Hero

Zhang Yimou's film "Hero" stars Jet Li playing the protagonist Nameless. Nameless has set to kill the Kingdom of China's three greatest threats: Broken Sword, Flying Snow and Long Sky. The three have vowed to assassinate the King of Qin. The main plot of the film takes place within the royal palace while Nameless has a conversation with the King. Through flashbacks , Nameless tells his of journey where he single handedly defeated all three of the great assassins in order to save his beloved country.

"Hero", known in China as "Ying Xiong" was the most expensive Chinese film when released in late 2002. This vast budget can be see in the stunning visual effects throughout the film. Each dramatic fight scene is beautifully designed and appears more of work of art than Hollywood action scene. Bright, bold colors are employed throughout the entire film. They are used to stress certain objects during the flashbacks. The vibrant colors are further used to distinguish the one characters perspective from another.

Unity is one of the main underlying themes throughout this film. Nameless has sacrificed his life in order to unify his nation. This idea can be apply to modern day China, as well as all other nations. In order to succeed, a nation must be unified and work together to find prosperity.

Amores Perros

Amores Perros is a drama of three storylines all interconnected in some way, shape or form to dogs. The first story is of Octavio and Susana who are brother and sister-in-law, yet begin to form a relationship which later becomes complicated due to dogfighting. The second story is of Daniel and Valeria. Daniel works for a magazine and has a happy family, but leaves them to live with Valeria, who is a model. The third storyline is of El Chivo, a dirty homeless man who consistently appears throughout the film in various circumstances.

The film, with these three storylines, almost seems like three different films. Each of the separate stories has their own aspects of misc-en-scene and camerawork. For example: Octavio's storyline from the opening of the film shows a frantic pace, very similar to his passionate and impulsive behavior. On the other hand, the scenes with Daniel and Valeria are much more subdued and slow-paced, similar to their lifestyle.  When the stories do intertwine though, these differences become blurred and the film styles mesh together creating a mixture that feels natural. Yet when the characters' stories then separate again they return to their original states.

This film says a lot for both globalization in Mexico and the lack of it as well through the different stories. Octavio brings a very local flavor to the mix, with a lower class family and dogfighting lifestyle. Valeria and Daniel bring a very globablized appeal, due to her supermodel status and their understanding of things in the outside world. When these two worlds collide conflict ensues though. El Chivo has a grasp on globalization that few know about. This, in fact, makes him a very complex character, keeping the viewer guessing at his real intentions for the majority of the film.

Amélie

Based in Paris, we are introduced to the odd yet lovable Amélie Poulain through a gruesome birth scene. However, despite this starkly realistic start, the film evolves, through Jeunet’s wizardry with the camera, to a whimsical and heart-warming romance comedy. Even in her youth, Amélie has a strange fascination with all things out of the ordinary, and this fascination lives on as she grows up under her anti-social father. However, Amélie’s story doesn’t really begin until she uncovers an old box of childhood keepsakes hidden in her apartment. This catapults her into a frantic search for the unsuspecting owner. Loving the sense of accomplishment and unacknowledged praise and adoration felt from returning the gift, Amélie sets off to perform more philanthropic deeds. It is on this adventure that the charming Amélie falls in love, but she must learn to love herself before she can love anyone else.

Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s quirky filming techniques shine through in this oddball modern-day fairytale. “Amélie” is reminiscent of Jeunet’s other works “Delicatessen” and “The City of Lost Children” but not nearly as dark as these two previous films. Similar to “Delicatessen”, the viewer is introduced to a variety of peculiar characters upon which the story builds. Throughout the entirety of the film, the fragmented stories are played out in this nonlinear work. Jeunet employs saturated colors to highlight the cast of eccentric characters and sepia tones help to emerge the viewer in the dreamy and fanciful world of “Amélie”. This refreshing film breaks the mold of the typical romance comedy and is definitely worth the watch.

Swades Film

Ashutosh Gowariker makes a slight departure from the normal glitz of traditional Bollywood films in his 2004 film "Swades: We the People". The film explores the universal themes of national identity, globalization versus tradition, and the social constructs of family by documenting the “quarter-life crisis” of Mohan Bhargav.

While lasting 195 minutes, this film struggles to adequately delve into the many topics the director introduces. The viewer is consistently introduced to a theme such as the caste system, implementation of technology, feminism, and family life. Once the theme has been introduced, the director uses the characters to present both sides of the issue. After the audience has been shown the opposing sides of the issue at hand, the director tends to gloss over the topic without providing a concrete resolution causing the audience to consider the issue for themselves. This can be seen in many parts of the film including the feminist proclamation of Gita, the declaration of Mohan that Harabis should not be compelled to pay rent, and the ending scene of the film where we see that Mohan has forsaken his American identity to return to the village.

Ignoring the director’s inability to express a concrete opinion on issues challenging modern day India, the viewer will likely notice the film’s strong use of symbolism. The recurring theme of water helps to illustrate Mohan’s dual national identity and ultimately is used to represent his surrender to his Indian heritage. Likewise the film makes an excellent use of color to illustrate both the different nations and the different castes within the society of the village.

"Swades: We the People" presents an interesting commentary on the true-to-life conflicts facing modern India. However, when these conflicts are truly being explored, the director retreats to the sugar coated film techniques of traditional Bollywood and stops short of presenting answers to the most integral topics of discussion in the film. These shortcomings prevent the movie from becoming a serious commentary on the social struggles of Indians.

Sample Clips

Here is a compilation of a few shots taken by our group that exemplify some of the techniques and qualities commonly used in the creation of major motion pictures.

Varying National Stereotypes

College-aged men experiencing foreign European cultures is the focus of the films Eurotrip and L’ Auberge Esapagnole. The French produced film of Cedric Klapisch, L’ Auberge Esapagnole (The Spanish Apartment), centers on a young economics student named Xavier. He has left his home country of France in order to gain a working knowledge of the Spanish language and to escape from his overprotective parents. In pursuit of this goal, he spends a year in Barcelona, Spain where he lives with six other students from all over the world. In comparison, the American made film, Eurotrip, focuses on a young college student named Scott who has the unfortunate misfortune of having just lost his long time girlfriend. He has left for Europe with three of his close friends with hopes of escaping problems back home as well as gaining new life experiences. Much like the French student Xavier, Scott meets new people of all different nationalities throughout his travels. When each protagonist meets a new character from a foreign country, they encounter the various stereotypes, both positive and negative, that are so prevalent in today’s society. However, each director chooses to portray these cross-cultural experiences in different, yet amusing ways.

Two stereotypes within the films are portrayed through British characters. During Scott’s trip across Europe, he runs into a British soccer gang portrayed as loud, slightly obnoxious men who are constantly drinking beer; everything one would want from a band of soccer fans. Over time Scott realizes that the men are much more than just drunken hooligans, and in fact he becomes good friends with most of them. In L’ Auberge Esapagnole, Xavier also meets a British character. Her name is Wendy and at first glance she is a very kind and sweet girl. Similar to the soccer fans, Wendy is not afraid to raise her voice in order to her point across. Several times throughout the film she can be seen yelling at the boys to clean up their messes all around the apartment, while receiving numerous sarcastic comments in return. She is an example of the stereotypical overly-zealous, overly-dramatacized woman. Yet throughout the film her character is explained more fully, and the stereotype is again overcome.

Wendy's brother, William, offers several more examples of stereotyping in society. When he first arrives at the apartment he comes off as an ignorant foreigner. Within the first scene, William goes on a rant making gross generalizations about Spanish people. Isabelle, the Spanish woman in the house, takes great offense to these comments and calls William out for believing in stereotypes and how he is incorrect. Ironically, William later calls Isabelle out several times for actually following the stereotype of being overly proud. After staying in the house for a few days, William continues making gross generalizations by comparing the German in the house to Adolf Hitler because he is very organized, and he forms opinions about peoples’ character based on a few questions. Initially, the German takes great offense to William’s comments even though the characteristics do apply to him, as can be seen throughout the film.

In Eurotrip, Mika’s dad also exhibits similar characteristics to the German: upright, organized and formal. The director further plays off this stereotype by having the younger boy dress similarly to Hitler, and having him march in typical WWII German fashion. While the American film tends to take a more comedic approach when looking at the various European stereotypes, the French film takes a more serious tone. While the stereotypes may loosely apply in some senses overall they are seen as rude and uneducated comments that offend the recipient.

The stereotypes within these films are not limited solely to the European characters. The films also make sweeping statements about American culture. In Cedric Klapisch’s film, he includes one American who becomes Wendy’s other love interest beyond her current boyfriend. He is displayed as an ignorant, wild character with no intelligence, who only cares about sex, and has virtually no dialogue during the film beyond pounding on his chest and screaming. Eurotrip portrays similar ideals when Scott’s friend Cooper frequently talks about how his one goal during the trip is to find as many beautiful women as he can. He does not care about the breath taking sights or the amazing people they meet along the way. Cooper focuses solely on his goal and seems to have little care for anyone else. However, instead of maintaining his ignorant stereotype, like the American in L’ Auberge Esapagnole, Cooper learns that friends are more important than anything, and only they can make you truly happy. It is important to note that the American film depicts some of the American characters as a bit obnoxious and yet over time they evolve and become more mature. This is the exact opposite depiction of European film where the American character never learns from his mistakes, and is basically run out of the house. It would seem that people tend to have a more positive opinion of their own culture when compared to an outside source. This can be seen in the portrayal of stereotypes, more specifically within the negative and positive connotations that can be derived from them.

The films also portray another aspect of cross-cultural experiences in that they express several examples of globalization throughout their plots. One of the most obvious examples of this can be seen through the use of language in both films. Within the apartment of L’ Auberge Esapagnole four different languages are spoken: English, French, Spanish, and German. With time the roommates are able to overcome the language barriers they face, and in doing so they are brought even closer together. In Eurotrip, Scott and Mika must also overcome a language barrier; he doesn’t know German and she does not know English. To solve this, Scott goes as far as learning German solely so he can communicate with her.

The globalization of the music industry and cultural tastes can also be seen in Eurotrip. During Scott’s travels, he ends up in a German nightclub where he hears a song in English that was just recently popular in the states. Although this may have been placed for comedic value it demonstrates the fact that all cultures are becominging more inter-connected.

In a world that is growing ever smaller, people are forced to connect in different ways. Stereotypes are used in numerous situations to portray a commonality in cross-cultural viewpoints, and their effect on people is diverse. These two films, L’ Auberge Esapagnole and Eurotrip, focus nationalistic stereotypes to develop their plots as well as add comic relief. The two films come from drastically different cultures so it can be expected that they will view certain stereotypes in different manners, and yet it is interesting that often times the stereotypes themselves are the same. These generalizations can be attributed to globalization trends in our world, and can teach us about how various cultures perceive each other.

Foreign and American Slums as Portrayed in "Boys N the Hood" and "City of God"

Boys N the Hood is a 1991 American film written and directed by John Singleton. The story focuses on three black male youths that are growing up in south-central Los Angeles. The three take separate paths as they grow, but are caught up in criminal activities within their neighborhood just the same. For comparison, City of God is a Portuguese film, released in 2002, and directed by Fernando Meirelles and Katia Lund. This film is adapted from a book published in 1997 that tells of the true to life events that took place on the streets of the City of God. Gang rivalries dominate the local culture, and constant wars make life rough and unpredictable. In my argument, I sustain that the representation of black males as disadvantaged Americans experiencing a unique set of cultural circumstances in Boyz N the Hood is refuted by the similar representation of black males living in Latin America in City of God.

The protagonist of each story, Tre in Boyz and Rocket in City, are very similar in a number of ways. Neither boys are well clothed in their youth. “Men use clothing to define and represent distinctive identities based on lifestyle.”(DiMaggio, 1) This is an important technique because it contributes to the understanding that their characters are still undeveloped. As the boys age, we see them wearing proper outfits. The clothing even becomes trendy. We see Tre wearing a quality name brand outfit at the barbeque and Rocket at Benny’s goodbye party. To these characters, brand names are a sign of social standing. Although the outfits they are wearing are not the clothing of men, such as suits or dress clothes, they are far nicer than the clothing of their youth. The clothing symbolizes that the men are coming along in their growth but have not achieved full development.

Both Tre and Rocket also struggle with achieving sexual maturity. This is another sign that they are not fully developed as men both physically and characteristically. This crucial point helps the characters maintain their supposed innocence and sets them apart from the other men in the slums. The other men are sexually mature and consistently exhibit violent behavior. The protagonists do not engage in deliberate violence or express true anger until just before they achieve sexual maturity. Rocket explodes in anger at the newspaper lady in an unforeseen manner just prior to his first sexual experience and Tre has an angry outburst that is uncharacteristic until he encounters his first sexual experience.

The innocence of Tre and Rocket in their youth plays a role in a scene that is shared by both films depicting a ball being taken by older teenagers. In Boyz, a football is stolen in an act that violates the trust of the boys. As the scene comes to an end, Tre and his friends are leaving believing the ball is long lost, only to have it returned by a thug with a heart. Likewise, in City, a soccer ball is destroyed by the older boys. The ball is ruined by violence in the form of gunfire, but the same boys who damage the ball pay ten times over for its replacement. Both scenes are foreshadowing the future violence in the boy’s life and challenge the viewer to see both the violent nature and humanity of the older boys. Ironically, the older boys are drawn into the playful interactions of the innocent boys, but subsequently ruin that innocence through their violent behavior, and then long to make the wrong into right.

There are many similarities between other roles as well. “Ricky is the more "positive" of the brothers” in Boyz, as is Benny in City (Seelow, 1). Both are men who misbehave in some way. Ricky has a child at a young age, while Benny assists Ze in creating his empire. Despite these facts, they are largely seen as good innocent men who are going to successfully escape the slums. Both men are seen in very different attire than their counterparts. This acts as a strong visual separation for the audience. Ricky is seen in football jerseys and ultimately in a white button-down shirt in his death scene. The white shirt drenched in blood is an obvious symbol of innocence. Benny is seen in trendy clothing that is very different than the men in his gang. Ricky is killed on the day he would have found out that he was getting out of the hood, while Benny was killed on the night before he was supposed to be leaving the slum for the farm life. Both incidents illustrate the difficulty in escaping the slums. The deaths of both characters also share similar causes. Both men die as a result of their tangled interactions with their negative foils, Lil Ze and Doughboy. Ricky begins the sequence of events inevitably leading to his murder by causing a scene over a minor infraction. This infraction is instigated by Doughboy’s desire for intimidation and control as he shows his gun to a rival posse. Benny chose to align with Lil Ze and is ultimately killed as a result of Lil Ze’s behavior against other inhabitants of the slum.

We see a connection between Doughboy and Lil Ze. Both start out as children who commit a crime and desire control over their environment in later life. This can be seen in Doughboy’s constant watch from his front porch and in Ze’s murderous behavior in his slum. The controlling and arrogant nature of both boys ultimately leads to the death of their “pure” counterparts.
Both films tell the story of the main characters over many years. This time span allows the viewers to recognize the innocence of the older more violent gangsters. Without seeing the characters as youth experiencing a dark world, the viewer would not be able to identify and feel remorse for the older characters.

There is also a shared increase in the complexity of the environments the characters live in between the two films. In the beginning of Boyz, we see a neighborhood that is limited to small street scenes. As the movie progresses, we see trips into other neighborhoods such as when Furious Styles takes the boys to see the billboard. Likewise, at the beginning of City, the slum is seen as simple rows of simple houses, but as the film continues we find ourselves deeper and deeper into a maze of allyways, apartment complexes, and staircases. In the final battle in City, there are complex scenes of passageways and buildings, symbolizing how the violence reaches into every corner, drawing boys from every place.

When the boys are young, there is little mention of commercialism. The characters are poorly clothed and entertain themselves with simple sports. Their earnings are meager and earned through simple employment such as selling fish and doing chores. As the boys age, we immediately see the introduction of popular music in both films, clothing becomes brand-name, jobs become entry-level professional, and entertainment is found in night clubs and car shows. “As a street kid, Rocket takes up photojournalism as a way to bust out and to understand his life.” (Travers, 1) The introduction of global ideas and products occurs at the same time as the shift to violence is seen in the young men. It is very clear that as materialism increases, violence also increases. In the climactic scenes of the films, Ricky makes a purchase just before his death, while Benny is killed just after he tries to pass on an expensive camera to Rocket. Lil Ze is killed as a result of chasing a chicken, a commodity in the culture, and the gangsters who kill Ricky in Boyz are killed just while eating at a fast-food joint. Both movies show places of commerce as targets of violent behavior.

In Boys n the hood, the boys may take alternate paths to maturity, but are ultimately stalled by the inexorable draw of their hood and the associated criminal activity. City of God also emphasizes the inescapable nature of events that take place in the slums. From the comparison of these two films, it is clearly evident that the notion of the typical American “hood” in which blacks males are thought to have a serious disadvantage in leading quality lives is not actually constrained just to American cities.

Bibliography:

DiMaggio, Paul. "Fashion and Its Social Agendas: Class, Gender, and Identity in Clothing.” Contemporary Sociology 31.3 (2002): 303-304. Research Library. ProQuest. Georgia Tech Library. 8 Mar. 2009

Seelow, David. "Look Forward in Anger: Young, Black Males and the New Cinema.” Journal of Men's Studies 5.2 (1996): 153. Research Library. ProQuest. Georgia Tech Library. 8 Mar. 2009

Peter Travers. "City of God.” Rolling Stone 24 Jun 2004: 188. Research Library. ProQuest. Georgia Tech Library. 8 Mar. 2009