Movie Standards

What Kind of Films do you like?

• “Entertainment influences and reflects the substance of our thoughts. The kind of film we choose to view is often a reflection of the quality of people we are.”

• Why or why not?

• The Film Experience has been compared to that of dreaming.– You are in the dark with someone's vision playing

for you on a screen.– The images demand attention and infiltrate the

viewers mind.– Depending on the intensity of the images and the

susceptibility of the viewers the images are recorded as inspiration later.

– Yes, No? Maybe? Why?

• What are the standards you use when choosing a film to watch or like?

• 1. Personal– How does this make me feel? – What did my friends think?– Did a critic like it?

• 2. The Ratings System– The board, called the MPAA, (Motion Picture

Association of America) must be all parents.– Many people speak out against the ratings system for

inconsistencies and being thought of as trying to limit what filmmakers can show and what people can watch.

The Birth of Film

• Thomas Edison’s Kinetoscope first went public at Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences on May 9, 1893.

• The film was only a few minutes long and only one person could view it at at time.

Emergence of the Nickelodeon

• The Invention of the Vitascope, the first film projector, allowed for a large audience to view a film at the same time.

• Along with the Vitascope came Nickelodeons.

• The first Nickelodeon opened in a store front in Pittsburgh, PA in June of 1905

• Admission to a Nickelodeon was only a nickel, hence the name Nickelodeon and the film lasted 15-20 min.

Nickelodeon Controversy

• Working class, immigrants were attracted to the cheap form of entertainment.

• December of 1908 the Mayor of New York City had ordered that all nickel theaters be closed, arguing that they posed a “threat to the city’s physical and moral well being.”

D.W. Griffith Keeps Film Alive• The middle class finally gave

films the recognition they deserved as an art form after director D.W. Griffiths historical epics The Birth of a Nation (1915) and Intolerance (1916).

• This secured film in its place in the emerging culture of the 20th century.

• Birth of a Nation was the first film to inspire widespread racial controversy.

“Hollywood”• By the 1920’s the US reaches its

era of greatest-ever output with an average of 800 feature films annually.

• This explosion was directly correlated with the growth of the studio system.

• The Big Eight - – Universal Pictures– Fox Film Corp (later 20th Century

Fox)– Columbia Pictures– Warner Brothers– Paramount– MGM– RKO– United Artists

Studio System Today

– Studies show that teens age 12-16 are the core of the film going audience.

– Do you feel that they should be able to make their own viewing decisions?

– Should the parents of the children make them? – Does the ratings system work?

– Why?

Introduction of the Rating System

• With the advent of talking pictures it was felt that a formal code on censorship should be written.

• The Production Code, a set of Industry guidelines governing the production of American motion pictures, was adopted March 31, 1930 by the Motion Pictures Producers and Distributors Association (MPPDA) which later became the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA).

• For 4 years the Code went without any form of enforcement until the Production Code Administration was formed.

• This required filmmakers to submit their films for approval before their release.

• In order to receive approval, the movie had to be free of “excessive or lustful kissing,” and references to “sex perversion” and any depiction of childbirth, among other things.

• Enforcement of the Production Code became difficult so in the MPAA abandoned it entirely in the mid-1960s.

MPAA

• The MPAA began working on a ratings system so that there were virtually no restrictions on what could be in a film.

• The MPAA film rating system went into effect November 1, 1968 with 4 ratings: G, M, R, and X.

• M was later changed to PG and a PG-13 rating was added to create a tier between PG and R.

• The X rating was changed to NC-17 to distinguish it from porn.

What Ratings Mean

Signifies that the film rated contains nothing most parents will consideroffensive for their younger children.

What Ratings Mean

Signifies that the rated film may contain some material to which parents might not like to expose to their younger children. Parentsshould inquire about such materials beforeallowing their children to attend the film.

What Ratings Mean

Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13. Parents should be especially careful about letting their youngerchildren attend.

What Ratings Mean

Signifies that the rated film contains some adult material. Parents are urged to learn more about the film before taking their children with them to see it.

What Ratings Mean

Signifies that most American parents would feel that the film is patently adult and that their children age 17 and under should not be admitted to it.

Who Decides on Ratings

• A specially designed committee called the Film Rating Board of the Classification and Rating Administration.

• The committee is made up of parents

• Together they decide, considering the totality of the film, which rating most American parents would consider the most appropriate.

Film genre

A recognizable type of movie, characterized by certain

preestablished conventions.

Genre film categories• Western• Sci-fi film• Thriller• Love story• Fantasy• Film noir• Coming-of age• Screwball comedy• Horror• Mad slasher• Buddy film• Woman’s film• Farce

Advantages of genre story telling

– Economy of storytelling– Focus on archetypal ideas– Comfort of the familiar– Creativity within a norm– Custom fit to ideas being explored

Disadvantages

• Trades in stereotypes and clichés• Constricts creativity within a formula• Eliminates narrative suspense or surprise

Westerns

• Foundation westerns• Morality tales• Nostalgic or ironic tales

Horror films

• Mad scientist films• Slasher films• Zombie films• Human abomination films• Ghost stories

Features of horror films

• Unfamiliar invading the familiar• Threatening situations• Nameless fears and anxieties• Feelings of guilt• Familiar terrain• Contrast the known with unknown• Creatures, monsters, crazed individuals• Dissonant music• Feelings of helplessness• Safe world made unsafe made safe again

Science fiction

• Utopian• Dystopian• Near future• Distant future• Space westerns

Features of scifi films

• Confined by laws of physical universe (liberally interpreted)

• Engage in scientific discourse• Engage in technological discourse• Space travel• Aliens• Socio-political subtexts

Documentary

• Topical• Polemical• Artistic

Features of documentaries

• Nonfiction• Actualities• Documentation• Window onto the world• Always have a point of view• Structured• Has effect on events being filmed

Life cycle of genres

• Primitive• Classical• Revisionist• Parodic• Homage

Primitive

– Naïve– Great emotional impact– Establishes conventions

• The Great Train Robbery• Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde• The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari• Golddiggers of 1933

• Genre’s conventions well established• Balanced and rich execution of conventions

• Stagecoach • Dracula• Frankenstein• The Wizard of Oz

Classical

Revisionist

• Turn to symbolic• Ambiguous relationship to values• Complex• More intellectual/less emotional

• High Noon• Wait Till the Sun Shines, Nelly• Invasion of the Body Snatchers

Parodic

• Mocks the conventions• Exposes clichés• Produces laughter

• Blazing Saddles• Rocky Horry Picture Show• Scary Movie

Homage

• Revisits the genre• References conventions without mocking

them• Updates conventions

• Open Range• Chicago• The Ring

Comedy

• Uniqueness of appearances and plots• Ability to affect audience attitudes• Ability to generate laughter and good feeling

Comedy II

• Constructed public ritual that:– Generates laughter– Enables us to acknowledge shameful desires– Helps us recognize contradictory beliefs– Subverts traditionally sanctioned self-delusions

Types of comedy• Sight gags• Screwball• Slapstick• Running gags• Sentimental• Romantic• Black or dark• Parody• Satire

• Drama• Dramas are serious, plot-driven presentations,

portraying realistic characters, settings, life situations, and stories involving intense character development and interaction. Dramatic films are probably the largest film genre, with many subsets.

• Musicals/Dance• Musical/dance films are cinematic forms that

emphasize full-scale scores or song and dance routines in a significant way (usually with a musical or dance performance integrated as part of the film narrative), or they are films that are centered on combinations of music, dance, song or choreography. Major subgenres include the musical comedy or the concert film.

• War• War (and anti-war) films acknowledge the horror and

heartbreak of war, letting the actual combat fighting (against nations or humankind) on land, sea, or in the air provide the primary plot or background for the action of the film. War films are often paired with other genres, such as action, adventure, drama, romance, comedy (black), suspense, and even epics and westerns, and they often take a denunciatory approach toward warfare. They may include POW tales, stories of military operations, and training.

• Western• Westerns are the major defining genre of the American

film industry - a eulogy to the early days of the expansive American frontier. They are one of the oldest, most enduring genres with very recognizable plots, elements, and characters (six-guns, horses, dusty towns and trails, cowboys, Indians, etc.). Over time, westerns have been re-defined, re-invented and expanded, dismissed, re-discovered, and spoofed.

Film Critique Format• Critiques are due the 2nd class period after a

movie is watched. All Critiques should have your name and the date you turned it on it.

• All Critiques must be at least 2 pages in length and typed in no larger than a 12 point font. All Critiques should be double spaced. If you do not have access to a computer, I will accept Hand written critiques, they would need to be printed and a total of 3 pages.

All Critiques should be in your own words, they will be checked for plagiarism. If you follow all procedures and answer all questions you should receive full credit Using a Five Paragrah Essay Format Answer the following questions completely: Paragraph 1. What movie did we watch and what did YOU think of the novie. Why did you feel that way about it. Paragraph 2. Give me a brief synopsis of the plot of the movie (2 to 3 sentences)

• Paragraph 3. What did YOU think the movie was trying to achieve by being made? This can be answered by addressing the theme or message of the movie. Every movie has some kind of point to it. “They were trying to make an entertaining movie is not an acceptable answer.” Give at least 1 example of why you thought the way you did.

• Paragraph 4. What did you think of the Star/Stars of the movie? Why?

• Paragraph 5. Do You think you would watch this movie again? If no, Why? If Yes, Why?

• When writing your critique you MUST use examples from the movie, and the ACTORS name, character names are not acceptable.

• • You are all capable of writing a complete,

understandable critique.

• When writing your critique you MUST use examples from the movie, and the ACTORS name, character names are not acceptable.

• You are all capable of writing a complete, understandable critique.