"Realism in, art and literature, [is] an attempt to describe human behavior and surroundings or to represent figures and objects exactly as they act or appear in life" (Realism 1). During the 1840's through the 1890's realism was present in much of the literature from the United Sates and Europe. It has been said that realism is easily visible in many pieces of modern literature and even in present day films. In 2001, the movie Training Day was released into theaters. Many critics agreed that the movie was very realistic. In fact, the main actor Denzel Washington was presented with an academy award for his performance in Training Day. Training Day can be considered realistic, but many aspects of the film show little realism.
The
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An interesting quote from Mr. Cranky?s movie rating reads, ?I?ve said to several gang bangers, ?Hey, I heard you talking and thought you were Ethan Hawke,? and they?ve responded, ?Yeah, man, I get that a lot (Mr. Cranky 1).?? Not everyone thought the acting was horrible, because Denzel Washington won an Academy Award for his performance. Without the movie it would be very difficult to imagine someone like Ethan Hawke in an environment like the setting of Training Day. This alone was enough to spoil the realism in the movie.
Others argue that the end of the movie is what drags it from being realistic to fictional. Chitra Mahesh from The Hindu newspaper writes, ?Which is why it is unfortunate that such a gritty film with so much realism, would descend to such a pallid climax (Mahesh 2).? The same writer also says, ?Graphic visuals, a violent theme, and ambiguous morals make Warner Bros Inc ?Training Day,? out of the routine. It had the opportunity to be a great film, but the last 20 minutes drag it down to average depths (Mahesh 1).? The author of this article not only believes that the end of the movie made it unrealistic but ruined the plot of the whole movie as well.
Many will agree that Training Day focuses on the negative aspects of life and that is what makes it unrealistic. Sex, drugs, alcohol, violence, state corruption and rape are certainly present in
In the 1940’s a series of propaganda films titled Why We Fight were produced for the purpose of defining the enemies of World War 2 to justify the necessity of America’s involvement in war. Hitler needed to be defeated, Nazism had to be destroyed, and tyranny had to be stopped for the sake of the American way of life by any means necessary. How could society argue against America’s role in the world war when freedom was being threatened? As Martin Luther King Jr. said “Injustice anywhere is a threat to everywhere.” No questions asked, Americans mobilized in the name of liberty and freedom. However the 2005 documentary film Why We Fight directed by Eugene Jarecki is not a sequel or war propaganda. The film informs the audience and questions America 's military industrial complex that has since dictated policy since the victory of World War 2. With the help of narration, soundbites, and credible speakers Jarecki shines light on the pernicious impact of the armed industry on our government, army, and citizens.
Starring Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke, the 2001 film Training Day focuses on the portrayal of two Los Angeles Police Department officers.The story begins with Ethan Hawke as Jake Hoyt, a rookie narcotics detective on his first day of assignment. Jake is in a 24 hour period of field evaluation under the reins of a fellow respected and decorated narcotics officer Alonzo Harris, who is portrayed by Denzel Washington. Jake Hoyt is the ideal “white knight of justice”, an individual who is morally incorruptible, and a person who seeks to defend what is morally correct and to eliminate injustice through proper practices set under federal and state laws and standards. On the other side is Alonzo Harris, a ruthless, selfish, and corrupt narcotics cop who will do whatever it takes to complete the task, whether it violates the procedures and policies. Through the entirety of the film, the concepts of moral ambiguity in situational ethics towards institutional justice and the ethical dilemma of power and corruption amongst enforcement agencies are throughly stressed, analyzed, and reflected. The film illustrates and advances the implicit message of the misrepresentation of the criminal justice system, deception of the effectiveness of institutional justice, and corruption of crime enforcement agencies through the observation, analysis, and deconstruction of numerous examples in normalization to ideologies, and formal elements as suggested through the duration of the film.
The film The War Room is a documentary about Bill Clinton that has very little to do with Bill Clinton himself. The primary focus of the film is devoted to the team of campaign strategists that got Clinton to the presidency. The two main players the film focuses on are James Carville--the Lead Strategist for the Clinton campaign and George Stephanopoulos the Communications Director. The film follows them and their team of campaign strategists and experts as they try to get Arkansas Governor, Bill Clinton, to the presidency. The documentary highlights many key moments in Clinton’s campaign, for example the Gennifer Flowers scandal. However, the film showcases what was happening behind closed doors in the War Room, where Clinton’s
Analyzing the First Few Minutes of Die Hard The first few minutes of ‘Die Hard’ are extremely economic. They offer
Antoine Fuqua’s, Training Day (2001) is an intense movie that follows a rookie police officer Jake Hoyt (Ethan Hawke), whose dream in life is to become an elite narcotics agent for the LAPD. But before landing this difficult job, Hoyt must prove his worth. Enter the ultimate badass, thirteen-year veteran Detective Sergeant Alonzo Harris (Denzel Washington), who accepts to test Hoyts capabilities by riding with him for a day around the cruel streets of South-Central Los Angeles. This is a crime thriller that depicts a police culture entrenched in corruption and violence. While Training Day is a great movie, it uses storybook stereotypes of black males with strong masculinities to portray what seems to me to be a negative representation of black society in America.
In the short film, “The Negro Soldier,” the whole focus was to get African Americans to join the military. With the use of propaganda, the U.S. government hoped to promote getting African Americans to want to fight for their country. It hoped to instill patriotism in them. It showed that Germany and the Nazis had no respect for them and considered them the scum of the earth. It also portrayed them being accepted as equals into the American society. It was used to make them think they were wanted and play a major role in the success of the war against germany. And to ultimately make Germany and the Nazis look like the bad guys (destroying their monuments) instead of the racist America they lived in. It also portrayed African American soldiers prior contributions in previously fought wars as pivotal moments in American history. It made it seem like they were the reason for those victories. It also explained how the African American soldiers were honored with tributes, memorials, medals and parades for their service in the military. In the ongoing WWII, it was said that there were three times the number of African Americans soldiers in WWII than in WWI. Also, many more were getting commissioned and attending West Point and OCS (Officer Candidate School). African American men that were once printers, tailors, entertainers are now soldiers in the Army as gunners, tankers, radio operators, mechanics, quartermasters, and infantrymen. They were now the backbone of
In the movie A Better Life, the Main Character Carlos Galindo is an undocumented immigrant from Mexico who started working as a day labor worker when he first arrived in the country, however he has had steady work from Blasco Martinez who owns a gardening business which he tries to convince Carlos to buy from him as he says he is moving. The idea of being self employed is very appealing to Carlos but he knows he can never afford to do so and the risk of getting caught and deported is very high. Carlos has a son Luis who is reluctant to go to school on a daily basis and gets into trouble as he is influenced by his friends who are part of the
The book, "Being There," is about a man named Chance, who is forced to move out of the house he lived in his whole life and his experience in the outside world. Based on the success of the book, the movie, "Being There," was made. The author of the book, Jerzy Kosinski, also wrote the screenplay for the movie. I think the major difference between the book and the movie is that in the book, we get to read what Chance is feeling and thinking, but in the movie, we only get to see his actions.
A realist film that shows great accuracy is the war film All Quiet on the Western Front. The storyline incorporates just enough action to inform viewers that it is a war movie and at the same time it also embodies many other aspects such as the politics, emotions and hype involved with the war (Ronald, R. 2013). This gives the viewer a more accurate view as all aspects of the war are covered. Throughout the film we see that real locations have been chosen to enhance the realistic vision and accuracy of the film.
In 2016 alone, over twenty-two movies were created based on true events of World War II. These films depict the dramatic fighting and emotional stress that fell on soldier's shoulders. Over the years, many historic films have been created yet one movie has proven itself superior: Saving Private Ryan. Steven Spielberg, a well known film director, first produced the movie to pay tribute to the soldiers who fought in World War II. With many occasions of graphic and realistic scenes, Saving Private Ryan allows viewers to gain an appreciation for the hardships troops experienced. This film gives the audience a glimpse into the intense battles fought in World War II, while also providing a heartfelt story about brothership and loss. Differing from the other World War II movies, Saving Private Ryan exemplifies a true war-drama with the help of the plot, historical accuracy, characters and setting.
Charlie Kaufman and Michel Gondry found the perfect, fragmented form to simulate memories in the non-linear storyline of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004). The thematic elements of the film helps this simplistic story of love found, lost, and found again develop into a complex pattern, much like the workings of the brain. Each character is everything you would expect them to be in real life – down to earth, imperfect, and hopelessly searching for the love someone can only dream of. We can relate to them because we all long for more than we are, and want the best of us to be shown to someone else. Memories make up who we are, they define us. Life teaches us lessons which shape our memories, and in turn, we learn from them. What if those memories were gone? Are we still destined to be the same person? The protagonist of the movie is Joel, and the story surrounds his relationship with Clementine. The antagonist can be seen as Patrick, who tries to destroy their relationship, or Lacuna Inc., whose purpose is to make them forget their relationship. Charlie Kaufman has created a beautiful story that incorporates so many valuable forms in cinema, and leaves viewers on the edge of their seat until the very end. My goal is the show the class concepts of this narrative, as well as demonstrate how the way the film’s story is told
I believe that this action packed blockbuster that gave Leonardo DiCaprio an Oscar is boring. I believe this not because it has a poor scenery or bad acting, the acting is phenomenal and the scenery and special effects are very detailed and
Scott Mendelson in his review writes “the film fails as a study of individual humanity, as both of its stars are presented as broadest and most clichéd class-related stereotypes imaginable… There
Trainspotting presents an ostensible image of fractured society. The 1996 film opens, famously, with a series of postulated choicesvariables, essentially, in the delineation of identity and opposition. Significant here is the tone in which these options are deliveredit might be considered the rhetorical voice of society, a playful exposition of the pressure placed on individuals to make the "correct" choices, to conform to expectation.
The film was engaging and thoroughly executed. The actors suited their roles, and played well. The theme in the film was educational and intriguing. Apart from some small flaws, the film was enjoyable. The circumstances around the film, as poor oxygen in the classroom and darkness, made it a little tiresome to watch, and therefore, the film seemed stretched out. In reflection, that impression was misplaced.