However, in the 1920s, a new era of crime fiction arose: American hard-boiled crime fiction. In this type of crime fiction, a sense of “graphic sex and violence, vivid but often sordid urban backgrounds, and fast-paced, slangy dialogue” is added to the environment (“Hard-boiled dectective…” Ralph Willet). In the Maltese Falcon, a film adaptation of Dashiell Hammett’s the Maltese Falcon, Sam Spade is presented with a case to find Ruth Wonderly (who later turns
The 1960's were the beginning of social rebellions, like, women's rights movements and the Civil Rights Movement. Women in positions of authority were perceived as manipulators and castrators. For example, one of the most controversial points McMurphy makes in the book is the fear of women, and the women in the book are constantly described as threatening and terrifying figures. Most of the patients have been damaged by relationships with overpowering women. Chief's mom is portrayed as a castrating woman.
Gender stereotype, or the over-generalization about the characteristics of an entire group based on gender, is evident in any culture or community, no matter how much gender equality is promoted. Brought on by centuries of tradition, it had become a pre-established belief that women were inferior to men, in that the dominance of men was already considered to be a norm of society. Though women in the past were responsible for household chores and raising children, a new age called for new ideals and a need for change in the attitude towards women. In the Southside of Chicago in the mid 1950’s, the members of the Younger family act as a prime example in portraying the difficulties associated with going against conventional expectations. The two prominent female characters
In conclusion, though the characters of Vertigo all experience different wants and needs, they all have the theme of control in common. Scottie wants control over his crippling fear of heights and his vertigo, Elster wants control over his wife’s money, Midge wants control over Scottie’s heart, and Judy is willing to give up control in order to be loved by Scottie. As proven throughout the film, they will go to whatever means to achieve their desires, showing that in their need to gain control, they had eventually lost
You would be hard pressed to find a Noir without a femme fatale. There is usually some spider woman in the middle weaving the men of the plot to her plan. These women challenge male masculinity in Noir and are usually tamed by the protagonists or destroyed. In Vertigo we have Judy. She strings Scottie along acting like she is his friends wife and she is possessed.
Alfred Hitchcock was a wonderful director and producer who will continue to be remembered for his great creations in film. He used many different techniques, including Classical Hollywood style and structure, to develop this film into what it is, and can be used as a great example when learning about those
Of all of Shakespeare’s tragic tales and stories, one of the most devastating and bloody is the tale of Macbeth. The premise is simple. An average man, overtook by need for power, kills in order to receive it. What follows is a horrid chain of events, leading to many unnecessary deaths and a dreadful conclusion. From afar, this may just seem like a sad story with little meaning; however, on closer inspection, it may be worth asking the question.
Upon the 1991 release of Ridley Scott’s film, Thelma and Louise, it quickly coined the title of being a “man hating film.” Thelma (Geena Davis) and Louise (Susan Sarandon) are two best friends who were initially going on a girl’s trip, but the two suddenly find themselves on the run after Louise kills a man in order to defend Thelma. The film’s use of acting and mise en scène heavily demonstrate the development of these characters as they unravel from quiet traditional lives to their ultimate demise. Moreover, these elements highlight the nuanced experience of being a woman while weaving in the conventional components of an action film.
Love is an especially disputed topic throughout the world, and many have yet to figure out what love actually means to them. There are countless interpretations and beliefs of what love is and it is different for each person. The Sound Of Waves by Yukio Mishima and Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson both explores different ideas of love and how it works within one’s life by setting up certain gender roles, analyzing the environment, and using the genre of the book to design their vision of a love story. Gender roles in The Sound Of Waves have an incredibly traditional feel to the entire story, and for the characters in the book they are classic archetypes to portray. The man is the one who makes the move in the relationship, does all the heavy lifting, and has to win the father’s approval.
Love is an especially disputed topic throughout the world, and many have yet to figure out what love actually means to them. There are countless interpretations and beliefs of what love is and it is different for each person. The Sound Of Waves by Yukio Mishima and Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson both explore different ideas of love and how it works within one’s life by setting up certain gender roles, analyzing environment, and using the genre of the book to design their vision of a love story. Gender roles in the Sound Of Waves has an incredibly traditional feel to the entire story, and for the characters in the book they are classic archetypes to portray.
Every now and then the art world is struck by a wave of change that leaves a strong impression, which can last for a long time. Visual arts saw the rise of impressionism and cubism, surrealism and realism took literature to an opposite direction, and film has evolved over the years through cultural and artistic development such as expressionism, auteurism and film noir (House, p.61). The 1940s and post World War II gave rise to a new style of American film, these films appeared pessimistic and dark in mood, theme, and subject. The world created within these films were portrayed as corrupt, hopeless, lacked human sympathy, and “a world where women with a past and men with no future spent eternal nights in one-room walk-ups surrounded by the
The ‘Hitchcock blondes’ represent Hitchcock’s fantasy woman. She is unreachable, seductive, mysterious, and seems forever young; the female lead in Vertigo is not an exception. In Vertigo, Scottie is a detective who is hired to
Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960 film Psycho redirected the entire horror genre, and in doing so dismantled the prudent 1950’s societal barriers of cinema. Although unseen for its potential by the large studios of the time, Psycho became one of the crowning achievements of film history. While based partially on a true story of murder and psychosis from Wisconsin, the widespread viewing of this tale made way for a new era of film and ushered in a new audience of movie goers. The use of violence, sexual explicitness, dramatic twists, sound, and cinematography throughout this film gave Hitchcock his reputable name and title as master of suspense.
However, film critic, Robin Wood, argues that ‘since Psycho, the Hollywood cinema has implicitly recognised horror as both American and familial’ he then goes on to connect this with Psycho by claiming that it is an “innovative and influential film because it supposedly presents its horror not as the produce of forces outside American society, bit a product of the patriarchal family which is the fundamental institution of American society” he goes on to discuss how our civilisation either represses or oppresses (Skal, 1994). Woods claim then suggests that in Psycho, it is the repressions and tensions within the normal American family which produces the monster, not some alien force which was seen and suggested throughout the 1950 horror films. At the beginning of the 60’s, feminisation was regarded as castration not humanization. In “Psycho” (1960) it is claimed that the film presents conservative “moral lessons about gender roles of that the strong male is healthy and normal and the sensitive male is a disturbed figure who suffers from gener confusion” (Skal, 1994). In this section of this chapter I will look closely at how “Psycho” (1960) has layers of non-hetro-conforming and gender-non conforming themes through the use of Norman Bates whose gender identitiy is portrayed as being somewhere between male and female
Everyone has different personalities but interestingly, most of the people have tried to become identical recently. They just follow the instructions of who they should be as much as they saw in the media instead of discovering their true selves. These instructions are mainly created by society and people are getting these instructions mostly in movies and in other media channels. Most of them can be called as gender roles which means the spesific attitudes and behaviors given by society to people regarding on their biological sexes. Gender roles and also stereotypes have an enormous impact on people’s lives since it shapes everyone’s identities and lifestyles.
