assignment 5-2: Movie Analysis

Shrek

I chose Shrek because it is one of my favorite movies. The movie begins with the main character Shrek; he is an ogre that wants to live alone peacefully in his swamp. While walking in his swamp, he recues a donkey that can talk and his name is Donkey. The same night, when Shrek is having dinner, he finds out that the outside of his house is bordered by fairy tale creatures that were forced to leave the kingdom of Lord Farquaad because he wants a kingdom for the perfect princess bride.

Shrek goes to see Lord Farquaad to request to have all of the fairy tale creatures removed from his swamp. Lord Farquaad makes a deal with Shrek, he will get his swamp back if he recues Princess Fiona from the castle where she is being prisoner and guarded by a dragon. Shrek and Donkey recued Princess Fiona. She is disillusioned when she sees Shrek because she always dreamed to be rescue by a handsome prince. After spending some time together Fiona falls in love with Shrek. On the way back to Duloc, Donkey discovers that princess Fiona turns into an ogre when night comes. Donkey does not tell Shrek about Fiona’s spell, and this spell can be broken by a kiss of true love. Moreover, Shrek falls in love with Fiona but he is too afraid to tell her about his feeling because he is an ogre. When Fiona is back to Duloc, Lord Farquaad forces princess Fiona to marry him and Shrek get his swamp back but he is not happy.

On the wedding day, Shrek, Donkey and the Dragon, who fell in love with Donkey go to Duloc and rescue Fiona from Lord Farquaad. He wanted to marry Fiona to be the King of Duloc. Lord Farquaad orders to capture Shrek and Donkey, and the dragon eats Farquaad and all the guards started running away. Shrek runs towards Fiona and kisses her and the spell is broken. Fiona transformed into an ogre because she realized that Shrek is her true love. Shrek and Fiona come to marry and live happily ever after.

Moreover, do you know what a formula in movies is? A formula in movies is how scenes are being play in the movie. For instance, in Hancock, he fights against criminals to keep society safe. The formulas that I found in this movie are that Shrek wants to live alone; he does not like to socialize with others. But also he is an ugly, romantic, hero, good ogre with feelings. Also, Lord Farquaad wanted to marry Fiona to become the king of Duloc, and Fiona fell in love with Shrek instead suddenly.

Furthermore, Shrek is a family, romantic and comedy movie and I noticed that the formula in this kind of movies have not changed over the years. There will be a hero and usually it is the main character. Thus, love is something that always is included because it is a strong component and it will be funny to keep the audience entertained.

Moreover, the formula of yesterday is still applicable in today’s society and this formula is still being shown in many movies for instance: Hancock, Spiderman, Armageddon, Finding Nemo, and The Incredibles.

If I were the director of this movie, I would not change anything to the current formula used in this movie because I believe that this is very romantic and funny. However, the only thing I would change about Shrek is his physical appearance; I would make him skinnier because the director of the movie has stereotype ogres as ugly, fat and huge teeth. Finally, this movie is proof that the romantic and humoristic formula still present in today’s society will remain the same because they are good components to make wonderful movies.

References:

Tony Thio. (2008) Shrek 3. Retrieved on December 8, 2008, from, http://theurbanwire.com/2007/06/04/shrek-3/

Shrek. (2001) Shrek. Retrieved on December 8, 2008, from, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shrek

Assignment 5-1: Weekly Written Analysis

Hancock – The movie

This weekend I had the opportunity to watch Hancock. It is a superhero movie released on July 2, 2008. Before I watched this movie I thought that it would be another classical superhero movie, which Stereotypes superheroes as popular and are admired by a society because of his/her courage and actions to protect the people. According to Ray Browne (2005), “Historically the hero has been a servant of the people, has tried to wrest privilege from the powerful and give it to the powerless” (pp. 47). However, the superhero in this movie is hated by a society because of his destructive manner in saving the city.



According to ray Browne (2005), “Heroes serves as models and leaders of people and nation because they reflect the projection of the consensus of the dreams, fantasies, self evaluation, and needs of individuals and of society itself.” (p.16). In this movie, John Hancock was not the superhero model that children and other people would like to be and dream about. It is because when he lands, breaks up the street, destroys walls and cars. This is making Angelinos upset because it is costing the city and people money to fix them. Also, he is an alcoholic and sometimes he is in a bad mood. Moreover, Ray Embrey (Hancock saved his life) helped Hancock to change his image in order to make him a real superhero, and to be popular and admired by society.



In general, Hancock is a parody of superhero films that changed the traditional image that people have of superheroes, that they are popular and loved by the people. Thus, this movie shows that a superhero is not only a person who is popular and admired by society but also a superhero is someone that risks or sacrifices his/her life.



References:



Ray Browne. (2005). Hero with 2000 faces. In R. Browne. In Profiles of popular culture (pp. 16- 23) Madison, Wisconsin



Ray Browne. (2005). The concept of hero against democracy. In Profiles of popular culture (pp. 47-53) Madison, Wisconsin



Serena Whitney. (2008). Hancock – movie review. Movies online. Retrieved on December 8, 2008, from, http://www.moviesonline.ca/movie_review_ detail.php?id=

Assignment 4-3: Heroes and Celebrities

Heroes and Celebrities

According to dictionary.com (2006). “Hero is a man of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities; also, a person who, in the opinion of others, has heroic qualities or has performed a heroic act and is regarded as a model or ideal”. And a celebrity is a famous well-know person.

Moreover, a hero helps others, contributes to the society in a positive way using his/her talents or abilities and does not receive money. Also a hero may or may not be accepted by the media and people. Furthermore, a celebrity is very well known for his/her talents, good looks and his/her image or admiration in the media may or may not change, but according to Ray Browne (2005) “A hero-celebrity schism is more the tool of the phrasemaker than of actuality”. (pp.17).
Thus, it is significant for a nation or a person to have a hero. For a person it is important because it reflects a representation, dream, belief, fantasy and a need. And for a nation because it reflects its own history, for instance soldiers fighting in Iraq are heroes because they represent part of our national history. Thus, heroes present a role of self evaluation, weaknesses, overcome challenges and improvement. For instance, kids can develop a positive character personality in themselves.

Furthermore, celebrity cult is the interest of people for a person or celebrity that is popular or a social phenomenon increasing the entertainment industry and people are trying to become famous. For instance, music channels increase the cult of pop idols. This celebrity cult has always existed but it is been changing due to technology and money, this means that our societies are becoming more materialistic, for that reason people are trying to become rich and famous. Moreover, the attraction of people for celebrities is increasing because people idolized celebrities that are attractive and more influent in our society. Also, people becomes more fascinated with celebrities because of the TV, magazines, radio and advertizing are always talking about them.

Our culture reaches out for heroes and celebrities because they are part of our society and create fantasies and dreams. For instance, people in the military forces are heroes because they provide security to our society in which we live. And a celebrity like Britney Spears entertains with her music. As a result of their actions, our society will be able to difference between being a hero or a celebrity.

Furthermore, the unexpected proliferation of reality TV is due to the advance in technology, financial opportunities and due to the ability of people to create this kind of programs. Reality TV is becoming a phenomenon because our society likes to see people’s abilities and capabilities to perform or overcome any challenge. Also, this is a cheap way to create TV shows and this captures the interest of the audience. For instance, Survivor was a reality show that came on the air and featured teenagers and rock stars. Also, The Osbournes, became very popular because it focused on Ozzy Osburne and his family daily life. These kinds of shows have been introduced to our society and it is influencing on people to act like them and to use the same language. Another huge example of reality TV is Dancing with the Starts, in this show a famous and a dreamer (non-famous) show their abilities to dance different kinds of music. The judges and the audience will have to vote to decide who stay and who is vote-off each week, most of the people will select the couple that displayed more abilities.

The vote-off on reality TV shows how competitive it is and takes out the capabilities of the participants. After seeing some reality TV shows, I believe that voting-off participants from the game or show are necessary to get a winner but it not only shows how good are the dancing skills of the participants, it also influences their attractiveness and popularity to decide or vote for a participant.

References:

Dictionary.com (2008). Meaning of hero. Retrieved n December 1, 2008, from, http://dictionary.reference.com/broww/hero

Browne (2005). A hero with 2000 faces. InR. Browne, Profiles of popular culture (pp.16-23). Madison, Wisconsin

Wikipedia. (2008). Celebrity Cult. Retrieved on December 1,2008, from, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cult_of_celebrity

Assignment 4-2: Movie Discussion

Discussion – Armageddon







I chose Armageddon because is one of the movies that I have seen and I still remembering. This movie was released in 1998. The film is about a group of oil drillers who are sent by NASA to deflect an asteroid that will collusion with Earth. NASA decides to destroy the asteroid with a nuclear bomb which should be introduced under the asteroid’s surface which will divide the body in two parts. NASA selects Harry Stamper and his crew to do the job.


I used my personal criteria to define the following heroes in this movie. These heroes risked and sacrificed their life to save Earth and its habitants


Harry Stamper (Bruce Willis): He is courageous and determined. Since the beginning of the movie he is a hero because of his actions to help his crew. He sacrificed his life to detonated the bomb and save our planet.


A.J Frost (Ben Affleck): he led one of the troops in the space to drill on the surface of the asteroid and place the bomb. Also he was a hero when he decided to detonate the bomb but Harry Stamper made him return to the shuttle because his daughter was in love with him.


The crew of Harry Stamper & astronauts: they all are heroes because they risked and sacrificed their life to save our planet. They are heroes since the moment that they were sent to the space.

Assignment 4-1: Weekly Written Analysis

A Real Life Hero: Cesar Estrada Chávez (1927 - 2003)

The word Hero means to me a person who cares about people, also a person that is courage and determined or a person who has risked or sacrificed his or her life. And that is why Cesar Estrada Chavez is a hero in the Hispanic Community. According to Ray Browne (1983), “Heroes concentrate the power of people, of a nation, and serve as the muscle for the movement and development of a people” (pp.16).

Cesar Estrada Chavez was born in Yuma, Arizona in 1927. During the depression era, his family was abused and obligated to sell their farm and leave. His family moved to Sacramento, California and Mr. Chavez grew up there. In 1962 he started his activist movement against racism and financial injustices. He founded the National Farm Workers Association. Since then, he fought for farm workers’ rights. He demanded better conditions for those workers, mostly composed by Hispanic immigrants. After many years, his hard work became a reality; many states modified their laws obligating farm employers to provide benefits such as medical coverage, retirement plans, and fair wages without discriminating the employees because of its ethnicity.

Nowadays, Mr. Chavez has become an icon within the Hispanic community in the United States because according to Ray Browne (2005). “An icon symbolizes what hard work can accomplish”. (pp.54). Also, he represents a change in history and a change for Hispanic families towards the American Dream. According to Ray Browne (1983), “Heroes represents the consensus of the dreams, fantasies, self evaluations, and needs of individuals and of society itself” (pp.16). That is why Mr. Chavez is a hero.

References:

Ray Browne. (2005). Hero with 2000 faces. In R. Browne. Profiles of popular culture (pp. 16- 23) Madison, Wisconsin

Ray Browne. (2005). Hero with 2000 faces. In R. Browne. Profiles of popular culture (pp. 54-55) Madison, Wisconsin

Sylvia Cochran. (2008). Hero Cesar Chavez. Civil right site. Retrieved on December 1, 2008, from, http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art32934.asp

Assignment 3-3: My Favorite Movie

One of my favorite movies is Goal, the dream begins. It became my favorite movie because it shows how a Latin American guy overcomes obstacles to become a professional soccer player. The dream of all Spanish soccer players is to play in any important European soccer team like Manchester, Barcelona, Real Madrid and others.

The main plot in this movie is that Santiago Munez is an illegal Mexican-American immigrant and dreams to become a professional soccer player. He believes that being a soccer player will give him the opportunity to help his family and in the process be very well-known. Also, he dreams to play for Manchester, one of the biggest soccer teams in Europe. This movie shows how what seemed an impossible dream comes true for a Latin American guy.
The stereotype that this movie breaks is that Spanish soccer players are as good as European soccer players. It is very explicitly because this movie says what a soccer game means to Latinos in the United States, to their families and friends.

The stereo type that people have about Latin American soccer players is not good. According to Nadia Anguiano (2001), ” stereotyping of Mexican people that is used as a basis for most of the humor in the movies”. That is true, in many movies Mexicans are stereotyped as short, dark skin, drunk and violent people which gives a bad image to Latin American people.
This movie has contributed to the social and economic emergence of this stereotype. Most Latino soccer players had a poor childhood and they think being a professional soccer player will make them rich and help their families. I believe that these stereotypes emerge because they are related to each other. Also because Latin American people in the United States have more economic difficulties and the only solution is to become a professional soccer player. Latin American soccer players seem to compare themselves with European soccer players. According to James Hilton (1997), “stereotypes as a means of making themselves feel better through downward social comparison “.

The main function that stereotypes have in this movie is the social economic impact. It also involves the visual perception, for instance, if they see a Mexican and Brazilian soccer player together, European players will say that the Brazilian soccer player is better than the Mexican soccer player.

In this movie stereotyping has a negative effect, because the main character had to overcome those bad stereotypes that people have in Europe, for instance Mexican soccer players only like to drink and they are not good as Brazilian soccer players. I believe that this movie is a good way to change the stereotype of Latin American soccer players in the United States and Europe. However, this stereotype will continue until more Latin American soccer players become more popular and better than European soccer players, but will this happen someday? Only time will tell.

References:

Nadia Anguiano (2001) Movies unfair stereotyping of Mexicans. Retrieved on November 24, 2008, from, http://media.www.thelantern.com/media/storage/paper333/ news/2001/ 03/07/Opinion/Movie.Unfair.Stereotyping.Of.Mexicans-53302.shtml

James Hilton. (1996). Stereotypes. Retrieved on November 24, 2008, from, http://www.questia.com/googleScholar.qst;jsessionid=JrWbPG0F79M0Sz6Gwfr50LRlZYk7XczwlyQMhlHH4YTQP1npJZMj!857321274?docId=5000321907

Goal (2005). Goal Film. Retrieved on November 24, 2008, from, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goal!_(film)

Assignment 3-2: Ritual Development

1) What is your understanding of the word "ritual?"

For me the word ritual means symbolic actions set by a religion and traditions set by a community for instance the celebration of Easter, Christmas and the Independence Day. Also parts of rituals are sacrifices of people and animals. Moreover, the practice of rituals depends on education, social class and beliefs.

2) What rituals do you observe in our society?

In our society people celebrates the most common rituals and they are the Baptism and matrimony and they are celebrated in many religions. Other rituals are the celebration of Christmas, Easter, Independence Day, and New Year. The practice of rituals varies depending of the region or country where you are located.

3) What rituals do you observe in your family?

I am Peruvian and Italian. My family celebrates some important rituals like Easter, Christmas, New Year, Peru’s Independence Day, Thanksgiving, Birthdays, Baptisms, matrimony, U.S Independence Day and Saint Rosa of Lima’s day.

4) Are there any rituals that you can identify that are prevalent today? If so, what are they?

Yes, there are some religious rituals that are prevalent today like Baptism, Holy Matrimony, Easter and Christmas. There are also historical celebrations like Independence Day, Cinco de mayo and victories of battles (Peru and Italy).

5) What ritual would you like to develop for either our society or your family?

I would like to spread out the celebration of Thanksgiving in my family that lives in Peru and Italy. This would be beneficial because it will be another important day besides Christmas, to reunite my family.