later Star Wars movie Anikin Walkers mother is killed by sand people and he proceeds to slaughter them. The sand people lived in caves in a desert region of the planet much like some native Americans used to.
I think the image of the native American in the westerns although mostly savage, was more romantic than the image displayed today. When I think of an “Indian” today, I think of a casino owner. This is the new stereo-type presented by Hollywood and TV. Also in Star Wars Han Solo was a cowboy. He rode around the universe smuggling and being chased by bounty-hunters. He had a today’s “me” attitude, but was as John Wayne as anybody when it came to rescuing the princess. In closing I think I have shown how there is a link between the two genres.
Monday, March 26, 2007
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Blog # 5---Option 3
Typecasting is when a particular actor/actress gets put into a category of playing the same types of characters even though they are moving on to different films. In most peoples eyes this is seen as negative, but some actors/actress’ like the steady work that it brings them. Others become typecast because they are not talented enough to play in other types of movies. For characters that want to move on, sometimes they have a hard time, maybe even impossible getting the roles of other characters because they already have the typecast. Some examples of this are, Charles Chaplin being identified with the Tramp, Sean Connery and Roger Moore with James Bond, William Shatner with Capt. James Kirk, and Sylvester Stallone with Rocky Balboa and John Rambo.
An actor may also be typecast by playing the same kind of role in all their film. Humphry Bogart hard-boiled, antiauthoritarian, romantically vulnerable tough guys. Everyone also looked at Marilyn Monroe as a gold digger or dumb blond because those were always the role she played in her films.
Many actors try to “play against the type” by making sure they choose to play different roles from their previous films. They do this to prevent getting the typecast. An example of this would be Tom Hanks. He had the “nice guy” image and then played a gangster in Road to Perdition. Being that Robin Williams is a comedy actor, he accepts many dramatic roles. Some actors even turn down good movies that will be hits and that they would like to do just to prevent typecasting.
On the other hand, some actors don’t mind the typecast. This usually occurs in action movies and comedies. Actors like Chuck Norris, Jackie Chan, and Adam Sandler. Although Sandler has been playing other roles in serious movies and doing a very good job. An example would be Click.
I would say that typecasting is harmful and helpful. It can be harmful because when actors do want to move on, sometimes they can’t find another acting job because the producer knows they are typecast and thinks it wont work. An example of this would be the main characters from Seinfeld. They all have the typecast from the sitcom and have had a hard time getting new roles since the show ended. At the same time. I think that typecasting can be helpful if the actors enjoys playing the same roles over and over again. It seems to give them steady work. This would be the actors like Jackie Chan and Adam Sandler. They play the same role in almost all of their movies and people love them. If we know Adam Sandler is in it, more than likely it will be funny so we want to go see it. They become more popular in my eyes. I think it just really depends on the actor and if they are capable of not getting the audience bored.
An actor may also be typecast by playing the same kind of role in all their film. Humphry Bogart hard-boiled, antiauthoritarian, romantically vulnerable tough guys. Everyone also looked at Marilyn Monroe as a gold digger or dumb blond because those were always the role she played in her films.
Many actors try to “play against the type” by making sure they choose to play different roles from their previous films. They do this to prevent getting the typecast. An example of this would be Tom Hanks. He had the “nice guy” image and then played a gangster in Road to Perdition. Being that Robin Williams is a comedy actor, he accepts many dramatic roles. Some actors even turn down good movies that will be hits and that they would like to do just to prevent typecasting.
On the other hand, some actors don’t mind the typecast. This usually occurs in action movies and comedies. Actors like Chuck Norris, Jackie Chan, and Adam Sandler. Although Sandler has been playing other roles in serious movies and doing a very good job. An example would be Click.
I would say that typecasting is harmful and helpful. It can be harmful because when actors do want to move on, sometimes they can’t find another acting job because the producer knows they are typecast and thinks it wont work. An example of this would be the main characters from Seinfeld. They all have the typecast from the sitcom and have had a hard time getting new roles since the show ended. At the same time. I think that typecasting can be helpful if the actors enjoys playing the same roles over and over again. It seems to give them steady work. This would be the actors like Jackie Chan and Adam Sandler. They play the same role in almost all of their movies and people love them. If we know Adam Sandler is in it, more than likely it will be funny so we want to go see it. They become more popular in my eyes. I think it just really depends on the actor and if they are capable of not getting the audience bored.
Blog # 4---Option 3
There were many different Hollywood studios that produced a variety of movies. Studios had their own personality and it became able to tell what studio produced certain movies juts by what type of movie they were. A lot of actors were contracted with the same studio for large portions of their career which made it easier to make the same type of movies for one studio. Some the popular studios were M-G-M, Paramount, Warner Brothers, 20th Century Fox and RKO. Their golden ages were from the 1930’s until about the 1950’s.
M-G-M had a huge amount of stars working for them. Some of the actresses that dominated the screen for them were Greta Garbo, Joan Crawford, Norma Shearer, Louise Rainer, Myrna Loy, and Greer Garson. They brought sincerity, refinement, and sophistication to their screen roles (p.78 Belton). They had a polish and gloss image although they had earlier actresses such as Marie Dressler and Lassie which was more earthly. Some of the movies that M-G-M produced are, Tod Browning’s Freaks. The Marx Brothers made sober, restrained, and calculated comedies for M-G-M such as
A Night at the Opera, A Day at the Races, and Room Service.
Paramount’s leading actresses were Clara Bow, Marlene Dietrich, Mae West, Claudette Colbert, and Carole Lombard. These ladies combined sexual savoir-faire with tongue-in-cheek wit. The Marx Brothers also made pretension-deflating comedies for paramount such as Animal Carackers, Monkey Business, Horse Feathers, and Duck Soup. Paramount also had a deft European style in the subtle ironies of Ernst Lubitche’s comedies, including The Love Parade, Monte Carlo, trouble in Paradise, and Design for Living. That style was also in the exotic erotic fantasies produced by Josef von Sternberg in movies such as Morocco, Shanghai Express, and The Scarlet Empress.
Warner Brothers was considered to be the working man’s studio. The photographic style was more hasty and rough looking to look more realistic. Their specialty was gangster films such as Little Caesar, The Public Enemy, The Petrified Forest, and The Roaring Twenties. Some of the major stars in them were James Cagney, Edward G. Robinson, and Humphrey Bogart. These men were categorized as the tough-guy. Some of the other movies that Warner Brothers produced are Captain Blood, The Adventures of Robin Hood, I Was a Fugitive from the Chain Gang, Wild Boys of the Road, and Confessions of a Nazi Spy. Most of those were threw at the lower class though. Some of Warner Brothers actresses were Ruby Keeler, Joan Blondell, Bette Davis, Olivia de Havilland, Ida Lupino, Ann Sheridan, and Lauren Bacall. These women played parts such as the girl-next-door, gold diggers, molls, and down-to-earth dames that even traded wisecracks with men and were still feminine. Warner’s audience tended to be urban, blue-collar workers and shop girls.
20th Century Fox targeted the opposite audience as Warner Brothers. Their audience was rural. It was run by an Irish Catholic former cop named Winfield Sheehan and then a Methodist named Darryl Zanuck took over. It was the only studio that wasn’t owned or operated by Jews. Some of Fox’s major stars were Will Rogers, Stepin Fetchit, Shirley temple, Henry Fonda, Tyrone Power, Betty Garble, Marilyn Monroe and Don Ameche. Zanuck discovered that the audience liked films with a certain social consciousness. Therefore films like Gentleman’s Agreement (staring Gregory Peck), The Grapes of Wrath (produced by John Steinbeck), Tobacco Road (produced by Erskine Caldwell), The Ox-Bow Incident, Boomerang, The Snake Pit, and Pinky. Fox’s biggest hit was Star Wars in 1977.
RKO did not just stick to one type of film, their films ranged from King Kong to Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers musicals and Citizen Kane. RKO had many different Heads of productions. They had David Selznick whom produced What Price Hollywood? and Bill of divorcement; Merian C. Cooper whom produced The Lost Patrol; George Schafer whom produced Abe Lincoln in Illinois and Citizen Kane; Charles Koerner whom produced The Cat People, I Walked with a Zombie and The Spiral Staircase; Dore Schary (supervisor) of Crossfire, Out of the Past, and They Live by Night; and last but not least, Howard Hughes that produced I Married a Communist, Vendetta, and Jet Pilot. Some of the directors for RKO were John Ford, George Stevens, Robert Siodmak, and Jacques Tourneur. Some of the stars for RKO were Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant, and Robert Mitchum. Even though RKO had all those people, they still lacked the thematic and stylistic consistency that other majors enjoyed. During RKO’s golden age, they had Clara Bow, Gary Cooper, William Powell, Claudette Colbert, Alan Ladd, and Marlene Dietrich.
M-G-M had a huge amount of stars working for them. Some of the actresses that dominated the screen for them were Greta Garbo, Joan Crawford, Norma Shearer, Louise Rainer, Myrna Loy, and Greer Garson. They brought sincerity, refinement, and sophistication to their screen roles (p.78 Belton). They had a polish and gloss image although they had earlier actresses such as Marie Dressler and Lassie which was more earthly. Some of the movies that M-G-M produced are, Tod Browning’s Freaks. The Marx Brothers made sober, restrained, and calculated comedies for M-G-M such as
A Night at the Opera, A Day at the Races, and Room Service.
Paramount’s leading actresses were Clara Bow, Marlene Dietrich, Mae West, Claudette Colbert, and Carole Lombard. These ladies combined sexual savoir-faire with tongue-in-cheek wit. The Marx Brothers also made pretension-deflating comedies for paramount such as Animal Carackers, Monkey Business, Horse Feathers, and Duck Soup. Paramount also had a deft European style in the subtle ironies of Ernst Lubitche’s comedies, including The Love Parade, Monte Carlo, trouble in Paradise, and Design for Living. That style was also in the exotic erotic fantasies produced by Josef von Sternberg in movies such as Morocco, Shanghai Express, and The Scarlet Empress.
Warner Brothers was considered to be the working man’s studio. The photographic style was more hasty and rough looking to look more realistic. Their specialty was gangster films such as Little Caesar, The Public Enemy, The Petrified Forest, and The Roaring Twenties. Some of the major stars in them were James Cagney, Edward G. Robinson, and Humphrey Bogart. These men were categorized as the tough-guy. Some of the other movies that Warner Brothers produced are Captain Blood, The Adventures of Robin Hood, I Was a Fugitive from the Chain Gang, Wild Boys of the Road, and Confessions of a Nazi Spy. Most of those were threw at the lower class though. Some of Warner Brothers actresses were Ruby Keeler, Joan Blondell, Bette Davis, Olivia de Havilland, Ida Lupino, Ann Sheridan, and Lauren Bacall. These women played parts such as the girl-next-door, gold diggers, molls, and down-to-earth dames that even traded wisecracks with men and were still feminine. Warner’s audience tended to be urban, blue-collar workers and shop girls.
20th Century Fox targeted the opposite audience as Warner Brothers. Their audience was rural. It was run by an Irish Catholic former cop named Winfield Sheehan and then a Methodist named Darryl Zanuck took over. It was the only studio that wasn’t owned or operated by Jews. Some of Fox’s major stars were Will Rogers, Stepin Fetchit, Shirley temple, Henry Fonda, Tyrone Power, Betty Garble, Marilyn Monroe and Don Ameche. Zanuck discovered that the audience liked films with a certain social consciousness. Therefore films like Gentleman’s Agreement (staring Gregory Peck), The Grapes of Wrath (produced by John Steinbeck), Tobacco Road (produced by Erskine Caldwell), The Ox-Bow Incident, Boomerang, The Snake Pit, and Pinky. Fox’s biggest hit was Star Wars in 1977.
RKO did not just stick to one type of film, their films ranged from King Kong to Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers musicals and Citizen Kane. RKO had many different Heads of productions. They had David Selznick whom produced What Price Hollywood? and Bill of divorcement; Merian C. Cooper whom produced The Lost Patrol; George Schafer whom produced Abe Lincoln in Illinois and Citizen Kane; Charles Koerner whom produced The Cat People, I Walked with a Zombie and The Spiral Staircase; Dore Schary (supervisor) of Crossfire, Out of the Past, and They Live by Night; and last but not least, Howard Hughes that produced I Married a Communist, Vendetta, and Jet Pilot. Some of the directors for RKO were John Ford, George Stevens, Robert Siodmak, and Jacques Tourneur. Some of the stars for RKO were Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant, and Robert Mitchum. Even though RKO had all those people, they still lacked the thematic and stylistic consistency that other majors enjoyed. During RKO’s golden age, they had Clara Bow, Gary Cooper, William Powell, Claudette Colbert, Alan Ladd, and Marlene Dietrich.
Blog # 3---Option 2
There are quite a few different types of lighting in the film making of Hollywood. Three point, high key, low key, and star lighting are some of them. Three point lighting is the most common lighting setup in Hollywood. It’s called three point lighting because the three points refer to the three dominant sources of illumination. Each source can contain as many lights as needed, not just one light from each point. The three points of light are termed the key light, fill light, and back light. An example of this setup would be that the key light is directly in front of the person, really lighting up their face, the back light shines from behind them, and the fill light comes in at a diagonal on the side and is right next to the camera shining on the front and back. This setup establishes overall lighting directionality. The lighting setup is not always the same though, it depends on location or setting specified in the script.
The most common lighting effects that three point lighting produces when manipulated is high key and low key lighting. These don’t describe the position of the light, but the ratio of fill light to key light. In high-key lighting, that ratio is very high. That means that the amount of fill light is extremely high to reduce shadows from the key light. The light is then evenly distributed. When you think of when high key-lighting, it tends to be used in upbeat genres such as comedies and musicals.
Low-key lighting is the opposite of high-key lighting. The ratio of fill to key light is low now. The shadows produced by the key light are not completely filled in therefore, there is an uneven distribution of light. Low-key lighting is most commonly found in downbeat genres, such as mysteries, thrillers, horror films, and with films noirs.
Start lighting highlights certain features of the major performers and makes the expression on major performers faces readable. It singles out the chief figures in a scene by giving them their own special lighting system, so the focus is on the important performers. The light draws the audience to what is important. The light appears to come from within who it’s shining on. It can also bring the charismatic presence out more with some performers.
In conclusion, every scene in a Hollywood film combines realistic, directional, motivated lighting with unrealistic star lighting. And audiences never seem to be bothered by the apparent contradiction(p. 57 Belton).
The most common lighting effects that three point lighting produces when manipulated is high key and low key lighting. These don’t describe the position of the light, but the ratio of fill light to key light. In high-key lighting, that ratio is very high. That means that the amount of fill light is extremely high to reduce shadows from the key light. The light is then evenly distributed. When you think of when high key-lighting, it tends to be used in upbeat genres such as comedies and musicals.
Low-key lighting is the opposite of high-key lighting. The ratio of fill to key light is low now. The shadows produced by the key light are not completely filled in therefore, there is an uneven distribution of light. Low-key lighting is most commonly found in downbeat genres, such as mysteries, thrillers, horror films, and with films noirs.
Start lighting highlights certain features of the major performers and makes the expression on major performers faces readable. It singles out the chief figures in a scene by giving them their own special lighting system, so the focus is on the important performers. The light draws the audience to what is important. The light appears to come from within who it’s shining on. It can also bring the charismatic presence out more with some performers.
In conclusion, every scene in a Hollywood film combines realistic, directional, motivated lighting with unrealistic star lighting. And audiences never seem to be bothered by the apparent contradiction(p. 57 Belton).
Blog # 2--- Option 1
There are many elements of the Hollywood style in film making. Some of the major elements are invisible editing, Hollywood narrative of telling a motion picture story, equilibrium and disruption, various problem solving techniques used in Hollywood film and character centered cinema. These things are what makes Hollywood special and able to make such great films.
The Hollywood film industry became a narrative machine when making their films. During the 1910s and 1920s Hollywood began to tell stories in their films that were highly efficient. Now the producers wanted to tell a smooth narrative in their films as smoothly as possible. It was meant to have a narrative magically come from the screen spontaneously creating itself for the audience to consume and enjoy. Most movies after the 1920s were all narratives
Invisible editing was a huge breakthrough n the film industry. This is when there are cuts throughout the movie but they make it so the audience can’t see the editing. This means that there were really no pauses in the movie. The camera and the sound recording should never call attention to themselves. The editors goal is to make his work invisible. This is by not letting the viewer notice any cuts, and the shots flowing together naturally. This is also one of the key elements that helped the narrative machine happen. One type of this editing is organizing a movie in a purely linear fashion like in Some like It Hot.
The way a narrative process works is that there is an initial state of affairs introduced in the beginning of the film and then all of the sudden something disturbs it therefore, the equilibrium is off due to the disruption. Then, there are many events that follow, usually trying to restore the original introduction. This takes up most of the movie. In the end almost all equilibriums are restored and everything is good. An example of this is in Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window. The introduction meets the status quo and characters are introduced. Then all of the sudden the equilibrium is disrupted by a quarrel between two lovers and a woman screaming from across the way. Then the rest of the film the couple is trying to solve their conflict and trying to get proof that the woman they heard was murdered. Once the conflicts are solved the equilibrium is back to normal and the new status quo is revealed. This makes narrative motion very interesting and keeps the audiences attention.
There are various problem solving techniques in Hollywood films. A lot of times in the films, the characters have a hard time achieving their goals. During the film, they usually overcome their problems that stand in their way; things such as beating the villain, triumph over adverse circumstances, and transcend their own limitations such as fears. The film will then end with the characters triumph or failure, with the resolution to the problem, and with the attainment of the goal. An example of this is the movie Vertigo. There’s a man who has to overcome his fear of heights to solve a crime. This kind of technique has the audience trying to solve the problem themselves while watching the movie.
Character centered cinema is also a major element in the Hollywood Films. The characters are more or less stable, knowable, and psychologically coherent individuals who possess clearly defined, specific goals(p.25 Belton). The films are very focused on the main characters in the film and what happens in the movie revolves around the them. The entire movie will evolve around the character which makes the audience think and feel as if they know the character.
The Hollywood film industry became a narrative machine when making their films. During the 1910s and 1920s Hollywood began to tell stories in their films that were highly efficient. Now the producers wanted to tell a smooth narrative in their films as smoothly as possible. It was meant to have a narrative magically come from the screen spontaneously creating itself for the audience to consume and enjoy. Most movies after the 1920s were all narratives
Invisible editing was a huge breakthrough n the film industry. This is when there are cuts throughout the movie but they make it so the audience can’t see the editing. This means that there were really no pauses in the movie. The camera and the sound recording should never call attention to themselves. The editors goal is to make his work invisible. This is by not letting the viewer notice any cuts, and the shots flowing together naturally. This is also one of the key elements that helped the narrative machine happen. One type of this editing is organizing a movie in a purely linear fashion like in Some like It Hot.
The way a narrative process works is that there is an initial state of affairs introduced in the beginning of the film and then all of the sudden something disturbs it therefore, the equilibrium is off due to the disruption. Then, there are many events that follow, usually trying to restore the original introduction. This takes up most of the movie. In the end almost all equilibriums are restored and everything is good. An example of this is in Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window. The introduction meets the status quo and characters are introduced. Then all of the sudden the equilibrium is disrupted by a quarrel between two lovers and a woman screaming from across the way. Then the rest of the film the couple is trying to solve their conflict and trying to get proof that the woman they heard was murdered. Once the conflicts are solved the equilibrium is back to normal and the new status quo is revealed. This makes narrative motion very interesting and keeps the audiences attention.
There are various problem solving techniques in Hollywood films. A lot of times in the films, the characters have a hard time achieving their goals. During the film, they usually overcome their problems that stand in their way; things such as beating the villain, triumph over adverse circumstances, and transcend their own limitations such as fears. The film will then end with the characters triumph or failure, with the resolution to the problem, and with the attainment of the goal. An example of this is the movie Vertigo. There’s a man who has to overcome his fear of heights to solve a crime. This kind of technique has the audience trying to solve the problem themselves while watching the movie.
Character centered cinema is also a major element in the Hollywood Films. The characters are more or less stable, knowable, and psychologically coherent individuals who possess clearly defined, specific goals(p.25 Belton). The films are very focused on the main characters in the film and what happens in the movie revolves around the them. The entire movie will evolve around the character which makes the audience think and feel as if they know the character.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)