Chapter 15

Option 4

Reaganite cinema was a term referring to Ronald reagan's "morning in America" after the long night of democratic misrule. It was prominent in film during the 1980s. There were three main themes to Reaganite cinema. The first was regeneration. The regeneration of the human spirit. Reagan promised to bring America back to life, just as he bounced back after being shot in an assassination attempt. His own recovery served as a symbol to Americans to persevere. Such as in films like Cacoon. Three senior citizens seek the fountain of youth. Back to School featured Rodney Dangerfield living the college kid's life while being a role model for his son. There was the nostalgia: coming of age in the past. Movies about characters who return to the golden age of the 50s or other time periods, and come back to the present full of the promise and spirit of the idyllic past, re energized and ready to confront the future. Themes seen in films like Back to the Future and Peggy Sue got Married. Another theme was paradise lost/paradise regained. Some films involved a rejection of life in the big city for that in the suburbs, in rural America, or in the untouched world of nature. Some find a renewed sense of community and a new, more positive sense of themselves as a result of their encounter with a more primitive, more innocent, rustic America. (Doc Hollywood, City Slickers, Return of the Jedi.) The other theme is striking back. The no-nonsense action films starring super-heroes like Stallone, Schwarzeneggar, and Willis came down firmly on the side of mainstream values. They promoted law and order, interracial harmony, police camaraderie and a celebration of the family, while striking back at things like terrorism and drug-trafficking, thing Reagan opposed.

Chapter 10, option 1

The Belton text describes the femme fatale as an irresistibly attractive woman, especially one who leads men into danger. I don't think Belton is wrong. The phrase femme fatale translates to fatal (or deadly) woman in french. She tries to achieve her hidden purpose by using feminine wiles such as beauty, charm, or sexual allure. Typically, she is extremely well-endowed with these qualities. In some situations she uses lying or coercion rather than charm to achieve her purpose. She may also be (or imply to be) a victim, caught in a situation from which she can't escape. Although typically villainous, femmes fatale have also appeared as anti heroines in some stories, and some even repent and become heroines by the end of the tale.

Chapter 9, option 2

Women pose a variety of threats to men in war films. The appearance of women on screen introduces an emotional element that is often realized in terms of the man's essential weakness. In my experience, every time I see a soldier in a platoon talk about a woman or show other men in the platoon a picture of a wife or girlfriend, they are always killed before the end of the film. The psyche of the male soldier must be reshaped to repress the feminine elements in order to transform him into a ruthless, unemotional, fighting machine. In every war film, masculinity is put in crisis. The toughness of the hero becomes an issue crucial to both his survival and that of his fellow soldiers. The explicit challenge to the manhood of new recruits is designed to force them to become that which is considered weak or feminine in their nature to become hardened marines- that is, to become men.

Chapter 8, option 1

In integrating an individual into a society, American screen comedies demonstrate the flexibility of our social structure in its ability to absorb new members and integrate them into a new social order whose unity and diversity exceeds that of the old order. The typical resolution of a film comedy often involves a marriage or other celebration of the formation of a new community out of the old. Pretty Woman brought together a a corporate takeover specialist (Richard Geer) and a Hollywood hooker (Julia Roberts). In the film While You Were Sleeping, a Chicago token clerk (Sandra Bullock) falls in love with a wealthy lawyer (Peter Gallagher) and, when he falls into a coma, pretends to be his fiancee. She falls in love with his carpenter brother (Bill Pullman) and marries him in the end of the film. In reforming the workplace, the theme of integration often involves the outsiders' transformation of the very social system that they enter and attempt to fix it from within. The best example of this I think is 9 to 5. Three Secretaries (Jane Fonda, Dolly Parton, and Lily Tomlin) reclaim their office from the male-chauvinist tyranny of corrupt boss Dabney Coleman and establish a new, more benign order. This new order ultimately wins out over the old system. It celebrates comic virtues of independence, innovation, and a willingness to break the rules.

Entry 6? (chapter 11)

Option 1
Usually, the central plot of the western film is the simple goal of maintaining law and order on the frontier. It is normally rooted in conflicts of virtue vs. evil, white hat vs. black hat, settlers vs. Native Americans, civilization vs. wilderness, or lawman vs. gunfighter. Specific settings normally include but not limited to isolated forts, ranch houses, a saloon, a jail, or a small town street. Other iconic elements include the hanging tree (a dead giveaway), stetson hats, spurs, colt .45's, bandannas, stagecoaches, cattle drives, prostitutes, and most commonly, the horse ("faithful steed".) Dime store novels and comics were things the western was based on. Oh sure, the characters could have been real. They were, however, blown way out of proportion and made larger than life. People needed a larger than life hero or anti-hero to believe in. Native Americans were often portrayed as savage Indians. It was a popular assumption. Assumptions not really based on fact. Then again, was there any part of the western that really was fact?

Entry 5

Option 3
Is typecasting a good thing or a bad thing? In most cases, it's really a bad thing. Typecasting occurs when an actor plays a similar part from film to film. Over the course of several films, these actors develop a distinct persona, or public image. In certain instances, an actor will become associated with a specific character, whose attributes become fused with his or her own. Sean Connery will be forever linked with James Bond. William Shatner with the role of Captain James T. Kirk. Sylvester Stallone will always be linked to Rocky Balboa and John Rambo. Sometimes it works out for the best. For stars like Clayton Moore (the Lone Ranger) and George Reeves (Superman, one of many to play him anyway) were shackled to the characters they portrayed, and never really found other work because of it. Stars like Owen Wilson have even attempted suicide from depression caused by typecasting.

Entry 4

Option 2
If a person was under contract with a studio, they were a slave to the beast. His or her contracts were seven year terms. An actor worked up to fourteen hours a day. They were forbidden to engage in non approved acting activities (theatre, radio, television.) Their personal behavior was regulated.... there was a morals clause in their contracts. The studio governed over other features of their off screen appearance including hairstyles, choice of clothing, and even their weight. The studio contract required actors to act in whatever films the studio cast them in, made them attend studio publicity functions, publicize their own films, promote product tie-ins, or even be loaned out to other studios to fulfill the same obligations there for one or two pictures. Failure of any of these tasks resulted in suspensions or fines. If you were suspended for any length of time, it was added to the contract and made up. Of course, it couldn't be all bad. After all, you were guaranteed work for seven years. People today would kill for an opportunity like that.