Fargo’s success as a film is largely due to its play on stereotypes; specifically, those associated with the film noir, documentary, and comedy genres.
Film noir, literally meaning ‘black film’, refers to 1940s style detective thriller films that are typically dark in both themes and visual style (Luhr 2004, pp. 93). Although Fargo explores gruesome crimes inspired by the “grim theme of desperation”, the film’s visual palette is oppressively white, both in terms of its bleak snow-covered landscape and its predominantly White-Christian, suburban Upper Midwestern setting (Luhr 2004, pp. 93). Moreover, Fargo challenges film noir conventions in its revelation of the crime’s culprits at the very beginning of a linear and straightforward plot (Bordwell
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Upon watching the film, however, the characters do not appear contrived or exaggerated. Instead, they are highly engaging, coming across as both genuine and relatable. Thus, there is a binary opposition between the “melodrama” of the film’s storyline and the integrity of its characters. In this way, All About My Mother successfully encourages the audience to reconsider the boundaries of genre, and prompts them to question why they conceptualise the film as a melodrama in the first place (Allinson 2009).
Upon reflection, the film’s plot is not actually that far-fetched: numerous members of society share the experiences of being female, transgender, same-gender attracted, and/or HIV positive. A significant proportion of people have also been sex-workers, grieving parents, organ donors, drug addicts, or patients with Alzheimer’s. The only difference is that the aforementioned social groups have been misrepresented or entirely underrepresented in the media (especially during 1999 in Catholic Spain) (Allinson 2009). Consequently, Almodovar’s story is sometimes interpreted to be “unrealistic” because it “brings characters from the fringes of society to centre stage”. (Bruining
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Firstly, the film’s lack of dialogue is a profound metaphor for Indigenous Australians’ “wasted voices”: since White settlement, Aboriginal Australians have been systematically abused, exploited, and silenced (Collins-Gearing 2010, para. 2).
With the film’s lack of dialogue, Thornton successfully communicates the frustration and pain of Indigenous Australians. The scene of Delilah’s kidnapping is especially shocking: when White men attack and rape her, Delilah is unable to speak or call out for help. Consequently, Samson walks away, unaware of the violence occurring only a few metres behind him. This division of information makes the scene terribly upsetting and frustrating to watch, and ultimately enables non-Indigenous audiences to better understand the pain their Indigenous counterparts feel when White Australians continuously silence their voices and ignore their abuse.
In contrast, the music in Samson & Delilah is often enchanting and uplifting. Diegetic and non-diegetic music is blurred, and songs from diverse cultural backgrounds are played together (for example, a Latin ballad is played alongside house music). Thus, the film poignantly reveals the conflict between Samson and Delilah’s personalities, and illustrates how Australia has become a melting-pot of cultures (Davis
The 1946 film The Killers is a renowned film noir based off of Ernest Hemingway’s short story of the same title, focusing on the detailed backstory and investigation for the motive of the murder of Pete Lund/Ole Anderson, commonly known and referred to as “The Swede.” A film noir is a term made originally to describe American mystery and thriller movies produced in the time period from 1944-1954, primarily marked by moods of menace, pessimism, and fatalism. Although the film does not focus on the war itself at all, it still puts forth interesting new ways in how gender relations can be stereotypical as well as divergent proceeding the Second World War.
From the year eighteen sixty nine to the year nineteen sixty nine Aboriginal children were taken from their homes. The play ‘Stolen’ by Jane Harrison tells the story of five Aboriginal children who were forcibly extracted form their families. The children: Anne, Jimmy, Ruby, Sandy and Shirley all demonstrated the devastating impact that the removal from their families and subsequent institutionalisation had on each of their lives. Furthermore, some of the main characters maintained their hopes and dreams under different circumstances whilst a few displayed a lack of hope.
Furthermore, Downey’s apt use of pathos, or emotional appeals, draws readers in and triggers an emotional response in them, keeping them engaged for the duration of the essay. To expand, he uses blunt phrases like, “permanent loss” (445) and “distant, angry aliens, lacking emotional bonds” (446) to create a severe impact on readers. Also, stirring examples of “descent into alcohol, drugs, and prostitution” (445) and “children committing suicide” (446) illustrate for readers the acute level of damage and suffering that Aboriginal victims experienced. Downey’s use of evocative and graphic imagery in his recounts of “residential schools” (446) and the physical, “emotional and sexual abuse” (447) that specific victims endured elucidates the turmoil and anguish felt by victims of the ‘Sixties Scoop’ in general. As such, this technique fully immerses readers in his essay. Downey creates both a sense of compassion and guilt in his readers through his mention of children who were “enslaved,
The different perspectives create interest and draw us into the experiences of others. The two texts, ‘The Tracker’ composed by Rolf De Heer and ‘Bran Nue Dae’ composed by Rachel Perkins explores this notion. Both films are evident to the racial discrimination of Aborigines in Australia. ‘The Tracker’ is a 2002 art house film set in 1922. It is clear that there were no Aboriginal rights and which white settlement had the greatest control. ‘Bran Nue Dae’ is a 2009 musical/comedy/drama film set in 1969 about the beginning of Aboriginal rights.The different perspectives are from Colonial/Indigenous people. The voices were through the role of the characters, the genre, the music and the cinematography.
The pub scene in the Australian Outback helped me understand the consequences of prejudice through the combination of dialogue and cinematography. These film features shows the unfair treatment that Aborigines endured because of their race. The mid shots showed how the white Australian audience at the pub Talent Quest ignore the two Aborigine sisters as they began to sin. A panning shot showed the audience’s disapproving and disgusted looks as they avoided eye contact with the sisters. Clearly contrasting with the warm and enthusiastic cheers given to the white Australian performers before them, as also shown in a panning shot. Noticing the coldness of the crowd, Gail says, “Thanks for the half-heart applause.” The dialogue and camera shots clearly outlined the difference in treatment between Aborigines and White Australians in Australia. This clearly shows the inequality between the two races, as Aborigines were clearly mistreated based on their appearance. At the end of the Talent Quest, after the White Australian performer
How each character’s relationship relates to native Australians grows for better or worse throughout the novel. The novel also shows how Grenville has incorporated each personal lifestyle and how it co-exists with the other. The novel incorporates past and modern views about each society and brings to attention controversial issues about Australia’s convict past and how Aborigines are being ostracized for their way of life and skin pigmentation.
The notion of the contemporary indigenous identity and the impact of these notions are both explored in texts that have been studied. Ivan Sen’s 2002 film ‘Beneath Clouds’ focuses on the stereotypical behaviours of Indigenous Australians highlighting Lina and Vaughn’s journey. This also signifies the status and place of the Australian identity today. Through the use of visual techniques and stereotypes the ideas that the Indigenous are uneducated, involved in crime and the stereotypical portrayal of white people are all explored. Similarly the notion of urban and rural life is represented in Kennith Slessor’s ‘William Street’ and ‘Country Towns’.
The film frequently demonstrates racism and prejudice within the small-town as gossip and rumours are spread based upon race or appearance. Jasper Jones is a young aboriginal boy who is accused of
Aboriginal women is sexualized, assaulted, and mistreated in today’s society, and the novel portrays this inequity. Lisa’s friend, Erica, was in Terrace, when Lisa witnesses her being harassed by a group of white men. The men were teaching Erica how to “fuck a white man,” when Lisa intervenes. The men call the girls “a squaw, “cunt”, and “bitch” (Robinson 250). The
Subsequently, some changes must be made in the adaptation. Some of the major changes will be to make Marv’s ethnicity Aboriginal and to place the setting in Pilbara, Western Australia. These changes will be made to exemplify the issues at hand and to display an iconic Australia rural town easily identified as a geographic signifier, reflecting the rural values of larrikinism, community and especially the higher rates of the masculinity crisis and male mental health related suicides in rural areas. Adapting Marv’s ethnicity to Aboriginal in the film will also be a major signifier of both Australia, as well as an attempt avoid the stereotype of whitewashing of an Australian film, giving the film a bit of cultural value, adding the attitudes and values equality for individuals and
Over the years, films have been using stereotypes to portray humor through its characters and environment (3). Stereotypes are associated with almost everything and everyone no matter how people classify themselves. For further clarification, stereotypes are associated with people, groups, races, ethnicities, objects and locations. The Longest Yard (2005) by Peter Segal, perpetuates the use of stereotypes to portray its characters and environment through racial, gender, and prison stereotypes. These specific stereotypes are shown throughout the movie and are examples of stereotypes that have been passed down for generations. Films use stereotypes so that they are able to appeal to a larger target audience (3). The purpose of this paper is to analyze common stereotypes of racial, gender, prison, and athlete stereotypes in the film The Longest Yard.
This can be contrasted to the words of the Aborigines in the play, who often swear, yell, or bastardise terms, such as when Jimmy discusses the “shit-bucket” (Act 1, Scene 5), or when Gran yells terms such as “Coo, coo, you come back now Jimmy ya hear” (Act 2, Scene 1). Here, a reader is able to identify the differences in language, and draw parallels between social status, associating formality with power and privilege, and informality with prejudice. The second purpose of language in the text directly affects a reader, and makes commentary on Australia’s history. Frequently in the dialogue of Aboriginal characters, Davis substitutes popular native terms in the middle of sentences spoken. Davis’ objective as a playwright in doing so is to alienate a white audience in an attempt to position them to empathise with the Aboriginals who historically found themselves in a similar position, when english was forcefully imposed on
Development and adaptation of the western genre has occurred throughout the twentieth century in relation to the shift in context, this is still relevant. Stereotypes of a western genre and the context are determined by the time in which the film is being produced. The time in which they were produced determine how social construction, gender ideas, values and attitudes, the setting and SWAT codes are demonstrated. I have chosen to present this speech by looking at the film studied in class, and a film of my choice and how the difference in context has changed in the tie of these two films.
This film is performed by two marvellous actors Victor Mature and Hedy Lamarr. They are both given a clear example of what the aboriginal people’s life looks like. On the other hand, the camera work is very well to present the consequences of the European impact on Aboriginal Australian society. In the film, it uses a medium shot to show Delilah look at two European young girls. In this medium shot, compare with two European young girls, Delilah is very different that images indigenous people are hard to get into European world. From these aspects, the film won many categories for Best Direction, Best Film, Best Original Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Lead Actor and Best Lead Actress in different
Maternal melodrama, as discussed in the excerpt from the book, “Unsophisticated Lady: The Vicissitudes of the Maternal Melodrama in Hollywood”, found on the website, Project Muse,